1. Celtics- they are the champs. lost Posey but should still be the favorites in the east with KG, Pierce, and Ray Allen 2. Magic- no major moves but kept their best guys together and added Pietres and Anthony Johnson to the mix. good pick ups 3. Cavs- this team goes as far as LeBron takes them and adding Mo Williams will help out alot and give LeBron some needed help offensively 4. Pistons- I know they are usually a top 2 team in the East but I just think they are getting a little old and a little less hungry. The Sixers gave them a little scare in the playoffs. They are still a pretty good team but will start to decline this year 5. Raptors- They were missing something last year..that was a big body downlow. and they got a good one in Jermaine O'Neal. Say what you want about JO being washed up but if he is healthy, I believe the Raptors will be tough. With JO and Bosh demanding attention in the paint, it should free up the many shooters on the team for easy points..I think they will be one of the highest scoring teams in the league this season 6. 76ers- Im not too sold on Elton Brand yet because of his injuries but he makes them a better team regardless. they showed signs late last season and in the playoffs and the city of Philadelphia is excited! now this is where it gets a bit tricky: 7. Wizards- always have a good team on paper but they never seem to get deep into the playoffs and I dont see that changing because they dont make any moves to get them over the top. Have one of the better starting 5's in the East though with Arenas Stevenson Butler Jamison and Haywood so they should make the playoffs but it isnt a sure thing anymore with the East getting better 8. Hawks- most surprising team last year. lost Childress but bringing back everyone else. bench got a bit better with the addition of veterans Evans and Flip Murray. Atlanta fans will come out and show support this season like they did in the playoffs..should give them a few more home wins that could get them in the playoffs but just like the Wizards, it isnt a sure thing 9. Heat- Wade looked like the Wade who played in the Finals against the Mavs in game 6 during the Olympics. but still, there is better competition in the NBA. point is that he looks healthy. Heat should be better with Beasley but I dont see him as a savior though. Wade, Marion, and Beasley should be good enough to be in the playoff race though, if healthy. P.S. I dont think there new coach is any good either 10. Nets- picked by many to be one of the worst teams in the league. But im a fan and will defend them of course lol I honestly dont think they will be that bad as people say. Harris and VC should be one of the better backcourts in the East. And unlike previous years, they have some depth. picked up some good defensive minded vets in Dooling, Najera, Simmons and Hayes and drafted some nice, young pieces in Lopez and CDR. Yi is a wildcard..if he can start at PF and play well that will be a huge plus. I think guys will be motivated enough to be in the playoff hunt P.S. VC cant take any nights off!!!!!
I hate to be a party pooper but there is no way the Nets finish above 13. I mean the roster, outside of Carter and Harris, consists of two things: useless veterans would were unwanted on their previous teams (Hayes, Najera, Hassell, Simmons, Swift, Dooling), or 1st, 2nd, maybe 3rd year guys we just don't know about (almost everyone else). And then you have Carter, who is the absolute last good player I'd want leading a bunch like this. Out of the whole roster, Devin Harris and maybe SWAT are guys I'd certainly take on my team. Disclaimer: I realize that this post has been rather negative toward the New Jersey Nets franchise. To avoid the massive swarm of hornets that is sure to attack me otherwise, let me assure you that this post was not meant to be baiting, mocking, annoying, ridiculing, trolling, chafing, nagging, nettling, pestering, vexing, badgering, browbeating, galling, terrorizing, hounding, or tormenting in any way and was made solely for the purpose of basketball discussion. Cheers!
Having a slew of young unknowns combined with one star player is a death sentence. If you don't believe me, ask the mid-decade Celtics.
I hate to say it, but that makes you sound ignorant. Yes, Stro and Hassell are useless, but Najera, Dooling and Hayes aren't useless. Hell those 3 are better than the bench of the 2004-2005 Celtics. So you'd take the rawest player on the Nets team? The young player that is the farthest away from consistently contributing to an NBA team is the one you would consider taking.
Didn't George Karl say that the departure of Najera was a bad thing for his team? And when did Keyon Dooling become an "unwanted player"?
Cpaw I wouldn't take him to be my starting PF. I like his defense and shot blocking ability off the bench. I wouldn't thrust him into an important role.
They were tanking? They strolled on in to San Antonio mid-March and beat them. They damn near beat Dallas on the road. They beat Houston on the road (albeit w/o Tmac or Yao). Now I'm not arguing that the team was any good; they were a disgrace to basketball. But if they were just packing it in, how'd they beat two of the best teams in the West that year? What does coaching have to do with it? Doc Rivers coached a 24 win team and a 66 win team in Boston in consecutive seasons. EDIT: In relation to Dooling and Hayes... how ARE they useful? Any more useful than Hassell or Swift? All four of them are scrubs IMO.
Well the Magic didn't make a sign-or-bust effort to keep Dooling this offseason IIRC. Najera leaving Denver is only a slightly bad thing because he's one of the few on that team who actually tried to play defense.
Yes Shit happens. In the NBA, the best team does not win every night. He is a horrible coach. Even George Karl would have had a hard time screwing up last season's Boston team. Coaching has a lot to do with it because a good coach can coax more out of a roster than a bad coach. Yeah, what good is a guy that shot .376 from 3 and scored 6.7 PPG in 15 MPG for Detroit? Or a guard that can put up 8 PPG in under 20 MPG. Putting Dooling and Hayes on the same low level as Hassell and Stro is just dumb.
Jacoby--if that is really your name--how many games will the Nets have to win, and what place will they have to end up, before you will be required to use a "Lawrence Frank for Coach of the year" sig? Given that you are predicting 13th place, I would guess that 9th place and/or 40 wins should do it, but I'm willing to listen to alternate proposals.
I'll have to disagree So you're saying its coincidence? A team with a tanking mentality would (mentally) have not even shown up for the game at all and lost by at least 30. If they lucked out. Rivers has a coach of the year award on his resume. Can't be that awful. You're basically saying that last season's Celtics could have broken the win record had a 'better coach' running the team. Its repetitive is what it is. How many spot up shooters do the Nets have on their roster right now? Ryan Anderson, Yi Jianlian, Maurice Ager, and then they throw in Hayes. How many one dimensional shooters does a team need? That's why Hayes doesn't have much use here, 3 other guys do the same thing he does. As for Dooling... maybe I underrated him a bit. But by no means is he among the best bench guards in the league.
Jacoby Ellsbury's my favorite baseball player. My real name isn't Jacoby (but you may call me that if you wish). Oh! Oh! Oh! SIG BETS!!! Yaaaaayyy... 35 wins, position meaningless. How's that sound? If they reach 40, I'll excessively hype a Nets player of your choice.
Tanking is about the coaching decisions. No player is going to agree to not play hard on the court. They were in the East, so yes. Camby has a DPOY too. Both awards are complete jokes. Wait, you brought up the useless Ager? Yi is not a spot up shooter nor a 1 dimensional shooter so that is two giants holes in your argument. Ryan is a rookie and can't be counted on right away. So no, there isn't anyone in front of Hayes. Although it is pretty hilarious to see you offer an argument of here are 3 players that can't fulfill that role, but they would all play ahead of him. Dooling doesn't have to be among the best to be a huge upgrade for the Nets.
