I know I originally said that the entire breakdown of the NBA's divisions would be today but due to time constraints and battles against my internet connection the Eastern Conference will be released here and now and the Western Conference breakdowns will be tomorrow. But although my promises now mean nothing, I promise along with the Western Conference preview, my bold predictions will be released tomorrow! Now let's delve into the Eastern Conference!
ATLANTIC DIVISION
1. Brooklyn Nets (53-29; 3rd)
2. New York Knicks (46-36; 5th)
3. Boston Celtics (26-56)
4. Toronto Raptors (23-59)
5. Philadelphia 76ers (14-68)
The Nets' offseason maneuvering has made them the class of the Atlantic Division. The trade for the Boston trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry was the main piece of that. The sneaky (both metaphorically and literally) addition of Andrei Kirilenko helps to solidify a bench that is one of the best in the Eastern Conference. Andray Blatche showed last year that when he puts the work in he can be a versatile player who can play a major role on a winning team. Brook Lopez is a legitimate scoring threat at center and is still solid, yet developing as a defender. Reggie Evans is almost a guaranteed ten rebounds off the bench and will see more time, foul trouble pending, with the trade of Kris Humphries. If All-Star point man Deron Williams is fully healed, and motivated, Brooklyn may run away with the Atlantic more than originally anticipated and could be viable contenders for the NBA Finals.
OPTIMAL STARTING FIVE
PG Deron Williams
SG Joe Johnson
SF Paul Pierce
PF Kevin Garnett
C Brook Lopez
Is this Melo's final season at MSG? I personally hope not but if so it won't be a memorable one. The Knicks are too reliant on outside shooting and are poor defensively, even with Metta World Peace in the fold. Former defensive player of the year Tyson Chandler looks hobbled and he and Kenyon Martin are too heavily relied upon to make stops when the perimeter defense falters. I love the drafting of Tim Hardaway Jr. as he brings much needed ball handling to the second unit with Beno Udrih and Pablo Prigioni. I'll save my thoughts on J.R. Smith potentially starting, Andrea Bargnani, and Amare Stoudemire for another day. New GM Steve Mills has his work cut out for him to keep this old team competitive past this year. The fact that I've projected New York for 46 wins is more of a discredit to the Eastern Conference than credence to the Knicks' talent. It may be one and done for my Knicks this year.
OPTIMAL STARTING FIVE
PG Raymond Felton
SG J.R. Smith
SF Carmelo Anthony
PF Andrea Bargnani
C Tyson Chandler
The Big Three era has officially been put to bed. This is now 100% Rajon Rondo's team even though he may not be starting the season at 100% healthwise. The thing with Rondo is he may not be here for much longer. He is still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered during the C's heartbreaking playoff loss to eventual champion Miami last year and his return timetable is still fuzzy. GM Danny Ainge could even attempt to trade the league leader in assists from the past two years to further rebuilding efforts. Though Ainge has recently stated he doesn't see any franchise altering players in the potential 2014 draft class, this team will be in the running for a high lottery pick. I just don't think they'll be bad enough to get a lion's share of the ping pong balls. There are a handful of teams worse than Boston who'll get back Jared Sullinger, who was on pace to challenge for Rookie of the Year honors before a back injury derailed his bright NBA debut. Though I am not a huge fan of first rounder Kelly Olynyk he has impressed in both the Summer League and preseason and will garner big minutes in 2013-14. Jeff Green and Avery Bradley are game changers but Green's production fluctuation is immense and Bradley has health concerns. New coach Brad Stevens will get the best he can out of both.
OPTIMAL STARTING FIVE
PG Rajon Rondo
SG Avery Bradley
SF Jeff Green
PF Jared Sullinger
C Kelly Olynyk
Toronto now has reigning Executive of the Year Masai Ujiri molding this team and he has already made some drastic moves. Unloading Andrea Bargnani in division to the Knicks was huge. If he can flip Rudy Gay for draft picks and a solid starter at any point this season he'll have Toronto on the right track to contention. Jonas Valanciunas is becoming a high ranking center but is still young. DeMar DeRozan is a volume scorer but not much else. Kyle Lowry is a proven NBA point guard but he could be just as much fodder for potential trades as Gay. Their bench is weak and Tyler Hansbrough and Steve Novak don't make it any better. Toronto will surely be in the "Riggin' For Wiggins" sweepstakes to get the Jayhawk (and Canadian) phenom in their ranks. Time will tell if this is just another poor season in the Great White North or if it is the start of a bright future for Canada's only NBA franchise. Too bad coach Dwane Casey probably around to see it.
