Predicting the Eastern Conference Standings 2014/2015 Season

[hands11]

Phils standings as of the DET game

CLE
WAS
TOR
CHI
BRK
MIA
DET
ATL

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/IanBegley/status/521427661789614080[/tweet]

I do mindfulness exercises as part of a disabled veterans group at the VA Medical Center.

Clarity of mind is going to help JR Smith immensely if he takes the training seriously. Phil Jackson working his own special zen can only help players reach their potential. In addition to Smith perhaps being more focused, Calderon and other new faces could reinvigorate the Knicks.

Don't be surprised to see Bargnani and Stoudemire have some bounce back to their games. Mindfulness training works.

[hands11]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2014/10/2 ... urvey-2014

Well here is some positive news. We could use it.

GMs think the Wizards are the third best team in the Eastern Conference

The Wizards received one vote (3.7 percent) from GMs when asked who will win the Eastern Conference. They were the only team to receive a vote other than the Cavaliers (70.4 percent) and Bulls (25.9 percent). If we had to guess, the lone vote for the Wizards winning the East probably came from Chicago, since they can't vote for themselves and because of this.

Additionally, the Wizards were voted as the clear favorites to win the Southeast Division, racking up 59.3 percent of the vote, ahead of Miami (29.6 percent), Atlanta (7.4 percent) and Charlotte (3.7 percent). While it's a little troubling to see that it's a four-team race for the top spot, at least the Wizards appear to have established themselves as the team to be beat.

GMs really like Bradley Beal

Bradley Beal's breakout performance in the playoffs left quite an impression on the NBA. He finished second in voting for "Which player is most likely to have a breakout season in 2014-15?" trailing only Anthony Davis and beating out Andre Drummond. He also received a vote for "Which player is best at moving without the ball?"

[hands11]

And we have two young players on the break out list.

Which player is most likely to have a breakout season in 2014-15?
1. Anthony Davis, New Orleans -- 29.6%
2. Bradley Beal, Washington -- 14.8%
3. Andre Drummond, Detroit -- 11.1%
Klay Thompson, Golden State -- 11.1%
5. Kenneth Faried, Denver -- 7.4%
Also receiving votes: Rudy Gobert, Utah; Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers; Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio; Brook Lopez, Brooklyn; Markieff Morris, Phoenix; Otto Porter, Washington; Austin Rivers, New Orleans
Last year: Anthony Davis -- 27.6%

And

What was the most underrated player acquisition?
1. Tyson Chandler, Dallas -- 17.9%
2. Omer Asik, New Orleans -- 14.3%
Spencer Hawes, L.A. Clippers -- 14.3%
4. Pau Gasol, Chicago -- 7.1
Paul Pierce, Washington -- 7.1%

All sounds like good stuff.

[dckingsfan]

Watching the last few games without Beal/Ariza spreading the floor, this team has trouble scoring. Even with the weak schedule, I don't see us getting off to a fast start. There are just too many new parts + youngsters to work into the mix (Rice/Porter).

We are going to need to stay healthy and make a good run at the end of the season. My guess is that Wittman will take the blame for the early season woes - it will be interesting to see if he is on a short leash.

[Kanyewest]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2014/10/22/7039139/washington-wizards-john-wall-bradley-beal-nba-gm-survey-2014

Well here is some positive news. We could use it.

GMs think the Wizards are the third best team in the Eastern Conference

The Wizards received one vote (3.7 percent) from GMs when asked who will win the Eastern Conference. They were the only team to receive a vote other than the Cavaliers (70.4 percent) and Bulls (25.9 percent). If we had to guess, the lone vote for the Wizards winning the East probably came from Chicago, since they can't vote for themselves and because of this.

Additionally, the Wizards were voted as the clear favorites to win the Southeast Division, racking up 59.3 percent of the vote, ahead of Miami (29.6 percent), Atlanta (7.4 percent) and Charlotte (3.7 percent). While it's a little troubling to see that it's a four-team race for the top spot, at least the Wizards appear to have established themselves as the team to be beat.

GMs really like Bradley Beal

Bradley Beal's breakout performance in the playoffs left quite an impression on the NBA. He finished second in voting for "Which player is most likely to have a breakout season in 2014-15?" trailing only Anthony Davis and beating out Andre Drummond. He also received a vote for "Which player is best at moving without the ball?"

Since teams couldn't vote for their own team, it's likely that either Chicago or Cleveland gave their vote to Washington. There aren't two votes for other teams probably because Chicago or Cleveland didn't vote.

[Hypnotizer]

1. CLE
2. TOR
3. ATL
4. CHI
5. CHA
6. WAS
7. DET
8. BKN

[TheBabyMaker]

1. CLE
2. TOR
3. ATL
4. CHI
5. CHA
6. WAS
7. DET
8. BKN

You have a screw loose if you think Toronto is going to finish second!

