Will Celtics Still Be Beasts Of East?
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
They are the NBA champions until otherwise noted, so let us begin with the Boston Celtics as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.
Granted, there is no revelation there, not with the trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen back en masse, aging but presumably healthy and now with a better understanding of what it requires to win it all. Sure, they stumbled on the road in the playoffs during the first two rounds, but it also toughened them to dismantle the Detroit Pistons in the conference finals and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
So considering what they accomplished with coach Doc Rivers, plus the presumed maturation of youngsters Rajon Rondo at point guard and Kendrick Perkins at center, the Celtics must begin as the favorites to repeat in the East when the regular season begins next week.
But they are not alone. The Philadelphia 76ers made the most dramatic offseason move in the conference by signing free agent All-Star forward Elton Brand, and considering how they finished last season, the Sixers become an instant factor. And even though the acquisition of point guard Mo Williams didn’t rock headlines coast-to-coast for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, he does make them better with the Cavs still tasting the 2007 East title.
There are others who will contend, of course, including the ever-present Pistons, still on a streak of six consecutive trips to the conference finals, and the Orlando Magic with that monster in the middle — Dwight Howard — still getting better all the time. You might even throw the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat in the mix, but it’s presuming an awful lot that Jermaine O’Neal remain healthy long enough to be the difference for the Raptors; and ditto for Dwyane Wade in Miami.
Nonetheless, that gives us at least seven teams that could make life miserable for the Celtics should they stumble. We’ll break it down 1-15, with a little explanation that should help you disagree even more fervently moving forward.
1. Boston Celtics
The Celtics exploded out of the gate last season and never looked back on their way to the top seed, then rode that home-court advantage to their first title in 22 years. Should they remain healthy, there’s no reason to believe they won’t be better this season. Age is creeping up on their terrific trio, but the depth and the confidence throughout the roster will help carry them to the best record in the conference again.
2. Detroit Pistons
For all of their failings to get through the conference finals and stumbling on the way there the past few years, the Pistons are still an elite team built around their backcourt of Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, and it should be even better with Rodney Stuckey having a year under his belt. Will Stuckey and Jason Maxiell continue to improve? That may be up to rookie coach Michael Curry to figure out.
3. Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers seemingly came out of nowhere to be a legit player in the East down the stretch. It earned coach Mo Cheeks respect and proved Andre Miller is still a high-level point guard, while Andre Iguodala and the other youngsters are growing up quickly. And now that Ed Stefanski stole free agent Elton Brand from the Clippers, they will become a factor in who wins the conference, if not the Atlantic.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs have too many issues to be serious challengers for the top seed, but with LeBron James, they are always a threat to win the conference title. This season, they’ll be even better with Mo Williams, a training camp with Wally Szczerbiak and healthy Daniel Gibson — all of a sudden the Cavs have some shooters. This may be their best group overall yet.
5. Orlando Magic
Nobody has a more offensively productive frontcourt than the Magic do with Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, but the backcourt remains underwhelming. If Tony Battie could stay healthy, play power forward and allow Lewis to slip to a “3″ and Turkoglu to “2,” they would be much better. But those are huge ifs and their depth is still a problem.
6. Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are consistently one of those teams on the cusp, which probably explains why president Bryan Colangelo went out on a limb for Jermaine O’Neal, the former All-Star. If his legs are sound, they’ve got a chance to win the East with him next to Chris Bosh. Then again, Bosh has knee issues of his own. Jose Calderon is one of the best point guards nobody knows.
7. Chicago Bulls
It’s difficult to figure out what happened to the Bulls last season, other than they were turned upside down from contracts and the unhappiness of coach Scott Skiles. Well, there’s still Ben Gordon’s contract situation, but with Vinny Del Negro and veteran assistant coaches, they figure to be more consistent at both ends of the court, and certainly compete among those to get into the playoffs.
8. Atlanta Hawks
Conventional wisdom says the Hawks will ride the crest of taking the Celtics to seven games in the first round back to the playoffs. With Joe Johnson and Josh Smith, maturing Marvin Williams and Al Horford, plus a training camp with Mike Bibby, they should get there. Let’s see if the two-year extension signed by coach Mike Woodson helps them gain consistency.
9. Washington Wizards
Despite making the playoffs in each of the past four seasons, plus everyone returning for underrated coach Eddie Jordan, it’s hard to be sold on this injury-prone group. Who knows about Gilbert Arenas’ thrice-repaired left knee, Brendan Haywood’s wrist, Antawn Jamison’s right knee and anything else? They’re always injured, and that includes their incumbent tough guy Caron Butler. All things being equal, they’re in. Then again, all things are never equal.
10. Miami Heat
It’s hard to fathom a team with Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion and top draft choice Michael Beasley not being in the playoffs, but rookie coach Eric Spoelstra will have his work cut out for him. Will Pat Riley deal Marion? More pressing is the health of Wade, who has missed 31 games in each of the past two seasons. He also missed 21 his rookie year. The acrobatics are killing his body.
11. Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks are the sleeper in the bunch. Skiles always get his teams to overachieve his first year or two, and with the addition of Richard Jefferson and Luke Ridnour to Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut, they are certainly playoff contenders. Rookie Joe Alexander may help and GM John Hammond did plug in veteran depth. But the talent pool is still fragile on this club.
12. Indiana Pacers
Like the Bucks, the Pacers have the capability of slipping into the playoffs, with the underrated Danny Granger, Mike Dunleavy Jr. coming off his best NBA season, and Troy Murphy healthy and productive. But they lack power players and athleticism to go along with the running of T.J. Ford, Jarrett Jack and rookie Brandon Rush. Just who are they with coach Jim O’Brien?
13. New Jersey Nets
By mid-season it was apparent that president Rod Thorn was ready to rebuild again, so he dumped Jason Kidd and hopes Devin Harris can develop into the Eastern Conference version of Tony Parker. They are very young, and he’d also love to get rid of Vince Carter for some young talent. They’ll finish higher than this, but it’s just difficult to figure out where they’ll fit in.
14. New York Knicks
It’s almost impossible to get a handle on these mismatched players, bloated contracts and new coach in Mike D’Antoni. Foremost among the problems is Stephon Marbury, who stands out like a raspberry on the roster. If Donnie Walsh can somehow unload him and D’Antoni gets this wacky bunch to buy in, they could cause damage to somebody besides themselves for a change.
15. Charlotte Bobcats
Larry Brown is back, presumably for the last time as an NBA coach. L.B. in North Carolina with absentee president Michael Jordan make for strange bedfellows, not to mention this young team with little or no fan base. There is talent with Emeka Okafor, Ray Felton, Gerald Wallace and Sean May, but this is a bad franchise and that’s too much to overcome in a balanced East.
Source — FOX Sports