OPTIMAL STARTING FIVE
PG Kyle Lowry
SG DeMar DeRozan
SF Rudy Gay
PF Amir Johnson
C Jonas Valanciunas
The Sixers have potential to be historically bad this season. Reports are surfacing that lottery pick Nerlens Noel will miss the entire season. The other lottery pick, Michael Carter-Williams from Syracuse, will endure some growing pains in the starting lineup after Philly traded incumbent starter Jrue Holiday to acquire Noel on draft day. My pick for Most Improved Player, Evan Turner, and Thaddeus Young are the only players on offense that can create their own shot, but neither strikes fear in the hearts of opposing defenses. New head coach Brett Brown has a challenge for the ages on his hands as it does not look like there is any bright spots for the future...unless they get one of the big guns from this upcoming draft. Ugh, I just keep looking at this roster and I keep finding difficulty in giving them as many wins as I have. Will they challenge their franchise brethren, the 1972-1973 76ers, as the worst team ever? It's possible but I just can't fathom a team in today's NBA winning only single digit games. Not even one starting Spencer Hawes and giving decent bench minutes to Kwame Brown and Tony Wroten.
OPTIMAL STARTING FIVE
PG Michael Carter-Williams
SG Evan Turner
SF Thaddeus Young
PF Lavoy Allen
C Spencer Hawes
CENTRAL DIVISION
1. Chicago Bulls (56-26; 2nd)
2. Indiana Pacers (52-30; 4th)
3. Detroit Pistons (40-42; 7th)
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (38-44)
5. Milwaukee Bucks (30-52)
Meme generators can go back into their holes as yes, Derrick Rose is finally back. The 2011 Most Valuable Player is no longer in street clothes after a lost 2012-2013 season, and if his early displays are any indication it won't take him very long to get back into contention for that award very swiftly. The Bulls were an absolute MASH unit last year yet still were able to make it out of the first round. With Rose, Luol Deng, and Joakim Noah all healthy and flanked in the starting lineup by defensive stopper (and not too shabby a shooter) Jimmy Butler and Paul Silas's favorite player Carlos Boozer, the Bulls have all the makings of a Finals team. Their bench is still fairly shallow with Mike Dunleavy Jr. being the only new significant addition to a unit that got more run than they were bargaining for last season, but come the playoffs I know coach Tom Thibodeau can (and will) ride his big guns in big moments and they'll deliver. Their inevitable clash with the Heat come May will be must watch television.
OPTIMAL STARTING LINEUP
PG Derrick Rose
SG Jimmy Butler
SF Luol Deng
PF Carlos Boozer
C Joakim Noah
The Pacers had Miami on the ropes last year. They got to Game 7 against the champs and then got run out of the building. This season they will have to play second fiddle in the division to the resurgent Bulls but come the playoffs they will be just as dangerous if not more. Paul George, the 2012-13 Most Improved Player, became a full-fledged star and Indiana's captain. Roy Hibbert is one of the few legitimate centers left in the NBA but his numbers didn't really rise like management had hoped after signing his big contract. Offseason pickups Luis Scola and Chris Copeland combine with first round pick Solomon Hill to add depth to the bench for Indiana, their achilles heel from a year ago. The biggest question about Indiana going forward though is whether or not All-Star Danny Granger will be same player he was pre-injury. I have confidence that Granger will come back and be a vital contributor to another deep Indiana run but only if he realizes that it isn't his team any more. This is now Paul George's team and will be for a while.
