2013-14 Eastern Conference Preview

For many years the East has been a weaker conference with only a few good quality teams. However a lot of teams have gotten much better this season through trades and signings. They are still not as deep as the West but they have more elite teams that can contend. The first to fourth seeds will be incredible teams that all can beat each other. This season is a bit different as there is good reason to lose and it’s not just because of Andrew Wiggins. There are even more stars in next years draft that can change a franchise such as Jabari Parker and Julius Randle.

15. Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers are most likely going to be the worst team this season. Last year they traded Iguodala for Bynum and Bynum didn’t even play a game for the franchise. Jrue Holiday was traded for Nerlens Noel who was expected to go first in the draft and the roster in general looks like it’s in need of an overhaul. Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young are good young pieces and they’d be even better with Andrew Wiggins. Best part is they won’t even have to tank to get him they’ll be bad already.

14. Charlotte Hornets

Charlotte have changed their name back to the Hornets! Which will be the most exciting thing for them all season. They resigned Gerald Henderson and have key young players in Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and new rookie Cody Zeller. Much has been made of their poor drafting hopefully the luck can turn this season. They acquired Al Jefferson, which may mean they win a few more games this season and possibly make it harder to obtain Wiggins.

13. Orlando Magic

Orlando were the winners of the Dwight Howard trade as they got Vucevic and Afflalo both who are still with the team and solid contributors. I like Tobias Harris he is a really good young SF with a bright future and their new rookie Victor Oladipo has signs of being a future star some have already predicted he will win ROY this year. They are definitely on the rise they just need one more solid young player and they could be set for 5-6 years.

12. Milwaukee Bucks

Gaining OJ Mayo, Luke Ridnour, Gary Neal, Brandon Knight and Carlos Delfino definitely gives them enough depth for the guard position maybe even is a better fit than Jennings and Ellis were. These 5 don’t force as many shots and are better playmakers. However the rest of the roster is pretty average except for Larry Sanders who is a great defensive minded center. These guys could finish a bit higher but after their moves this offseason it seems as if they are focusing on bringing in younger players and maybe having a swing at the lottery picks next season.

11. Boston Celtics

A lot of people are counting them out but I’m even tempted to put them higher than 11^th seed. They still have one of the best competitors Rajon Rondo although he may miss some time with his ACL injury. Jeff Green is rapidly turning into All-Star material, Brandon Bass had pretty important games for them last season and Gerald Wallace is athletic and can do quite a bit. Avery Bradley is a great defender and also has come along nicely. They managed to get Olynyk a big man with range and is number 1 on the rookie ladder and Marshon Brooks an exciting youngster. Not to mention Sullinger who has a bright future. The core has definitely gotten younger but there is a lot of talent in this Boston Celtics team.  The two main questions are will they tank and will Rondo still be in a green jersey by the end of the season?

10. Toronto Raptors

Valanciunas, Kyle Lowry, Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan is a great young core. They also acquired sharp shooter Steve Novak and Tyler Hansbrough. They have enough to try to make the playoffs but I don’t think that they will. Wiggins has listed them as his preferred destination but the only way that will happen is if Toronto really tank hard.

9. Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks lost Josh Smith and replaced him with Paul Millsap which means they’ve improved. Smith was a key reason why Atlanta struggled so much last year, he’s erratic shot making and poor decisions on court really made the team pay. Millsap is a much more rounded player and can actually make the long ball. They managed to keep Teague and Kyle Korver as well. While they have a good roster and made the playoffs last year, the East has really improved and I think they will struggle. Al Horford will have to have a big year if they want to contend.

8. Washington Wizards

On draft night they picked Otto Porter who seems NBA ready and will make his mark. He plays the small forward position so he combined with John Wall and Bradley Beal will be scary in the years to come and now Kendall Marshall can back them up off the bench. They have Nene and now Gortat who are solid big men . Martell Webster, Trevor Ariza and Eric Maynor off the bench also helps.  John Wall was signed for 5 years at a max deal many questioning if he is worth it. Yes he is, it’s that simple. He called himself the best PG in the league, while I wouldn’t go that far he could definitely be that in 3 years. This season without Wall they went 5-28, with him they were 24-25. If they had him the whole season they would’ve made playoffs.

Look at these stats:

Without Wall

Martell Webster: 8.6 ppg in Nov
Bradley Beal: 11.2ppg in Nov

With Wall
Martell Webster: 14.9ppg in last month of season

Bradley Beal: 15ppg in January

John Wall averaged 22 points 7.7 assists in the second half of this past season.  The Wizards will be good this year and may just steal a playoff spot.

