Eastern Predictions (post #1) Playoff teams New Jersey - if Morning stays healthy. Detroit - If Rip and Billups step up there defense and they get a better scoring sf, they will be the best in the east. Orlando - Hunter will be the force inside magic need, defensively at least, tmac needs to play at least 75 games. Indiana - the loss of Brad Miller will hurt, but Scott Pollard is a nice player to have in his place. Artest will become more of a scorer. Phily - Grob is a nice addition, which gives them another scoring threat. New Orleans - would have been ahead of philly, but Baron Davis is just to much of a risk of getting injured. Magloire will have a breakout year. Boston - Paul Pierce will be just enough to take this team into the playoffs. Antoine Walker will need to prove he is not overated for this team to advance in the playoffs. Washington - Gilbert Arenas and Larry Hughes will be a dominant duo at pg/sg and that along with great play of Kwame Brown will get this team into the playoffs. Just Missed Chicago - The team brought in a veteran in Scottie Pippen, which won't be enough for this young team to succeed. Toronto - If Vince Carter stays healthy this team will have a shot, but Antonio Davis needs to prove he's not over the hill.
Atlantic: 1. Nets 2. 76ers 3. Magic 4. Heat 5. Celtics 6. Knicks 7. Wizards Central: 1. Hornets 2. Pistions 3. Raptors 4. Bulls (ooooh I am an eternal optimist!) 5. Pacers 6. Hawks 7. Cavs 8. Bucks
1. New Jersey - Not a suprise, they've been here before and only added to their roster. 2. Detroit - Darko will not be a huge effect on the team but Big Ben and Co. will do whatever it takes, with defense being number one. Their bench is one of the best in the east so look for that to get them back in games. 3. Indiana - Along with Detriot, the Pacers have a deep team. Jermaine resigning was the key for their offseason. If Ron Artest avoids suspension then they have the chance to reach number 3. Reggie Miller won't help out like he used to but hes still a good asset off the bench. 4. Orlando - Tmac now has Gooden and Howard to help out on the boards. The Magic still lack star power in the point guard position but they can get around it. Maybe this year they will get out of the first round. Steven Hunter could determine the success of the Magic 5. Philadelphia - AI has some more help this season and his team could easily slide up into a homecourt advantage position. 6. New Orleans - Terrible coach. I would have ranked them higher but I have a feeling it will be a long season. 7. Boston - Paul Pierce is their franchise player, while Walker just jacks up 3's. He will only hurt the Celtics down the stretch. 8. Chicago or Toronto- This position is open to anyone in the east. If the Bulls develop then they are in. If VC is healthy its also open to him and his Raps. #8 is for anyone but the Bucks, because they have no chance.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Playoff teams New Jersey - if Morning stays healthy. </div> How does Mourning staying healthy change anything, they have everyone important back. I don't think Mourning will have a big role in their sucess.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BC:</div><div class="quote_post">How does Mourning staying healthy change anything, they have everyone important back. I don't think Mourning will have a big role in their sucess.</div> Amen to that...Mourning just made the team stronger...with or without Mourning, Nets will be tops in the East IMHO
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting InNETSweTrust:</div><div class="quote_post">Amen to that...Mourning just made the team stronger...with or without Mourning, Nets will be tops in the East IMHO</div> Agreed, the only way Mourning really helps them is when playing Western Conference teams. He's a good defender, but in the East he'll have no one to defend, what good is a center who has to cover a perimeter player. If a team like the Sixers played against the Nets and had a lineup of Snow, AI, Robinson, kenny Thomas, and Coleman, who would he cover? But against the West he'll be able to help out the team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BC:</div><div class="quote_post">How does Mourning staying healthy change anything, they have everyone important back. I don't think Mourning will have a big role in their sucess.</div> Pistons added Milicic and Prince has developed and the Nets lost Mutumbo. In order for them to be the best in the east mourning is going to have to play good and stay healthy. Jaron Collins just will not get the job done.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting mcgrdmagic:</div><div class="quote_post">Pistons added Milicic and Prince has developed and the Nets lost Mutumbo. In order for them to be the best in the east mourning is going to have to play good and stay healthy. Jaron Collins just will not get the job done.</div> Milicic wont get much minutes, even if he does somehow get them he wont be able to do much in his rookie year. Darko needs a couple of years before he can get to be the player he can be a good player. Prince played well in the playoffs because Philly left him open to much, teams are aware he can punish them so it wont happen again like that. New Jersey are still better than Detroit, in the regular season provided there are no major injuries, and definitely in the playoffs as they proved last season (4-0). And it's Jason Collins, not Jarron, Jarron is in Utah and isn't quite as good as Jason .