OPTIMAL STARTING LINEUP
PG George Hill
SG Paul George
SF Danny Granger
PF David West
C Roy Hibbert
Deeeeeeeeetroiiiiiiitt Baaaaaaaaasketballllllllll is back--in the playoff picture at least. The acquisitions of Brandon Jennings, Josh Smith, and Chauncey Billups will bring the Motor City back to playing meaningful basketball come spring. They have Twin Towers down low in Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. Monroe is the better offensive player but even as a rookie Drummond showed that he could protect the rim with flair. I think they'll be breaking into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference again once Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings acclimate to their surroundings and buy into the roles that new head coach Mo Cheeks sets forth for them. Their bench is solid but not overwhelming, though lottery pick Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could be starting before Christmas. As with any lower seed in the East I don't see the Pistons breaking .500 this year but 40 wins this year may be 50 next year. They may not be the Bad Boys anymore but the Pistons are looking good again.
OPTIMAL STARTING LINEUP
PG Brandon Jennings
SG Rodney Stuckey
SF Josh Smith
PF Greg Monroe
C Andre Drummond
This is a team that is on the rise even though I have them just missing the playoffs in 13-14. Kyrie Irving is a burgeoning superstar, if he isn't considered one already. He can score at will and is going to be among the league leaders in assists and steals. They shocked most pundits with the selection of Anthony Bennett from UNLV with the first overall pick but when he gets on the court he'll be a dynamic playmaker. They have two interchangeable rebounding machines at power forward in Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao though one or the other may be getting big minutes at center. Why? That's because Andrew Bynum is the new starting center for Cleveland. Yes, the same Bynum that robbed Philadelphia of both Maurice Harkless and Nikola Vucevic and proceeded to play nary a single minute in the 2012-2013 season. I have zero faith in Bynum but I don't think he'll be on the team next year when they take the next step into the playoffs.
OPTIMAL STARTING LINEUP
PG Kyrie Irving
SG Dion Waiters
SF Anthony Bennett
PF Anderson Varejao
C Andrew Bynum
The Bucks were a playoff team last year. I don't foresee a return trip to the postseason for Milwaukee this year. They made wholesale, yet positive, changes to both their starting lineup and bench. Point guard Brandon Knight and shooting guard OJ Mayo are an all new starting backcourt that can do what their respective positions ask for very well. Gary Neal is a shooter with a big game, big shot pedigree. They drafted two players Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nate Wolters who bring skills that will allow them to make contributions sooner rather than later. Why doesn't that add up to another playoff appearance? They are a good defensive team, perhaps even great with The Larry Sanders Show not starring Garry Shandling, but they are going to have a very hard time scoring the basketball. A team that can't score can only go so far in the NBA and I feel that Milwaukee will be on the wrong end of a large number of 82-78 scorelines this season. With that being said, Milwaukee will be better next year when their new players gel together and shed some of the roster fat they currently have. For now though, cheesehead hoops fans will be cheering for the last place team in the Central.
OPTIMAL STARTING LINEUP
PG Brandon Knight
SG O.J. Mayo
SF Ersan Ilyasova
PF John Henson
C Larry Sanders
SOUTHEAST DIVISION
1. Miami Heat (64-18; 1st)
2. Washington Wizards (44-38; 6th)
3. Atlanta Hawks (39-43; 8th)
4. Charlotte Bobcats (21-61)
5. Orlando Magic (18-64)
The two time defending champions will win this division until all three members of the Three Amigos are gone. There isn't anything really to say about the Heat that hasn't already been said. The Heat are going to be a great team again with three Hall of Famers (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Ray Allen), a icy veined shooter at point in Mario Chalmers, an All-Star big man in Chris Bosh, and the island of misfit toys. The thing is until someone can deal with Miami's starting five, they don't need their bench players to do much of anything outside of jack up threes (James Jones, Rashard Lewis, & Roger Mason), be pesky on D (Norris Cole, Shane Battier, & Chris Andersen), and take up space (Joel Anthony, Michael Beasley, & Greg Oden). If nobody can do that then Miami enters rarified air with a three-peat. My gut tells me that somebody will do just that come spring.
