Who is the current Beast of the East?

[magicfan1989]

With our off-season signings pretty much finished, who do y'all think are the Beasts of the East?

I know the Celtics' board is convinced that the only thing stopping them from #18 is KG's health.

But let the debate begin........

[MagicMadness]

I really still see it being between the Cavs, Celtics, and Magic.

All three teams made significant changes/upgrades during the offseason. It's difficult for me to say right now which team is the "Beast" because all three seem likely to be very close to each other in win/loss records once again.

[magic_turk]

Going to be very biased, just like all the other boards. The Magic, Cavs and Celtics are the top three teams of the East and all three of them boards will say they are the "Beast of the East"

I am obviously going to say the Magic. Our team just has so much versatlaity and flexibilty.

If I had to rank the top three I would say:

1. Magic
2. Celtics
3. Cavaliers

If the Celtics stay healthy they are going to be one tough, tough team!

The Cavs I am not so worried about. They brought in Shaq and Anthony Parker. That won't impress me, Dwight plays rather good against Shaq. He is to slow to mark D12, period. Sure the sounds of LeBron and Shaq sounds great....but everyone forgets about SuperSanity!!!

[AGENTSTEVO]

Going to be very biased, just like all the other boards. The Magic, Cavs and Celtics are the top three teams of the East and all three of them boards will say they are the "Beast of the East"

I am obviously going to say the Magic. Our team just has so much versatlaity and flexibilty.

If I had to rank the top three I would say:

1. Magic
2. Celtics
3. Cavaliers

If the Celtics stay healthy they are going to be one tough, tough team!

The Cavs I am not so worried about. They brought in Shaq and Anthony Parker. That won't impress me, Dwight plays rather good against Shaq. He is to slow to mark D12, period. Sure the sounds of LeBron and Shaq sounds great....but everyone forgets about SuperSanity!!!

Agreed.

With Vince Carter, Dwight's ongoing development, Brandon Bass, and a healthy Jameer, I think we're scarier than last year. Now we have a guy in VC that can get his own shot at anytime and win the game for us when we need him. And with Bass, we now have the ability to play conventional against the Lakers while still playing 3 ball against others like Celtics and Cavs. With the acquisition of Ryan Anderson, we get a young, and quite versatile big who has the skill set of Courtney Lee with defense and post moves.

Does everyone remember when Phoenix came to town in March? Dwight had his way with Shaq. Shaq ran out of ideas, so he tried to pull a Vareflop. I lol'd when SVG called him on it. If they brought Shaq in to guard Dwight and the Pick and Roll, I'm not sure they did the right move.

All we need now is a wing player like Bruce Bowen or Matt Barnes and another back up pg like Arroyo. Our roster is basically done. Lets just finish it up Otis.

[rshepard1985]

Right now its hard to say who is better between Boston and Orlando. Boston's starting lineup is basically unchanged and they won a title with that. Their bench is somewhat suspect with the exception of Sheed. The Magic seem to have a very deep versatile team this year but they have 2 new starters, Jameer back from injury and Lewis moves back to the 3. If it all works out smoothly I'd say Orlando has the edge because of depth.

But right now I'd go with these rankings:

1a: Boston
1b: Orlando
3 : Cleveland
4: Atlanta
5: Washington
6: Miami
7: Detriot
8: Toronto
9: Chicago

And the rest won't be very much competitive. Indiana could be improved but I can't see them making a push for the playoffs.

[MagicMadness]

Yes, I will say that the Magic have seemingly upgraded more than the Cavs so far this offseason.

Shaq was basically brought in to counter Dwight, but Dwight doesn't have much of a problem dealing with Shaq nowadays.

The Celtics are a wildcard. If they stay healthy...they should be deadly...SHOULD BE. We'll have to see how "aged" the Big 3 are.

[eyriq]

#1 Orlando has upgraded on several fronts via the Front Office, and there are several fronts for upgrade still via player development. With the injury to Nelson and a down year for Turk the offense really struggled, finishing as the 11th ranked offense overall and the 4th ranked offense in the East. Bringing in a true closer in Carter should do wonders all by itself and then you throw in a healthy Nelson and you are looking at a jump from 11th to 1st. The front office has upgraded the bench and given Stan even more versatility to work with, no longer leaving this team dependent on their hybrid 2 SF lineup. Also consider that Howard is still developing and look out East, Orlando is the clear favorite.

#2 A healthy Boston team will defend at an elite level and run a very efficient offense. Sheed helps them a lot too in that he can shoot, defend, and rebound at a very good level. Health is a big question mark with this team due to age, but they still managed 62 wins last year.

#3 Cleveland was the best team in the league last year, at least until they lost to the Magic in the ECF, lol. They have increased their depth and return one of the best players in the league in James, so a fall from grace is very unlikely. However having such a one player dependent team can be a risky proposition, so they are #3 in my book. Also, I don't expect the supporting cast to have quite the same year, they truly played out of their minds. I know LeBron is good, but can he really make a team of role players look that good for multiple seasons? I guess we'll see.

