NBA Previews: Atlantic
Uncategorized October 22nd. 2007, 4:22pm
The NBA season begins on Oct. 30, and we’re going to be rolling out previews beginning today up until the season begins. Remember Yardwork? We’ll be having one of those during the hoops season, too. Just to whet your appetite: In the East, we’re obviously bullish on the stacked Celtics, not so much on overspending Orlando; out West, we’ve bought our tickets for the Sonics bandwagon (playoffs, baby!) and think Kobe and the Lakers miss out on the postseason. The asterisk means we’ve got ‘em in the playoffs.
*Boston Celtics – The key won’t be KG, or Pierce, or even Jesus Shuttleworth. We reserve that title for Rajon Rondo, the blogging point guard who just needs to be as effective as Ron Harper was with the Lakers for these guys to win 50-55 games and be a top three seed in the East. We would caution against any title-talk, though; these guys are wearing name tags in practice to get to know each other. Assuming this depth chart is accurate, the 10-man rotation would six new faces. Still, without question, the most talented team in the East.
*New Jersey Nets – Vince isn’t jumping over anymore 7-footers, Jason Kidd will be 35 before the playoffs begin, and Richard Jefferson has missed large portions of the last two seasons. Why the optimism? Nenad Krstic is back from an ACL injury, and even a blind Jamaal Magloire is a warmer body at center than Jason Collins. We’ll wait for rookie Sean Williams to grow up before hyping him.
*New York Knicks – Don’t laugh. Please? Ok, fine, we’ll permit a snicker. But we’ll get the last laugh when Isiah gets these guys to the playoffs. Here’s why: arguably the best PF/C combo in the East in Randolph and Curry; a potent backcourt combo of the gregarious Starbury and Jamal Crawford, and a high-energy bench (David Lee! Nate Robinson!). The talent’s there to do it … assuming off-the court distractions don’t derail this motley crew.
Toronto Raptors – Love us some Bryan Colangelo, but we’re not sure these guys improved like the Knicks and Celtics did. Solid core, good role players, and the star in Chris Bosh. We’re rooting for these guys, but feel like they take a step back.
Philadelphia 76ers – No. Liked what they were building … until a disasterous draft. Jason Smith will be lucky to have the productive career of Christian Laettner, Thaddeus Young plays the same position as Philly’s best player, and it’s beguiling that they drafted not-remotely-ready Daequan Cook, only to trade him for a 2nd round pick … in 2009. This team needs help now. And got none. Why didn’t they draft Nick Young or Sean Williams? When your PF-C combo is Reggie “I Grab Balls, That’s What I Do” Evans and Sam Dalembert, you don’t win 40 games.
28 Responses to “NBA Previews: Atlantic”
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October 22nd, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Celtics will not go to the playoffs
TBL is on the bandwagon already
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:32 pm
The Raptors are a very young team, and they kept their core intact and in turn took a step back? I don’t see that. If anything they should be better than last year. Bargnani, Bosh, that Spanish PG dude, Garbajosa, plus they picked up Kapono. They have a lot of scoring options.
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Over half the league makes the playoffs…the Celtics should make it even if they underperform this season
I was actually stunned to see an NBA preview here, ever since I stopped following the league religiously like I did when Jordan was playing the start of the season always catches me by surprise
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:37 pm
I really like the Knicks for the playoffs in the East as well. I can’t see the off the court stuff being a distraction because Isiah has collected a crew of people that have little to no concern or knowledge to what the rest of the world thinks of them (except for David Lee and everyone in NY loves him anyway…he’s white!!!…I kid I kid…he actually does something the rest of team doesn’t do…thats play defense.)
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Its all about Phoenix this year….and by all about Phoenix I mean getting me all excited and ripping my heart out of my chest and jamming it with a broken pencil
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:38 pm
It’s way too early to tell how good the Celts will be, (in other words, I think the hype is a bit overblown) but I would be shocked if they don’t make the playoffs.
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:46 pm
I’ve never hated an NBA team until this year, with all of the hype the Celtics are getting I can’t wait to see them fall flat on their faces, they’re no better than a 5 seed and out in the first round of the playoffs.
And I don’t want to hear being a 5 seed wouldn’t be them falling flat on their faces, the media and all the Celtics fans already have them in the Finals.
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:47 pm
The Curry/Randolph combo is good despite the fact that neither of them can play defense worth a damn. They can put up points, but neither can stop anything.