OPTIMAL STARTING LINEUP
PG Mario Chalmers
SG Dwyane Wade
SF LeBron James
PF Udonis Haslem
C Chris Bosh
Drum roll please! The team that will make me look incredibly smart or ridiculously idiotic this season, THE WASHINGTON WIZARDS! I have high expectations for the team from our nation's capital this year because I have high expectations for John Wall. If you read my awards picks you saw that I had John Wall as the second runner-up to Kevin Durant and LeBron James in MVP voting. That is the type of season I see on the horizon for the 2010 #1 overall pick. After his return from a knee injury he led the Wiz to a .500 record and averaged 20 & 8. Washington's roster hasn't had much turnover but I think that this is the season that John Wall's averages improve over his second half statistics of 2012-2013. His penetration ability will open the perimeter for Bradley Beal, Martell Webster, and 3rd overall pick Otto Porter. He'll be able to find Nene in the post and allow the Brazilian to have his best scoring season of his career. Emeka Okafor will provide rebounding grit but his expiring contract is where his value really lies. If Washington can use Emeka to bring in another big scorer to pair with Wall, they will make some real noise as well as validate my selection of the erratic Randy Wittman as Coach of the Year.
OPTIMAL STARTING LINEUP
PG John Wall
SG Bradley Beal
SF Otto Porter Jr.
PF Emeka Okafor
C Nene
Josh Smith's departure will have a greater impact on this team than I think both Hawks management and their fan base currently think it will. Yes, the deal they were able to strike with Paul Millsap was criminally fortuitous to them but he is not the defender or stretcher of the floor that Smith was. I like their drafting of Dennis Schroeder and Lucas Nogueira, but the German point guard (Schroeder) is down on the depth chart and the Brazilian big man (Nogueira) is stashed overseas. Will Louis Williams be a good complement again to Jeff Teague when he returns from his torn ACL in January? Can a team that starts Kyle Korver be a championship contender? Probably not, but as long as Al Horford is a Hawk I just can't not put them in the playoffs. If they ever lose Big Al they are going to be in BIG trouble.
OPTIMAL STARTING LINEUP
PG Jeff Teague
SG Louis Williams
SF Kyle Korver
PF Paul Millsap
C Al Horford
This is a horse that has been beaten into the ground. Michael Jordan, the greatest player in NBA history, is one of the worst owners in the league. With each passing season the Bobcats don't seem to improve. There doesn't seem to be any real plan and from this offseason that trend seems to be continuing. Yes, Al Jefferson is a great player. But is he a player that changes your team's identity? Nope. Is lottery pick Cody Zeller? Nope. They brought back Gerald Henderson to be their starting shooting guard even though I don't think he could start on any other team in the league outside of maybe Philadelphia. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist can't shoot. Kemba Walker is a shooting guard stuck in a point guard's body. I may have Orlando lower than Charlotte for 2013-2014, but unless His Airness can lure marquee (or even All-Star caliber) players to North Carolina they won't do that for the next decade. Sorry Steve Clifford.
OPTIMAL STARTING LINEUP
PG Kemba Walker
SG Gerald Henderson
SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
PF Cody Zeller
C Al Jefferson
Unlike the team directly above, the Orlando Magic fans have something to look forward to. It just so happens that this year is going to be rough. They got a haul last year from the Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum mega-trade in Maurice Harkless and Nikola Vucevic as well as five draft picks over the next five seasons. They stole Tobias Harris from Milwaukee for J.J. Redick. My pick for Rookie of the Year Victor Oladipo will supplant Arron Afflalo at shooting guard at some point in the campaign if not on opening night. I was big on Andrew Nicholson as a rookie last year having seen him a lot at St. Bonaventure but this could be the year where he makes an impact as a 6th or 7th man for Orlando. New coach Jacque Vaughn will have a tough time winning more than one game in a row this season but GM Rob Hennigan has given him chips so that if he is still the coach going forward he will have a team that can challenge for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
OPTIMAL STARTING LINEUP
PG Jameer Nelson
SG Victor Oladipo
SF Maurice Harkless
PF Tobias Harris
C Nikola Vucevic
PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
Image Credits: All team logos (sportslogos.net), Eastern Conference logo (Wikipedia), Bracket (printyourbrackets.com)