Eastern Conference Rankings

[Official]

Chicago is just the Utah Jazz of the East. They are not a title contender. Ranking them above Orlando, Miami, or Boston is plain stupid.

[LUKE23]

Regarding NY, still see them as a horrendous defensive team. What is their starting five now? From what I can see, it is Felton/Chandler/Gallinari/Randolph/Amare? Or are they going to start Turiaf or the rookie Jordan at C? Either way, very unproven inside as Amare is a PF, not a C. I think they will be very tough to guard offensively, since Felton and Amare are both offensive upgrades over what they had, but still see that lineup getting torched defensively.

[stacey_is_king]

Chicago is just the Utah Jazz of the East. They are not a title contender. Ranking them above Orlando, Miami, or Boston is plain stupid.

Is this supposed to be playoffs seedings or Conference ranking? Because they're not the same thing.

[Jimmy76]

but still see that lineup getting torched defensively.

worse than when Lee was the starting C?

I think the defense is going to be slightly better but their offense will probably be significantly better if AR starts and stays healthy that should help their rebounding too

[LUKE23]

worse than when Lee was the starting C?

I think the defense is going to be slightly better but their offense will probably be significantly better if AR starts and stays healthy that should help their rebounding too

Amare at C is not as bad as Lee defensively, but its close, Amare is a sieve at both spots but really bad at C. If Randolph/Amare are your starting PF/C, you will get absolutely abused every night in the frontcourt.

[_BBIB_]

The Hawks have peaked?

Yeah never mind the fact that they are STILL one of the youngest teams in the league. And the youngest team to advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs last year. They've peaked.

And the whole but everybody around them got better thing. Yeah how's that worked out the last 3 years when the Hawks have still increased their win total and overall seeding every year.

Josh Smith and Al Horford are still improving as well as the fact that Jeff Teague gives the Hawks a legit PG that will see some time next year as well as having basically a mix of Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford in Jordan Crawford as an upgrade over say a Mo Evans off the bench.

This team is a Shaquisition away from being the 2nd best team in the East.

[I am Ra]

Regarding NY, still see them as a horrendous defensive team. What is their starting five now? From what I can see, it is Felton/Chandler/Gallinari/Randolph/Amare? Or are they going to start Turiaf or the rookie Jordan at C? Either way, very unproven inside as Amare is a PF, not a C. I think they will be very tough to guard offensively, since Felton and Amare are both offensive upgrades over what they had, but still see that lineup getting torched defensively.

Randolph blocks shots and is a better defender than who we had(Harrington).

Amare blocks more shots and is a better defender than who we had(Lee).

Turiaf blocks shots and is ok defensively(first time we had a defensive big0

Gallo is a good defender.

Chandler is a good defender.

Felton is a better defender and better offensively than Duhon.

Mozgov (that European center we signed) will play and he is good defensively and atheletic

Walker is ok defensively

Azubuike is ok defensively.

Toney Douglas is very good defensively.

Those are the candidates who will play. Where do you see bad defense?

[Jimmy76]

worse than when Lee was the starting C?

I think the defense is going to be slightly better but their offense will probably be significantly better if AR starts and stays healthy that should help their rebounding too

Amare at C is not as bad as Lee defensively, but its close, Amare is a sieve at both spots but really bad at C. If Randolph/Amare are your starting PF/C, you will get absolutely abused every night in the frontcourt.

its still better than lee/harrington on defense

so their defense is getting slightly better

[LUKE23]

There is more to defense than blocking shots. A lot more. Nobody on this planet would consider Amare a good defensive player at either PF or C. Gallinari is strong defensively? Based on what? Felton is the only strong defensive player I see in the starting five for NY, unless Turiaf starts.

[I am Ra]

There is more to defense than blocking shots. A lot more. Nobody on this planet would consider Amare a good defensive player at either PF or C. Gallinari is strong defensively? Based on what? Felton is the only strong defensive player I see in the starting five for NY, unless Turiaf starts.

I guess you havent been paying attention to Gallo playing defense on everyones star player late last season. And I didnt just say blocks shots, I also said better defensively. I guess you missed that part. Look at my comparisons and tell me where we downgraded on D?