1. Nets- Look for Richard Jefferson to become the scorer the Nets need. Though they have lots of talent, Alonzo Mourning will not be there to carry them to the finals, 55-27, East Finals Elimination 2. Pacers- A lot of people say we got worse this off season, i say we got better. The hiring on Rick Carlisle is all we needed to have a successful season, and trip to the NBA Finals, 53-29 3. Pistons- I guess Larry Brown isn't that much of a downgrade from Carlisle. The Pistons have had a good off season, but still don't have the scorer they need to push them to the next level, 50-32 2nd round elimination 4. Magic- Juwan Howard coming can only be a good thing, and i also see drew gooden improving. 50-32. They get to the 2nd round but aren't good enough yet for the east finals 5. Sixers- didn't do much good this off season from what i can think of, allen iverson can again lead them to the playoffs, but to an uugly 1st round defeat, 47-35 6. Celtics- Again didn't do too much in the off season that i can recall, but Pierce and Walker can lead them to a 1st round exit, 46-38 7. Heat- I think Dwyane Wade is exactly what they need to get a playoff push going. This year i think they'll make it, but butler and wade still need to develope somemore to get to the 2nd round. 42-40 8. Hornets- 37-45, not to pretty for a playoff seed but after the Heat, comes the sucky teams. Without Baron Davis, i think, for most or all of the season they will have to rely on what's left of Jamal Mashburn
oh come on...you know very well that Jason and Aaron gets the job done in the East...they took Mourning in to defend Tim and Shaq...they don't even need Zo to start...he won't play for majority of the game...they'll preserve him for the postseason...especially the Finals...
1. New Jersey - They have the X Factor of that team returning in Jason Kidd. It's relatively the same team as it has been the last 2 years, and, yea, look what happened, NBA Finals. They upgraded the center position though by adding Mourning. This team is still very good and the scariest thing about them, I think, is the fact that Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin still haven't showed their full potential. 2. Detroit - Again, it's still the same team for the most part. They have the best defensive player in the league, and that's what makes them so good is thier defense. They have Richard Hamilton, who just continues to improve. Darko, who I think will do some good things occasionally this year, as, he will be able to stretch the defense cause of his outside shooting ability. Billups is still there, as he had a hell of a post season last year prior to getting injured. This team is just as good as they were last year, and, to top it all off, they have an even better coach with Larry Brown, which, I think will help somewhat. 3. Orlando - They will finally have a breakout year. TMac is improving every aspect of his game consistently and, it's scary, but, I don't think he's reached his full potential yet. Juwan Howard is exactly what they needed as they finally have a #2 scorer and that will take a lot of pressure off of TMac's shoulders. Gooden and Giricek will be much improved cause they'll now know Doc's system and they'll be more used to Eastern style basketball. But, also, the most important thing, they'll have a year experience under their belts and that'll be important. 4. Philly - Iverson is back and they got someone to compliment him finally with Glenn Robinson. The only thing holding them back is the coach. Him and AI aren't gonna be seeing eye to eye much this year. 5. Chicago - This would have initially been the Celtics spot, but, due to saying bye bye to Walker and Delk, I think they've dropped completely off the radar. They downgraded to LaFrentz. But, onto Chicago. They have LOADS of young talent in Crawford, Curry, and Chandler. They have 2 veteran leaders in Rose and Pippen. And, most of all, they're learning how to win and how to play together. They're big men are getting better all the time, Crawford had shown signs of becoming the franchise point guard last year and those trends haved just continued to the preseason. This is a very good team. Like I said though, should have been the 6 seed, but, due to Boston being stupid, they jump a spot. 6. New Orleans - They went from being an Eastern contender to a semi-pretender. They got rid of coach Paul Silas, huge mistake. Huge. They got Tim Floyd. What were they thinking, I dunno. But, due to coaching change, and a stupid one at that, they're no longer as much of a contender. Period. 7. Milwaukee - Yea yea, they got rid of Cassell and Payton, so what. There was still talent there beyond them. They have quite possibly the best outside shooter in the game today with Micheal Redd. They have Tim Thomas, another excellent perimeter player WITH size, always nice to have. They have an extremely explosive player in Desmond Mason. And, they have TJ Ford, who, will only get better the more experience he gets playing point. His jumper will get better and he still has unbelieveable quickness and ball handling ability. 8. Truthfully, I don't know here. It could be a number of teams. It could be the Heat, who have the talent now, especially with Odom, a forward with PG handling and shooting ablities. They have Butler, who will get better. They also have Grant and rookie Wade. Good team possibly. It could also be Toronto, as long as Vince stays healthy. So, I think it's gonna be a toss up between them. I think it's gonna be Miami in the long run, but, I don't wanna say it outright quite yet. They have the talent in Wade, Butler, Grant, and Odom. This team could surprise. Who knows.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BC:</div><div class="quote_post">Agreed, the only way Mourning really helps them is when playing Western Conference teams. He's a good defender, but in the East he'll have no one to defend, what good is a center who has to cover a perimeter player. If a team like the Sixers played against the Nets and had a lineup of Snow, AI, Robinson, kenny Thomas, and Coleman, who would he cover? But against the West he'll be able to help out the team.