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Glad to see I’m not the only crazy person that thinks the Knicks make the playoffs this year
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:54 pm
On the Raptors, I can side with the argument that they have a solid core of players with a lot of young talent, but the same goes for the Atlanta Hawks. People have been waiting for their young players to step up and support the 1 or 2 solid veterans on the team, even if they’re just role players and not starters, but they haven’t done it yet. Toronto is still a few seasons out of the playoffs.
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:00 pm
“Toronto is still a few seasons out of the playoffs.”
Did you completely miss the 2006-2007 season?
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Seriously. If you didn’t notice, they had homecourt last year giggy. I think there is a hilariously huge gap between the raptors and the lowly Hawks.
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Outside of Lee and Balkman, is there anybody on the Knicks capable of getting a rebound?
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:34 pm
David Lee. He was one of the best rebounders in the NBA last year.
Randolph wasn’t bad, either. Both top 15, though they missed a bunch of games.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/bycategory?cat=Fielding&sort=26&qualified=0&conference=NBA&year=season_2006
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:34 pm
While Curry and Randolph will be great on the offensive end, they will have no presence at all in the lane. Those two are probably the worst starting combination of defenders in the league. Teams will be getting in the paint at will on them. I think only 3 teams at most go from this division and the Raptors will be in and the knicks staying at home. I actually would put the raptors 2 and think they might be able to challenge the celtics because I just don’t think Allen and KG will be able to dial it up for 82 games.
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:40 pm
The Knicks are horrible. I know it is only preseason but the Celtics beat them by 40 the other night. The Knicks scored 61 points. And it wasn’t because they were playing scrubs. Isiah Thomas is a 6 foot, thinner, Art Shell.
I don’t know why anyone would expect the Celtics to fall on their faces. Unless an injury hits KG, Pierce, Allen or Rondo this team is going to be very good. Ray Allen was the 5th leading scorer in the league last year and he is the Celtics third option. He lit up the scoreboard playing for the Sonics with the best defender and help chasing him all night. Now he is likely to face a so so defender and he is rarely going to get doubled. So far in the preseason he has been getting open looks on a regular basis. Teams have to find ways to slow down KG and Pierce before worrying about Ray Allen.
The Celtics don’t have the most depth but nobody else has three guys as good as the Celtics do. Not in this division.
BTW, Boston is hoping Scott Pollard can be the back-up C. But he is out with an ankle injury at the moment. And yes I know Scot Pollard sucks. Show me a back-up seven footer who doesn’t.
Unless the injuries pile up, the Celtics will be no worse than a 3 seed. Detroit is going to be very good and people are still looking at the Bulls. Still not sure if the Bulls have the scorers to be more than a 4 seed. If they get Kobe …….
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:21 pm
As a Pistons fan, I hope Kobe doesn’t land in chicago. I think the East in general hopes he doesn’t end up in chicago.
I don’t see why so many people are on the celtic bandwagon. After the big three, who do they have? Those guys are gonna be worn out at the end of the season. All it takes is one of those guys to get hurt, and they’re toast.
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:14 pm
No team can sustain an injury to an important player and not be “toast”. Detroit can’t afford to lose Billups or Rasheed. They do and they are toast. So I don’t really see how you can use such a comment only with Boston. Tim Duncan goes down, the Spurs are toast. Dirk or Howard go down, Dallas is toast. Does that mean they are bound for mediocrity?
There is no doubt that the Pistons have more depth and a better bench. But having 3 studs like the Celtics do counts for something. A lot actually. And the bench isn’t horrible. Tony Allen is about as good of a two way player as you will see coming off an NBA bench.
I’m confused, was Danny Ainge not supposed to go out and get KG and Ray Allen? And if that isn’t enough to make them players in the East, what would make them players?
When you compare the Celtics roster to both the Mavericks and Spurs it compares very favorably, all the way thru the benches. Dallas has Dirk, Terry, Howard, Stackhouse and Jones and little else in terms of offensive firepower. San Antonio has their own big 3 and little else. Depending on which crappy player Pop decides to start at the 5, San Antonio’s bench is an old folks home (Barry, Finley, Horry ) and a bunch of duds like Matt Bonner and Francisco Elson.
It has been proven over and over and over again, throw a few stars together, get some guys willing to play to their role (ie, not shooting) and play some D and you can win titles. You don’t have to be deep like the 1964 Celtics to win. The Celtics won 3 titles in the 80s with the likes of Greg Kite, Jerry Sitching and Scott Wedman coming off their bench. It was Bird, McHale and Parrish doing the heavy lifting.