Atlanta 3rd and Chicago 4th LMAO

[hands11]

CLE. CHI
WIZ, MIA, TOR
BRK, CHA, ATL, DET
NY, MIL,
BOS, IND, ORL
PHI

Thats by category and order.

MIA is the one that can swing the most. If Wade is good, they are top 5. If not, they might miss the playoffs

BRK could jump TOR and take MIAs place. Better vets. Just need to prove health.

Cleveland will be the best. LeBron, Kyrie, Love with some vet depth is just to much.
Chicago can be good but if Rose goes down, they are behind WAS and maybe more.
Wash with PP, the new OttoMatic and front court depth will be tough. And some PP at S4.
TOR is just solid and deep but still a little young and still without top line talent.
BRK - they actually have decent depth and DW should be healthy. DW, JJ, Brook and Plumlee anchor them
CHA - We suck against them which makes some rank them to high. They are good though. AL is a beast.
ATL - they are in the battle. Missing some depth and top line talent though.
DET - With Monroe as back up and starting BJ, KCP, Singler, Josh, Drummonds, they could be tough.

Tough call on who wins the 8th seed. Probably comes down to ATL vs DET unless MIA tanks then both make it.

BOS will likely move Rondo and go for another high pick
IND will give in and tank. Might move West. They need to reload around PG
ORL is without VO already and still to young
PHI is just bad and they like it that way for now. Next year they will start getting interesting. Maybe.

[Youheardme90]

Maybe I`m out of the loop, but I`m having a difficult time understanding how Chicago and Cleveland are considered to be head and shoulders above the rest of the Eastern Conference.

I can understand the hype around Cleveland, but Chicago ? They are one Rose injury from being the same team from last year.

I couldn`t be because of Rose. Do they still rate him higher than John Wall, even after two serious knee injuries ?

People are

[LyricalRico]

Maybe I`m out of the loop, but I`m having a difficult time understanding how Chicago and Cleveland are considered to be head and shoulders above the rest of the Eastern Conference.

I can understand the hype around Cleveland, but Chicago ? They are one Rose injury from being the same team from last year.

I couldn`t be because of Rose. Do they still rate him higher than John Wall, even after two serious knee injuries ?

People are

I agree that Rose lasting all year isn't a sure thing, but I disagree that CHI would the same as last year sans Rose. Gasol is an upgrade over Boozer, and they also added McDermott. Having those guys will help a lot of their offensive issues IMO.

[dckingsfan]

Maybe I`m out of the loop

Yep, they added Rose, McDermott, Mirotic and Gasol to a team that won 48 games last year... so, precluding injuries, it would seem they are going to be better.

If you want to say - Rose WILL be injured, Noah is going to break his leg and Butler will dislocate his fingers on his shooting hand... well, then I would think they would be worse.

[LyricalRico]

Posted this in a different thread yesterday, but seems more appropriate here:

Grantland leaning towards us finishing 3rd in the East:

This team is the best bet to snag the no. 3 spot in the East …

Washington Wizards

… especially so because the Wizards are without Bradley Beal for at least the first month or so of the season. Martell Webster is also hurt, leaving a lot of minutes for Otto Porter and Glen Rice Jr. — two guys with essentially zero NBA experience. The ouchies also force Paul Pierce to play as something like a full-time small forward, and chasing around speedy wings all season will tax the old guy’s legs.

The Wiz have the goods to ride this out, and they’ll be dangerous once they get their full complement. Their starting lineup destroyed opponents, and though Pierce can’t fly into transition corner 3s like Trevor Ariza, he can ease into different creases along the arc and create some one-on-one offense late in the shot clock.

Kris Humphries and DeJuan Blair offer more stability off the bench after the Wiz last season leaned on a Drew Gooden–Al Harrington pairing that felt like a novelty act — even when bench units featuring those guys, plus Beal and Professor Andre Miller, PhD, would go on giddy runs. A deeper big-man rotation is a must. The Wiz outscored opponents by 216 points in the 982 minutes when Nene and Marcin Gortat shared the floor and were a combined minus-112 in all other minutes, per NBA.com.

Humphries brings just enough rim protection to work as a backup center, and Pierce can slide to power forward when the Wiz need some spacing. Trade a few pull-up 2-pointers for rim attacks and catch-and-shoot jumpers, and the Wiz can craft the kind of offense that will really make them dangerous. John Wall has the skill set to engineer that kind of change.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nba-r ... cavaliers/

As for my personal East prediction, here it is:

1. CLE
2. CHI
3. TOR
4. WAS
5. MIA
6. ATL
7. CHA
8. BKN

9. DET
10. NYK
11. MIL
12. IND
13. BOS
14. ORL
15. PHI

[hands11]

Miami off to a quick start 3-0 having beaten us without Nene and Blair with Hump injured and TOR and a free bee against PHI. Still lots to prove regarding staying power and health but that is as good as they could have expected so far. Big test vs HOU up next but like us, they have a pretty easy schedule to start the year.