[KingRobb02]

I've even seen the Sporting News say that the Wizards should be better than us this season with a healthy Gilbert. The Celtics aren't the same Celtics from 2 years ago. Sure Ray, is healthy, and Rondo is a lot better, but Garnett may never be the same and Paul Pierce looked like he was just going through the motions in the playoffs. Plus we can't forget that Boston was trying to trade Rondo before the season. Teams don't just get rid of 23 year old point guards who are capable of averaging a triple double. Something is going wrong there. Cleveland deserves respect because they have the #1 guy in the game, and he is still getting better. Plus they added the athletic swingman they needed. Look for them to try and make more moves.

1. Orlando
2. Cleveland
3. Boston
4. Washington (health permitting)
5. Atlanta (assuming Williams stays)

[Hilltop]

As far as the pecking order goes, I'd still have to rank Boston number 1. That of course, is highly dependent on health and performances from their rather old core of superstars. The Magic and the Cavaliers are a close 2nd and 3rd respectively.

[Deezy]

Orlando is winning the East this year.

[Gerhalt11]

As of this moment, assuming health:

1.) Boston
2.) Orlando
























3.) Cleveland

[Force9024]

Maybe call it homerism, but Boston is a close 2nd.. They almost beat us without KG.. However, we now have a true Pf and a playmaking 2 guard who can be a lethal scorer.. Something we truly lacked, yet it wasn't shown as a flaw til we played the Lakers..

a healthy Jameer Nelson for the 2nd half of the season plus the playoffs, Vince Carter, Brandon Bass, and Ryan Anderson and those to be named later easily put us a notch above last year IMO

[KingRobb02]

Yeah they took us to 7 without KG, but it took a last second shot from Big Baby, and a last minute collapse in game 5 to get there. Two games we should have won, but we lost due to a couple of guys who won't be there next year. Remember that our point guard play was horrible that series, and Jameer will be back. Until KG shows us that he can come back at full strength, and that his body isn't just breaking down, let's not hold our breath. Don't forget that the Celtics have been saying he would be back in 2 weeks since February.

[Nemesis21]

As MP says, Orlandu Macheek

[Def Swami]

Sign Matt Barnes and Orlando will take the claim hands down. Right now it's up for debate between Orlando and Boston. I have my own doubts about Boston, mostly about their age and lack of depth relative to other contenders. And no one really knows how the Shaq experiment will work out in Cleveland. Time will tell with that one. But for now it must be
1. Magic
2. Boston

3. Cavs

Orlando has a newfound depth and VC. Plus theyre the returning champs of the East. There's no reason for them not to remain on top.

[ivDT]

the nets. you know why.

[Optimus_Steel]

Alot of people outside Orlando still dont respect us. You win 59 games, make the NBA Finals, have the best center in the league, one of the most talented rosters in the league and there are still people who dont respect us. Oh well they can continue disrespecting us after we are NBA champions next year lol.

[Official]

I don't understand the fascination with Boston. I could honestly see Cleveland beating them, they almost did during Boston's 07-08 finals run. Since then, Cleveland has added Shaq and Mo Williams. I like the Rasheed Wallace addition but Cleveland is not a distant third. This is obviously assuming good health and chemistry from both teams.

Meanwhile, I think Orlando is the beast of the east at this point. Good look to any team that thinks they can guard Howard, defend Rashard in the post at SF, guard Vince on the perimeter, guard Jameer, and not leave Brandon Bass for wide open jumpers.

[MagicMadness]

Alot of people outside Orlando still dont respect us. You win 59 games, make the NBA Finals, have the best center in the league, one of the most talented rosters in the league and there are still people who dont respect us. Oh well they can continue disrespecting us after we are NBA champions next year lol.

There will always be people who don't "respect" a team.

However, a lot more people respect the Magic than don't - look at the General NBA board for example.

All the people who cried and whined the past two seasons have been getting their wish ever since the Magic took down Boston and Cleveland in the playoffs. All some of us kept saying was become elite and you'll get respect - and that happened.

[Gerhalt11]

I don't understand the fascination with Boston. I could honestly see Cleveland beating them, they almost did during Boston's 07-08 finals run. Since then, Cleveland has added Shaq and Mo Williams. I like the Rasheed Wallace addition but Cleveland is not a distant third. This is obviously assuming good health and chemistry from both teams.

Meanwhile, I think Orlando is the beast of the east at this point. Good look to any team that thinks they can guard Howard, defend Rashard in the post at SF, guard Vince on the perimeter, guard Jameer, and not leave Brandon Bass for wide open jumpers.

No, Cleveland is most definitely a distant third.

I'm assuming you meant Cleveland added Shaq and Anthony Parker (not Mo Williams). Shaq and Parker do nothing to solve their problems. Shaq is an upgrade over Z, sure, but a marginal one, at best. He will not draw double teams and open up shooters as everyone says he will. The list of teams that will double team him is short, and Boston and Orlando are nowhere near that list. Perkins and Dwight will keep him out of the lane with no problems.

Parker is a nice addition, but he's an older version of what they already have. Williams and West, and Parker are mediocre shooters, at best. Parker can't keep up with Vince or Pierce. He might be able to get a hand in Allen's face every now and then, but Ray's shot going in has everything to do with Ray and nothing to do with his defender.

Right now, Boston and Orlando would both absolutely hammer Cleveland.