7. Detroit Pistons
I would like to say they will miss the playoffs, and they very well might. However getting Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith for basically Brandon Knight is going to improve them quite a bit. They reunited with former champion Chauncey Billups as well. They had 3 picks in the draft: At No.8 they chose a long-range shooter Cadwell-Pope which was interesting as they could’ve taken Trey Burke or CJ McCollum. Tony Mitchell was their next pick who was one of the best athletes in this draft and then Peyton Siva who had a bit of media attention before the draft. These two may be steals. They still have Drummond and Monroe, two young centers with a lot of potential. Will they be able to get Rondo though? If they do they could make it to 6^th seed. However as it stands: Josh Smith, Brandon Jennings, Will Bynum, Rodney Stuckey: It’s going to be BRICK city. A lot of forced shots, not much ball movement and a lot of bricks. It would actually be smart to tank this year and reinforce their young talent with another superstar because with this roster they won’t win a championship but add a Wiggins and they might.

6. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs had one of the most productive off seasons gaining Jarret Jack, Earl Clark and Andrew Bynum. They also had the number one draft pick, which they used to choose Anthony Bennett. They have a great future with Kyrie Irving leading them they can be a real threat if all remain healthy. Varejao and Bynum have had a history with injuries though. I’ve written about the Cavs in two other articles so I won’t go into any more detail here.

5. New York Knicks

The Knicks will look to gain a healthy Stoudemire after last year was hindered with injury. They resigned Kenyon Martin and took Metta World Peace after he was amnestied. These two players alone will make sure the other team has a few bruises by the end of the match. The concern is that JR Smith is undergoing knee surgery and will miss 3-4 months. Jason Kidd retired and Chris Copeland left giving a bigger role to Prigioni and new signing Tim Jr Hardaway. Andrea Bargnani was an interesting signing who will come off the bench and add some range, however he isn’t a good as shooter as Steve Novak who they gave up and is notoriously soft. They may play second fiddle to their hometown rivals.

4. Brooklyn Nets

A lot has been said about the Brooklyn Nets. They probably have the best starting five on paper. Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, KG and Brook Lopez have all been All-Stars at some point. These moves were made to beat Miami. The biggest thing these two Celtics add is defense.  Paul Pierce guarded LeBron pretty well last year and KG actually troubled the Miami defense. Off the bench they have Jason Terry and Andrei Kirilenko. Terry will add a spark but the big addition really is Kirilenko he is a much better defender than Gerald Wallace and also did a nice job on LeBron when they met. He can also spread the floor and add offense. Reggie Evans and Andre Blatche off the bench as well means they will be constantly pounding the boards. If they get the chemistry right they will be a hard team to beat. However Jason Kidd has had no experience in coaching and we are yet to see how he will fair. Will the Celtic players stay out of injury and can the chemistry work itself out?

3. Chicago Bulls

They welcome back just about every starter. Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich all ended the season with injuries. Rose’s return has been widely anticipated and he will have to return to full form if they are a chance at a ring. They lost Nate Robinson and Bellinelli, which could hurt, but they are a tough team and have always caused trouble for Miami. Jimmy Butler was incredible in the playoffs and his transformation into an All Star will be interesting to watch. If they could somehow upgrade Boozer they would be a much scarier team but as it stands they can compete with just about anyone still.

2. Miami Heat

Miami have had a quiet offseason losing Mike Miller and gaining Greg Oden. If Oden is healthy that could shake things up however he has only played 82 games since 2007. Mike Miller was influential in both finals series where they won so it may be a surprise that he was amnestied. I think some of the Heat players will be a little bit complacent this year. Ray Allen achieved what he set out to do I think he should’ve retired he can’t top Game 6 and Shane Battier was on his last legs. Chris Bosh was terrible for most of the playoffs he got dominated by the Pacer big men and didn’t even score in game 7. Wade will decline even more this year, he was struggling with his health and barely got through the Finals. I don’t think they will win this season, they could lose second round to the Bulls. Its basically the same roster and you can’t stay still in this league especially when older players make up most of the roster. To make matters worse for the Heat LeBron is better playing elsewhere next season. Won’t make a difference to Heat fans they will just all shift on the bandwagon back to Cleveland where it all started!

1.     Indiana Pacers

Indiana came so close to knocking off the Heat last year and that was with a terrible bench. The starters literally had to do everything for that team. This year it’s different they added a whole new bench: CJ Watson, Chris Copeland, Luis Scola and Lance Stephenson will now be on the bench because their number 1 player for so many years Danny Granger returns. They have no weaknesses now, Luis Scola was the cherry on top. By adding him it means they have someone to back up their two big men West and Hibbert, this will further destroy Miami. They have fixed up their own holes and addressed Miami’s weaknesses. They are my tip to win the championship this season with their biggest threat matchup wise coming from the Nets. 

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