HOU, @ CHA, MIN, @ DAL, IND, @ ATL, MIL

They could end up being a legit challenge for the division if they stay healthy. Hopefully HOU give them their first L.

WIZARDS.. Big game against NY coming up. I see it as a must win if they want to shoot for 50 wins. Gotta get out front early and stay they. Build momentum and confidence being a front runner and learning to win as one. Gotta get those wins now before hitting the harder teams like DAL and CLE and even in TOR.

NOV 4 @ NYK, NOV 5 IND, NOV 7 @ TOR, NOV 8 @ IND ESPN, Nov 12 DET, Nov 15 ORL then

Nov 19 DAL,Nov 21 CLE ESPN

Gotta win in NY so they can take down IND. That sets things up nicely for the game in TOR which is big. Then they have to take DET and ORL to set up some big games against DAL and CLE.

Winning at NY will be huge to keep this rolling. Every game is important when you want to be a front runner. So happy to have meaningful seasons again with important games at the beginning of the year. Hopefully we are 4-1 heading into TOR

[closg00]

LOL, Miami #1 in the East w/o LeBron.

[Zonkerbl]

LOL, Miami #1 in the East w/o LeBron.

Respect to Bosh, who is a much better player than he gets credit for.

[gtownheat34]

Bulls
Cavs
Wiz
Raps
Heat
Hornets
Hawks
Knicks

Nets
Pistons
Pacers
Celtics
Magic
Bucks
Sixers
As of 11/3/14, 5:14 PM

[hands11]

LOL, Miami #1 in the East w/o LeBron.

Respect to Bosh, who is a much better player than he gets credit for.

It is his time to shine.

But what happens when Wade starts to wear down ?

Wonder if they will do that rest him thing this year.

[hands11]

Well they are out of the gate and around the first turn.

Early leaders are

TOR 8-2 ( quick start as we expected. Solid team. D Roz is the key in my book )
WAS 7-2 ( like TOR, easy schedule but no Beal. Hump, Temp, Rasual all stepped up at times. Paul struggling )
CHI 7-3 ( D Rose in and out but Jimmy Butler is looking good and Pau is awesome. Its a good team )
CLE 5-3 on a 4 game win streak ( they are figuring it out. Raining 3s now. High pt games is how they win )
ATL 5-4 (sold team. Korver has been rocking it. Kind of a TOR type team but not as young/deep )
MIA 5-4 two game losing streak (one against IND one without Wade ( hamstring ) but they look good
BRK 4-5 looking a little old and lumpering. 3 loses are PHX, GS, and Port so they are legit loses.
MIL 4-5 they beat MEM. A legit rising young team. but lost to another ORL. they are getting there.

CHA 4-6 Al Jefferson is awesome on offense. They have pieces. MKG is out again. Not their yet.
BOS 3-5 Rondo is back and they can surprise some teams. KO is looking good. Sully also.
IND 4-7 They are learning what they have left. Just won @MIA and @CHI. Not dead yet. Tanking would be smrt
ORL 4-7 Very talented young team and deep with young talent. Could fire it up this year.
DET 3-7 still struggling but they have a good coach. They have talent. They need to learn to win though
NY 2-8 Well they have Melo. 7 game losing streak and against not elite teams. No Calderon yet.
PHI 0-9 Almost beat HOU though. MCW is back. Noel missed 2 games already.

Cleveland got off to a really rough start but they look like they are putting it together. I think they are going for high scoring model since they aren't good at defense. Just started Kyrie, Lebron, Matrix, Love and Mop with Waiters, Tristian off the bench. I can see that working. LeBron is starting to light it up. Averaging like 35 the last 3 games. But they have SAS, TOR and WAS twice coming up

TOR schedule is about to get tougher with MEM, CLE, PHX, DAL and SAC coming up. SAC is playing well

WAS schedule is about to get tougher with DAL, CLE twice and MIA

CHI is going west early. @LAC, @SAC, @POR then it gets easier until DAL on Dec 2

MIA - Wade is day to day with a hammy. If he is out, they will struggle.

I still see CLE as the best. CHI 2nd if they have Rose.

Washington about to get Beal back but they also will require them balancing the line ups again. Figuring out how to use Paul might prove to be a challenge. He is not playing well. Hump has been awesome. Since WAS has line up work ahead of them, TOR is actually the more stable team for now.

I expect CLE to climb the rank but over the next 10 games, CLE, CHI, WAS, TOR, MIA will remain at the top.

[hands11]

Wade missed another game. MIA just lost to MIL
They are on a 3 game losing streak

Wizard have the Division by 2 games already.

This much good luck won't last forever but its fun for now.

Wizard 7-2
ATL 5-4
MIA 5-5
CHA 4-6
ORL 4-7 and the just lost Aaron Gordon