Edit: Also likely starting 5 is:

Felton - very good on d
Chandler - good on d
Gallo - a little better than good on d
Amare - average on d
Turiaf(only for 15-20 minutes) - good d

[Jimmy76]

There is more to defense than blocking shots. A lot more. Nobody on this planet would consider Amare a good defensive player at either PF or C. Gallinari is strong defensively? Based on what? Felton is the only strong defensive player I see in the starting five for NY, unless Turiaf starts.

not disagreeing at all but all things considered randolph/amare>harrington/lee on defense though both are bad

based on the little ive seen Gallo looks like a solid defender the best statistical evidence I can give is his -1.9 defensive on/off as imperfect a stat as that is

[LUKE23]

Felton - very good on d
Chandler - good on d
Gallo - a little better than good on d
Amare - average on d
Turiaf(only for 15-20 minutes) - good d

I'd completely disagree with both Gallinari and Amare being above average for their position on D. So are you saying the Knicks are going to improve their 27th defensive ranking (http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/2010.html) all the way to average (15th) or better next year? If so, I'd like to make a side wager with you.

[cool007]

Cool's Predictions:


1. Heat
2. Magic
3. Bulls
4. Celtics
5. Hawks
6. Bucks
7. Knicks
8. Cavs

9. 76ers
10. Bobcats
11. Wizards
12. Pistons
13. Nets
14. Raptors
15. Pacers

After the top 6 teams, it's really hard to tell which team will be where - any of those teams could move up and any of them can move down.

[I am Ra]

Felton - very good on d
Chandler - good on d
Gallo - a little better than good on d
Amare - average on d
Turiaf(only for 15-20 minutes) - good d

I'd completely disagree with both Gallinari and Amare being above average for their position on D. So are you saying the Knicks are going to improve their 27th defensive ranking (http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/2010.html) all the way to average (15th) or better next year? If so, I'd like to make a side wager with you.

I wouldnt doubt that they move up to top 20s. Not sure if that high. Plus the offensive improvements that = more wins and playoffs.

plus when did i say Amare is above average on d?

[crkone]

Knicks may be improved slightly on defense, but it takes a lot of practice and dedication in training camp to install defensive sets and philosophy. It also helps if you have a defensive anchor to rely on like a Howard, Bogut, Crash, etc. Is D'antoni going to spend time on defense like that?

[knicksNOTslick]

1. Heat
2. Magic
3. Bulls
4. Hawks
5. Celtics
6. Bucks
7. Bobcats
8. Knicks

I want the Heat in the first round.

9. Wizards
10. Pistons
11. Sixers
12. Nets
13. Cavs
14. Pacers
15. Raptors

[I am Ra]

Knicks may be improved slightly on defense, but it takes a lot of practice and dedication in training camp to install defensive sets and philosophy. It also helps if you have a defensive anchor to rely on like a Howard, Bogut, Crash, etc. Is D'antoni going to spend time on defense like that?

I'm not saying the Knicks will be a defensive juggernaut. I'm saying they considerably improved their personnel to improve to average or somewhere near that defensively.

[Jimmy76]

Knicks may be improved slightly on defense, but it takes a lot of practice and dedication in training camp to install defensive sets and philosophy. It also helps if you have a defensive anchor to rely on like a Howard, Bogut, Crash, etc. Is D'antoni going to spend time on defense like that?

no ones claiming the knicks are going to be a defensive powerhouse just that theyre going to improve from terrible, probably to somewhere from mediocre to bad and that is justified by going from duhon to felton and harrington/lee to randolph/amare

and since when is crash a defensive anchor?

edit:above beat me to it

[I am Ra]

Knicks may be improved slightly on defense, but it takes a lot of practice and dedication in training camp to install defensive sets and philosophy. It also helps if you have a defensive anchor to rely on like a Howard, Bogut, Crash, etc. Is D'antoni going to spend time on defense like that?

no ones claiming the knicks are going to be a defensive powerhouse just that theyre going to improve from terrible, probably to somewhere from mediocre to bad and that is justified by going from duhon to felton and harrington/lee to randolph/amare

and since when is crash a defensive anchor?

edit:above beat me to it

its ok, you wrote more. LOL

[cool007]

Lots of players are working on their game in the offseason. The fact that Rose SAYS his 3 point shot is now money isn't very relevant. I'm guessing 99% of NBA players interviewed right now would say the same thing.

Is that a JOKE???

You don't know anything about Rose then. This guy doesn't say much and when he does, he is TRUE TO HIS WORDS.

He said he wanted to be ROY, he did it.
He said he wanted to be an All-Star, he did it.
He said he needed to improve his mid-range jumper - came back with 1 of the best mid-range jumper.
He said Bulls would make the playoffs (after 10-game losing streak), he took it to another level and carried the bulls to playoffs even though Noah was not 100% and Deng wasn't either.

This is not your typical NBA player saying anything. Whenever Rose has said something, he has PROVED IT EVERY SINGLE TIME.

If it was some other player, we would have taken it with a grain of salt but Rose is not that type of player.

So now if Rose says, he has worked on his 3pt shot and looks pretty good, then there is no reason not to believe he has.