Teams in no particular order. Depth charts from Yahoo! Sports. Celtics PG Rondo/Robinson SG Allen/Daniels SF Pierce/Gaffney PF Garnett/Harangody C O'Neil/Davis Nets PG Harris/Farmar SG Lee/Morrow SF Williams/Outlaw PF Favors/Boone C Lopes/Petro Knicks PG Felton/Douglas SG Walker/Azubuike SF Gallinari/Fields PF Randolph/Chandler C Amare/Turiaf 76ers PG Holiday/Williams SG Turner/Green SF Iggy/Kopono PF Young/SMith C Brand/Speights Raptors PG Calderon/Jack SG Barbosa/Belinelli SF DeRozan/Kleiza PF Evans/Johnson C Bargnani/Dorsey Bulls PG Rose/Watson SG Brewer/Korver SF Deng/Johnson PF Boozer/Gibson C Noah/Thomas Cavs PG Williams/Gibson SG Parker/West SF Moon/Green PF Hickson/Jamison C Varejao/Powe Pistons PG Stuckey/Bynum SG Hamilton/Gordon SF Prince/Daye PF Villanueva/Wilcox C Wallace/Maxiel Pacers PG Ford/Price SG Jones/Rush SF Granger/Dunleavy PF Murphy/Hansbrough C Hibbert/Foster Bucks PG Jennings/Dooling SG Salmons/Delfino SF Maggette/Ilyasova PF Gooden/Mbah a Moute C Bogut/Brockman Hawks PG Bibby/Teague SG Johnson/Crawford SF Williams/Smith PF Smith/Evans C Horford/Pachulia Bobcats PG Augustin/Livingston SG Jackson/Carroll SF Wallace/McGuire PF Tyrus Thomas/Najera C Diop (Dampier/Muhammed) Heat PG Chalmers SG Wade/Miller SF LeBron/Butler PF Bosh/Haslem C Anthony/Ilgauskas Orlando PG Nelson/Duhon SG Carter/REdick SF Pietrus/QRich PF Lewis/Anderson C Howard/Gortat Wizards PG Wall/Hinrich SG Arenas/Hinrich SF Thornton/Young PF Blatche/Yi C McGee/Armstrong
The obvious elite: Miami, Boston, Orlando, Atlanta The next tier: Bulls, Bucks The next tier: Philly, Charlotte, Knicks (yes, they look pretty good on paper)
Boston's not obviously elite. They lost their best perimeter defender, the architect of their defense and got a year older. They also benefited from Lebron giving up midway through their playoff series. Atlanta's not elite yet either. I wouldn't even list them as contenders until they prove otherwise and they have a new coach and a new system to get used to. Orlando and Miami are the only two "elite" teams, and Orlando didn't do anything to improve after losing to an old Celtics team. I'm thinking they probably cave to the Heat the same way. Bulls, Bucks, Atlanta, and Boston are all right there together.
Yeah, Boston will miss Allen, but I'm not sure they are going to all of a sudden forget how to play defense now that T-squared is gone. Also, is it every team that got a year older, or just Boston?
Boston is the EC champions, lost in the finals. They have their big 3 intact along with Rondo. They lost Kendrick Perkins to injury (maybe he'll be back this year) and found a more than capable replacement in Jermaine O'Neil. O'Neil had an 18 PER last season and is a very good defender in his own right. 14/7 in 28 minutes vs. Perkins' 10/8 (15 PER) in 28 minutes. I wouldn't declare them "finished" or somehow in decline until otherwise proven. 4 of the best 6 players on the Bulls & Hawks are on the Hawks (Johnson, Smith, Horford, Crawford, Rose, Boozer). Position by position, the only clear advantage is Rose at PG over Bibby.
Pretty much ya. We could be fighting for the 4th spot with the Bucks and the Hawks. Yes I said the Bucks. They are very deep! Don't over look them. Bogut comes back and I am not counting on anything from redd! This team could be very good. I dont think the Knicks are there yet. Maybe 9th or 10th. I dont think they make the playoffs yet. I see Charlotte and Philly competing making the playoffs.
i would drop atlanta from elite to the next tier down with the bulls. then i would drop the bucks down a tier to being the last potentially relevant team and not worry about listing any more than those 6.
Way to make excuses for LeFail. How about you give Bostons' defense some credit ? They did a great job on Bryant and Howard, did they give up too ? No they didn't they have a great team defense. The big 4 is still intact, Rondo is only gonna get better which is pretty scary considering how good he is already. KG when healthy is still a top flight power forward, Pierce is still a top flight small forward, Ray Allen can still stroke it, he just had an off series against the Lakers. JO will give them some more scoring and rebounding inside, they will add more depth to their bench and they will be set. Boston is the tea, to beat in the East until proven otherwise.
I think Boston, Orlando, and Miami are the elite in the East. The Hawks and Bulls are next after that. If they have good seasons, they could join the top three. I'm skeptical of Milwaukee. Maybe I'm just not very familiar with their players. When I looked at their roster, the thing that struck me was how bereft it was of top-level talent. Brandon Jennings is really good, but I don't think he's put it all together yet. I'll believe Salmons can put together an entire season like he did for Milwaukee or us in '09 when I see it. Most everyone else on their roster looks like a role-player to me. (Albeit very good ones). I think Scott Skiles might be the best nothing-to-something coach in the NBA. It's his niche. I could be wrong, but I see them in the bottom half of the east, and a small chance that they won't make it altogether.
