RealGM

Since playoffs are coming up i think its appropriate to talk about the Dark horse teams, that can present a problem for us.

Toronto - Bosh injury detered them. Yesterday they beat Detroit, leading 16+ at one point.

Wizards - Beat us twice back to back. Arenas is about to return.

Sixers - Need i say more? Go Mang, take them Sixers down...

the Raptors are ok, but they aren't underrated. I think when they play an elite team with an elite big man, Bosh's effectiveness won't be as intense. It's possible to defend him well with an elite defensive big (ben wallace, dwight howard, kevin garnett, Rasheed).

Washington is a very very good team. Arenas, Stevenson, Butler, Jamison, Haywood..... with a decent bench. Their only problem is that they don't take defense seriously sometimes. If eddie jordan can get them fired up for the playoffs, i think they're better than the cavs.

I definitely want Philly to sneak into the #5 spot, so that we'll face either them or Cleveland. IMO, Toronto and Washington are better than either Philly or Cleveland, so let Detroit have the best of them.

Philly and Cleveland are not so hard to beat in the playoffs, and it would be like a free ticket to the East Finals. Detroit, on the other hand, would have to go through Toronto or Washington in the First Round, and then play the better of Toronto/Washington and Orlando.

The main concern right now is not to face Detroit in the East Finals.

Did anyone see the end of the Cle-NO game last night? Nice D on that game winner by West, CLE.

LeBron is amazing but that team **** sucks **** and there is NO WAY they get past the 2nd round this year.

I like Philadelphia and Washington. One of them can take Orlando or Cleveland out.

Poor Lebron - I don't think there is a worse playoff supporting cast then he has.. Wally putting up garbage numbers for "shooter" night after night. Your "sweet shooting" PG shooting a robust .413 from the field with the cavs.

Do they have cap room after this? Because they really need to revamp properly..

Pete

GuyClinch wrote:Poor Lebron - I don't think there is a worse playoff supporting cast then he has.. Wally putting up garbage numbers for "shooter" night after night. Your "sweet shooting" PG shooting a robust .413 from the field with the cavs.

Do they have cap room after this? Because they really need to revamp properly..

Pete

I'm pretty sure they don't.

They had cap space recently and they blew it on Larry Hughes (which has since become Ben Wallace's albatross deal). I think that was the year Redd and Ray were free agents, sucks they couldn't convince them to come play w/Bron in Cleveland. They'd both be great fits next to him on the wing.

Wally for Redd in February 2009.

Until then, I'm not afraid of the Cavs. Right now the Wizards are better than the Cavs, likewise the Magic.

There are no true dark horses in the East.

The only teams with any chance of representing the East in the finals are Boston, Detroit and Cleveland (only b/c LBJ is the best player in the league, with apologies to Kobe Bean Bryant).

Everyone else is an also-ran. Teams that you might think have a shot like Washington and Toronto will be much worse in the playoffs because they play no defense. And frankly, they sucked it up during the regular season most of the time, anyway. But in a 7 game series, teams with no D get exposed.

GuyClinch wrote:Poor Lebron - I don't think there is a worse playoff supporting cast then he has.. Wally putting up garbage numbers for "shooter" night after night. Your "sweet shooting" PG shooting a robust .413 from the field with the cavs.

Do they have cap room after this? Because they really need to revamp properly..

Pete

Nope. Which is why they can kiss LeBron goodbye when his contract is up...this is as good as it's gonna get for him in Cleveland.

WAS- if they're healthy there defense if much improved from last year so it won't be as easy to score on them as people remeber the old Wizards.

They also have post defense thanks to a matured Haywood starting and Kurt Thomas not.

TOR and ORL and CLE I think are rated about right.

Injuries should deter CLE and WAS though... at least WAS. You can't just jump off an injury play a week and be ready for the playoffs

MyInsatiableOne wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



Nope. Which is why they can kiss LeBron goodbye when his contract is up...this is as good as it's gonna get for him in Cleveland.

Actually they have expiring contracts, so not cap room but almost as good.

Wally ~17 mil expiring

Snow ~ 5 mil

It may be something like + or_ 1 mil on both of those.

But I do know their expirings for next season when combined are large enough to trade for KG straight up this year [and he's getting 20 or 21 million this season]

So I'd say because of the trade CLE has the largest amount of expirings in the NBA next season. We'll see if there are anyone looking to be traded that can help them.. as everyone made trades this season they should be alone on the trade bait island as a good destination for a fleeting angry all-star... but almost all the all-stars have been traded this year

[only J'Oneal comes to mind as a trade target for CLE but who knowes what will happen next year]

Toronto - Yesterday they beat Detroit, leading 16+ at one point.

Rip Hamilton did not play, raptors have no chance against a fully healthy 'detroit' team

oddly enough, atlanta scares me a bit in the first round. when they get it going, they are tough.

dont underestimate a young team that has nothing to prove.

young teams are sporadic and are nothing to be afraid off. they are destined to lose in a 7 game playoff series.

However, i think you guys under estimate the injuries that occurred during this season in East and how they will effect the play off standings.

^^Explain how these are being misjudged??