There isn’t a team in the league that can sustain injuries to their studs or one that has talent spilling off their benches. Attitude and work ethic are much more important and nobody can judge how the Celtics are going to fare in these areas until the season starts. You don’t meausure what the Cs need from their bench by looking at names on a piece of paper.
Hard to believe that all the Spurs success has yet to prove to NBA fans that you can win without 7 college all americans that everyone has heard of riding your pine.
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:36 pm
why would KG and the big 3 have to ‘dial it up’ for 82 games? It seems like the smart move is to just miss 10 games (staggered, obviously) to help rest up for the postseason.
When KG has had teammates in Minny, he’s been good. That’s in the West. Now he’s in the East with a better cast than he ever had in Minny?
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Decide who WONT make the playoffs
Hawks
Bobcats
Bucks
Sixers
Pacers
Knicks
Nets (Kidd and Vince will be traded)
That Leaves (seeds)
Raptors (7)
Celtics (2)
Pistons (3)
Cavaliers (5)
Bulls (1)
Heat (4)
Wizards (8)
Magic (6)
Opening Round (CAPS= Winner)
BULLS – Magic
CELTICS- Raptors
PISTONS – Magic
HEAT- Cavaliers
Semis (CAPS= Winner)
BULLS – Heat
PISTONS – Celtics
Finals (CAPS= Winner)
BULLS – Pistons
Just a hunch….but Celtics need a piece or two as they are an injury away from being a non factor…Maybe in 09 though
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Maybe The Celtics can get Spree though to fortify their bench..I think I saw his kids at the soup kitchen the other day trading their government cheese for some new shoes
October 22nd, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Well why don’t we talk about how good Chicago would be if they lost Deng or how good Detroit would be if they lost Billups?
I really don’t get why people use lines like this to rag on a team. Its like saying the Patriots are one injury to Tom Brady from stinking.
I’ll say it again, there isn’t a team in the East that can deal with a major blow and be a factor. That includes everyone, not just the Celtics. So can we stop talking about the Cs woes once the injury bug hits?
October 22nd, 2007 at 8:07 pm
Comparing the Celtics to the Spurs is hilarious. You know their coach is Doc Rivers right? Do you honestly believe KG is anywhere near the player Duncan is? I mean really? I’d also take Manu over both Allen and Pierce any day of the week. That guy is an absolutely great player, and a lot of it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. Scoring isn’t everything. Pierce and Allen are basically scorers. Not to mention Tony Parker is probably one of the best PG’s in the league, whether you accept it or not. Bowen is the best defender and a great open shooter (although not as good last year). The great coaching SA does utilizes their bench to the full potential, and those guys deliver. (Finley, Umberto, Horry, etc.). The Spurs and the Celts are not close. Don’t kid yourself. The Spurs are the best team of this generation.
October 22nd, 2007 at 8:25 pm
All I said was that the Spurs and Celtics compare favorably and I was talking about on paper. Wasn’t talking the coach or how guys are used.
The Spurs have championship chemistry. The Celtics don’t. But the Celtics have 3 better players than the Spurs 3 best.
Funny how much respect KG loses when he tosses on a green jersey.
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:38 pm
TBL–Don’t sleep on the Hawks. Yeah, I said it. I hope you’ve got them in the playoffs when you preview the Southeast. Okay, so they have 7 swingmen and no center–but still…
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Finally someone counting the Knicks in the playoffs. They will definitely wrap up the 6th through 8th seed, and contend for the title in three years from now.
This year the Celts have the East gift-wrapped. It’s over I’m afraid to say.
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:53 pm
The East isn’t gift wrapped even if they stay healthy. As has been pointed out, Detroit and Chicago are pretty good.
As for the Knicks, you must see a pretty drastic roster overhaul on the horizon to say they are going to be a winning a title any time soon. The Knicks roster is an absolute mess. They have nobody who can consistently make shots and they have a lug of a center who is so out of shape that he has NEVER played an effective full game. He doesn’t have it in him.
GIven the fact that they are coached by a world class racist, there is a good chance their most effective player, David Lee will get traded for Darius Miles any second. Shocked it hasn’t happened already.
October 22nd, 2007 at 11:32 pm
Do not sleep on Reggie Evans. If he’s a starter all year (he should be), he will lead the league in rebounding. You heard it here first. Grab here for your fantasy teams.
And they didn’t trade Cook for just the 2nd rounder. They swapped him for Jason Smith. It was a great deal for them. They picked up an extra pick and got the guy they really wanted.