You can't say the Hornets or the Bulls, because they're expected to perform better. I guess you can say the Bobcats. They now have a go-to scorer in Morrison, and they'll turn a few heads and make the playoffs (if they can stay healthy).
I like the Bobcats chances at making them 7th or 8th seed if they stay healthy, but thats a big if. Emeka, Wallace and Knight all have a history of injuries keeping them out for a while. May was also out for a while last year, though that was just one injury to his knee that kept him out for the year. Felton(who I expect to start), Morrison, May and Brezec are still there for the Bobcats if those 3 get injured, doesn't look like enough though to make the playoffs though. It'll be a few years before they can make a long run in the playoffs.
can i say the Kings? i mean they barely made the playoffs last season and with a full training camp and chemistry, this team has the talent to do some damage.
Don't know if you can consider this a suprise but...My money's on the Rockets because Shane Battier brings what they lost in Sura: a player who hustles, does the dirty work, and brings intangibles that won't show up on the score sheet. Ofcourse this is assuming T-Mac can stay healthy. My other suprise team is the Bulls not being a top 5 seeded team in the East: it's easy to say "they're building on their success from last season", but we already said that the year before, and they barely squeezed into the playoffs as it is. They gave a dormant Heat team a run for their money to say, but once the Heat woke up, well, we all saw game 6 (and it wasn't pretty). Ben Wallace will bring more than Chandler for sure, but he does not make an already great defensive team better, especially one that can crowd the paint like Chicago. He can be the missing piece to a team lacking a good interior defender but he's not gonna be the guy that can put a team on his back. All I'm saying is, don't be suprised if they don't live up to contender/top 5 seed in the East.
Kings- With Bibby and Artest this team will win atleast 44 games if the team stays healthy. Kevin Martin is also getting better and can produce when he is a starter. Warriors- If Baron Davis and Jason Richardson are healthy the Warriors will make the playoffs. Yes, I said it, this year is finnaly going to be the year the Warriors make it to the playoffs. Maybe as the 6-8th seed. Bobcats- Adam Morrison, Raymond Felton, Emeka Okafor, and Sean May, with a bunch of young stars the Bobcats will make noise in the Eastern Confrence. The East isn't very good with the expection of 5 teams.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting vcwannabe15:</div><div class="quote_post">Kings- With Bibby and Artest this team will win atleast 44 games if the team stays healthy. Kevin Martin is also getting better and can produce when he is a starter. </div> I'll go even farther and say they will win at least 50 games if they stay healthy, Bibby has lost weight this offseason to play better defense. Brad has been working hard in the USA. and kevin martin will now get to start. plus, adelman only played about 7 ppl. the rotation will be a lot better, i hope Quincy Douby gets PT.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Gametime?:</div><div class="quote_post">I'll go even farther and say they will win at least 50 games if they stay healthy, Bibby has lost weight this offseason to play better defense. Brad has been working hard in the USA. and kevin martin will now get to start. plus, adelman only played about 7 ppl. the rotation will be a lot better, i hope Quincy Douby gets PT.</div> The Kings play in the tough Western Confrence. With the Suns, Mavs, Spurs, and Rockets. The Kings won't win there division. I predict that they will get the 7th seed.
i disagree with that but we'll just have to wait and see. after a season like last year i understand how ppl can be low on this team (Kings).
Atlanta Hawks. They've made some important acquisitions this off-season, and for once they were the right pieces for the team. Josh Smith and Marvin Williams are going to be a pretty tough front court if they develop as planned.
I'm gonna go with the Rockets being a suprise team. They were a playoff team a couple years ago, but with the injuries of Yao and T-mac, they fell apart last season, but now with Yao improved a lot, and if T-mac plays the same again, they will become a playoff team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Gametime?:</div><div class="quote_post">i disagree with that but we'll just have to wait and see. after a season like last year i understand how ppl can be low on this team (Kings).</div> The Kings are one of my favorite teams, I'm hoping for something to happen like that.
I think the rockets are expected to be good for sure, as well as the kings. both are in everyone's playoff tree right now.
I think the Hawks are going to surprise a lot of people this year. They added that pure point guard that they needed, so they no longer need to rely on Royale Ivey to run the point and they can also slide Joe Johnson to the 2 where he belongs. Marvin Williams, I think, is going to have a huge year. Josh Smith took some big strides offensively near the end of last season, showing off some three point range, and I think he's going to be a 15/8 type of player this year. They have a nice frontcourt of players in Zaza Pachulia, Shelden Williams, and Lorenzen Wright. They're backcourt has a bunch of talent as well. The aforementioned Joe Johnson will have an even better year this year, Josh Childress is going to be very solid in a 6th man role again this year, Tyronn Lue should be a solid backup point guard, and Salim Stoudamire is instant offense off that bench for them. I really like the way this team is looking this year, and I think they could surprise some people. However...in order to do this, they're going to have to play some defense, and it's yet to be seen if they can do that.
i say the bucks with the CV pick up they now have a okay frontline and if mo williams stups up then they should be better than people expect. im not a homer but the t-wolves may turn a few heads as well with KG mike james and ricky D and if they can get a solid big man with foye living up to his hype they can make a serious run for the playoffs
t,wolves...no doubt..KG will have another MVP season..with foye, davis and james..they will surprise everybody except wolves fans..
I think Orlando will have a pretty decent season, the way they ended the season last year opened my eyes