</div> Okay, yes I agree that Mourning is a very good defender, but lets not forget about his shooting and rebounding ability. Did we forget about Mourning's 15.7 ppg, and 8 rpg season in 2001-2002? If he stays healthy and plays 28-30 minutes a game it isn't so hard to think he can put up those same numbers this year is it? Yes he's been out for a while and he's been through some hards things, but this guy is as competitive in the game of basketball as anyone else in the league. I also talked to a friend of mine who sat next to Alonzo Mourning's kidney specialist on a plane, and he said that Zo would be back to tip top shape this year. And who cares about who he has to cover in the East? For example, on the Sixers, he would guard Coleman and be just as effective thanguarding Centers from the west. He could cover perimeter centers in the past; maybe he lost a step or two but I still think he can do it reasonably effectively. It's not like this is Dikembe Mutombo we're dealing with here who's 37 years old, was never really mobile enough to guard the perimeter center, and is in the twilight of his career. This is Alonzo Mourning who is a 33 years old and still has a decent amount of gas left in his tank. Anyways my point is that Mourning is still an offensive presense. He should take a load off Kidd's back with the scoring, and Kidd can focus more on getting teamates involved(which obviously he's been doing a great job at for a long time, but imagine how much better he can make the Nets) and shooting less because sometimes he's inconsistent with his shot. Utilizing Mourning as a higher percentage shooter, he would make the Nets a better fg% team meaning the team would most likely score more points. He'll also be a defensive presense both against the perimeter centers and the post up centers working down low. This defensive presense will force teams to shoot a lower fg%. In conclusion I think Mourning will do more than "just defending Western Conferance centers" this year.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting JGNYK:</div><div class="quote_post">Okay, yes I agree that Mourning is a very good defender, but lets not forget about his shooting and rebounding ability. Did we forget about Mourning's 15.7 ppg, and 8 rpg season in 2001-2002? If he stays healthy and plays 28-30 minutes a game it isn't so hard to think he can put up those same numbers this year is it? Yes he's been out for a while and he's been through some hards things, but this guy is as competitive in the game of basketball as anyone else in the league. I also talked to a friend of mine who sat next to Alonzo Mourning's kidney specialist on a plane, and he said that Zo would be back to tip top shape this year. And who cares about who he has to cover in the East? For example, on the Sixers, he would guard Coleman and be just as effective thanguarding Centers from the west. He could cover perimeter centers in the past; maybe he lost a step or two but I still think he can do it reasonably effectively. It's not like this is Dikembe Mutombo we're dealing with here who's 37 years old, was never really mobile enough to guard the perimeter center, and is in the twilight of his career. This is Alonzo Mourning who is a 33 years old and still has a decent amount of gas left in his tank. Anyways my point is that Mourning is still an offensive presense. He should take a load off Kidd's back with the scoring, and Kidd can focus more on getting teamates involved(which obviously he's been doing a great job at for a long time, but imagine how much better he can make the Nets) and shooting less because sometimes he's inconsistent with his shot. Utilizing Mourning as a higher percentage shooter, he would make the Nets a better fg% team meaning the team would most likely score more points. He'll also be a defensive presense both against the perimeter centers and the post up centers working down low. This defensive presense will force teams to shoot a lower fg%. In conclusion I think Mourning will do more than "just defending Western Conferance centers" this year.</div> Good post, but have you seen the Nets halfcourt offense? They never work the ball inside. With the Heat in '01 he was the teams secondary scoring option, with the Nets he will be 4th or possibly 5th. Defensively I don't think he's quick enough to guard anyone on the peirmeter and is he still strong enough to bang on the inside with guys like Brian Grant and Eddy Curry.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BC:</div><div class="quote_post">Good post, but have you seen the Nets halfcourt offense? They never work the ball inside. With the Heat in '01 he was the teams secondary scoring option, with the Nets he will be 4th or possibly 5th. Defensively I don't think he's quick enough to guard anyone on the peirmeter and is he still strong enough to bang on the inside with guys like Brian Grant and Eddy Curry.</div> Well I guess we will see if he'll be quick enough to guard perimeter centers or if he's strong enough to bang inside with the big boys. He's done it in the past, I think he can, but we'll see. Offensively I still think that he can put up those 15/8 numbers with the appropriate minutes, but I agree with you that if he's the 4th option it isnt possible to have that great of numbers. And one of the reasons the Nets got Mourning was to get a guy who can work the ball inside, so watch for the Nets to use their halfcourt offense a little bit differently this year.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BC:</div><div class="quote_post">Good post, but have you seen the Nets halfcourt offense? They never work the ball inside. With the Heat in '01 he was the teams secondary scoring option, with the Nets he will be 4th or possibly 5th. Defensively I don't think he's quick enough to guard anyone on the peirmeter and is he still strong enough to bang on the inside with guys like Brian Grant and Eddy Curry.</div> the Nets halfcourt offense? Kidd sometimes does that drive and dish...Zo will receive a fair amount of those drop passes for an easy slam...perimeter? they have a lot of perimeter defenders...and i still believe that he can at least slide off the pick or at least challenge the J
I have seen a few people putting the Celtics outside the playoff picture..but when I thought about the trade I still reckon they will make the playoffs Just like the Sixers with AI and Pierce with Boston...As long as those teams have those two players they will make the playoffs...They just refuse to give up and have that will to win. If Raef can give the Celtics 14,7 and 2...they will be in ok shape...
