Predict the Eastern Conference Standings

[montestewart]

I'm guessing, based on this coincidence, that a club (with dues and such) is in order.

The line pulled didn't stick out too much in the array of observations In Balzac's novel, but was quoted in Crome Yellow also. It does seem to apply to Booker and similar players.

[closg00]

Detroit started the year a close second to us for worst team, now they are starting to gel, they had six players in double figures tonight, they could catch that 8th spot.

[hands11]

1. Miami
2. Indiana
3. New Jersey
4. New York
5. Boston
6. Chicago
7. Washington
8. Atlanta

9. Milwaukee
10. Orlando
11. Toronto
12. Philadelphia
13. Detroit
14. Cleveland
15. Charlotte

With the trade deadline just past, this is a good time to take a snap shot.

WB did a nice job or predicting where the top teams would be.

Washington would very likely be right up there at 7th if it wasn't for the Wall injury and Nene not resting up to heal his foot over the summer.

Missed a little more with the bottom group. Orlando started pretty strong but most predicted they would be bottom 2 along with Charlotte.

Trade deadline.

MIL made a trade to help them with their playoff push. They may actually make it.
TOR got Gay so that changes their projection up.

I didn't expect D Rose would play this year. If he does, clearly Chicago will get a boast. They have done really well consider Rose has been out.

[closg00]

Look at the Pacers over the last 12 games or so, they have been quietly kicking-ass, their losses have been OT losses and a 1-point loss.
http://espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/ ... ana-pacers

[hands11]

So what do folks have a second half predictions now that injuries are more clear and teams have new players.


I didn't expect D Rose back this year. Still not clear that he will return. Man, his older brother really put him in a bad spot.

http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/story/_/ ... tor-return

[closg00]

There have been a ton of moves this offseason, which will disrupt the status quo in the Eastern Conference. Can you predict the final standings at the end of the season?

Here's a breakdown of the major changes to help get things started:

LOCK TO MAKE PLAYOFFS:

Miami - added Ray Allen

Boston - added Jason Terry and Jeff Green. Sullinger may help as well. Lost Ray Allen. They might not finish as a top 3 team because Pierce and Garnett are going to take it easy during the regular season, but they'll surely make the playoffs.

Indiana - Swapped Augustin for Collison. Added Mahinmi and Gerald Green to bolster the depth. They have a balanced, deep, and fairly young roster that looked like the 3rd best team in the East last year.


LIKELY TO MAKE PLAYOFFS:

New Jersey - Williams, Johnson, Wallace, Humphries, Lopez is an extremely strong starting 5. Their only weakness is depth. An injury up front could derail them.

New York - Added Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd, Ronnie Brewer and Marcus Camby while losing Lin and Fields. While Melo and Amare aren't ideal teammates because both are no-D ball-dominators, their chemistry should improve a little with more time together. If Chandler gets hurt, their defense could suck bad enough to miss the playoffs. Otherwise, they'll make it.

Atlanta - lost Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams and Kent Hinrich. Added Lou Williams and Kyle Korver. They look a bit worse this year, but probably not so much worse that they'll miss the playoffs altogether.


ON THE BUBBLE

Philly - lost Lou Williams and Brand. Added Nick Young, Dorrell Wright, and Kwame. They went just 15-22 over the second half of the season after starting out 20-9.

Chicago - no Derrick Rose for most of the season. Thibs kept the team together with smoke and mirrors, but can he do it another year? Also, the injury prone Deng will endure more wear and tear during the Olympics, and they lost Asik, Brewer and Korver while adding a washed up Hinrich.

Washington - No need to rehash this in detail. The Wizards added Okafor, Ariza and Beal to a team that fared pretty well after the Nene trade.

Orlando - Lost Ryan Anderson. Added nobody of relevance. Howard is coming off of back surgery and his antics are a huge distraction. Nevertheless, any team with Howard is a fair bet to make the playoffs.

Milwaukee - Made the Bogut for Ellis trade last year and shored up their hole at center this offseason by adding Dalembert. The also drafted Doron Lamb who may be one of the few rookies to have an immediate impact. They lost Livingston.


LONGSHOTS FOR PLAYOFFS

Toronto - Added Lowry, Fields and Valanciunus. Lowry can play but I don't think the other additions will make all that much difference right away. Young bigs like Valanciunus rarely help a team win much, even if they post good numbers. Fields is an overrated role player.


NO CHANCE FOR THE PLAYOFFS

Detroit - Lost Ben Gordon. Added Drummond and Maggette who might hurt more than they help. Detroit is looking to make an impact next year so might eventually decide to tank once this season becomes a lost cause.


Cleveland - Kyrie Irving is good, but nobody else on their roster is.

Charlotte - They're still a long way away.

Will you be doing a 2013 version of this thread Nate?