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The Celtics are the clear favorites in the Atlantic division but what about NJ, NY, Philly and Toronto? How do the other teams stack-up?

2. Raptors - Turkoglu is an upgrade over Shawn Marion and it signed a very good back-up point guard in Jarrett Jack. If Demar Derozan surprises, the Raps will be an offensive juggernaut. The teams' defensive woes are alarming so I'm guessing the 7-second-or-less offense will be a staple in Toronto this season. The Bosh-Bargs-Turk lineup is rail thin but also ugly and oddly intimidating. From a psychological standpoint, I think that this odd trio will stick in the minds of its competitors and do some significant damage. I'm guessing that Toronto will average 120 points/game for stretches throughout the season.

3. New York - Individually, several players on the Knicks roster have something to prove - and that's probably a good thing for D'Antoni. Unless something drastic happens, David Lee and Nate Robinson
will be playing for new contracts again this year, along with Duhon, Al Harrington, and Larry Hughes among others. This group is very combustible but that might be an overall advantage to the team. The young core of Chandler, Gallo, Hill and Douglass looks good on paper and may get significant PT. Also, NY owes its first round pick to the Jazz this year so there's no doubt the Knicks want to win every game this season (perhaps, unlike years past when ping-pong balls were an appealing alternative to true success).

4. Philly - Contrary to popular belief, I think the Sixers took a big step backwards this season. Brand was gone for most of last season so it's unreasonable to assume he will be back to old form this year either. If he re-establishes himself as the 20/10 guy he once was then Philly is a playoff team but without him and a reliable point guard (Andre Miller was an underrated loss), it looks like a worse team. Iggy, Young and Lou Williams are great young players but not enough to push the envelope. Eddie Jordan, furthermore, is returning to the bench this season and though he's a great offensive coach, he and his players will take some time adapting to one another.

5. New Jersey - The Nets have a very strong young core with Lopez, Yi, TWill, Lee and Harris but no semblance of veteran leadership or playoff experience. There will be growing pains this year @ the Meadowlands but the Nets are moving in the right direction. Following this season, the Carter trade won't look so good for the Magic IMO. Next year the draft is pretty deep so imagine the aforementioned group with a top-5 pick. That's legit.



What do you think and why?

Boston and Toronto WAYY ahead of the pack.
Toronto might give us a run for our money if they are as good on the court as they are on paper.

xxPrimierxx wrote:Boston and Toronto WAYY ahead of the pack.
Toronto might give us a run for our money if they are as good on the court as they are on paper.

You say "us", yet it looks alot like you are a Raps fan, Toronto isnt even close to the Celts even if they play up to their potential.

Mhm..quick question..how is Hedo an upgrade over Marion??O.o

Big_Matt34 wrote:

xxPrimierxx wrote:Boston and Toronto WAYY ahead of the pack.
Toronto might give us a run for our money if they are as good on the court as they are on paper.

You say "us", yet it looks alot like you are a Raps fan, Toronto isnt even close to the Celts even if they play up to their potential.

pretty sure it was sarcasm. our second unit could probably beat them in 7.

Pretty easy ranking I think
1.Boston
2.Toronto
3.Philidelphia
4.New York
5.New Jersey

I know some would put New York ahead of Philly but EVERY year New York is supposed to take that step where's at least Philly has put together some improvement in the last 2 years.

My 2 cents...

Boston
Philly
Toronto
New Jersey
New York (and a nice high draft pick joins the Jazz squad)

Marion was the perfect compliment to the no d/rebounding front line of Bosh/Bargs. Brand will return to form and with the better outside shooting of Lou-Wil/Thad, Iggy will have some room to work.

Harris is a stud and will only get better, same with Lopez. They should carry the Nets to a 30 win season. New York is garbage, plain and simple.

BRUNiNH091, for the Raptors, Turkoglu is an upgrade over Marion for these 3 reasons.

1. Skill - Turkoglu has been improving year-to-year while Marion peaked last year even though both players are the same age - 30.

2. Numbers - Turk averages more points (+4), assists (+3), and shoots better from the stripe and the 3-pt line. Marion is a better rebounder (+3) but remember he played with weak rebounding teams in Miami and Toronto unlike Turk who played next to Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard, the leagues best rebounder. Marion's defense is still better but he's not nearly the defensive threat he used to be.

3. Quality Experience - Turk played a vital role on a championship contending team. Marion's has never done that and probably never will.

1. Boston, head and shouldurs above the rest
2. Toronto Bosh in a contract year with good sidekicks
3. Philly Elton will be back that team has a ton of young talent
4. New York, just enough talent to miss the playoffs
5. NJ outside of devin harris things look pretty bleak

Boston
Philly
Toronto
NJ
NY

1. Boston - Yup.
2. Toronto - Not as much as the TC thinks. I definitely think they're better and look like a solid offensive team, but that D is just too weak. Bargs is pretty underrated on D and they brought in Evans, but as a whole they're still weak.
3. Philadelphia - Andre Miller's a huge loss, but they don't take that big of a step back. They've got some range with Kapono now. Kind of a wild card/wait and see situation.
4. New York - They have a deeper team and a better coach than the Nets, but still overall pretty meh.
5. New Jersey - They probably have the second best player out of the 2-4 group in Devin Harris, Brook Lopez is a good role player at this point, we'll see how Lee can contribute on a non-stacked team, and Yi could produce something, but after that (and that that is still pretty weak) they're completely barren. They're looking at a top five pick in next year's draft imo.

hairybyrd wrote:BRUNiNH091, for the Raptors, Turkoglu is an upgrade over Marion for these 3 reasons.

1. Skill - Turkoglu has been improving year-to-year while Marion peaked last year even though both players are the same age - 30.

2. Numbers - Turk averages more points (+4), assists (+3), and shoots better from the stripe and the 3-pt line. Marion is a better rebounder (+3) but remember he played with weak rebounding teams in Miami and Toronto unlike Turk who played next to Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard, the leagues best rebounder. Marion's defense is still better but he's not nearly the defensive threat he used to be.

3. Quality Experience - Turk played a vital role on a championship contending team. Marion's has never done that and probably never will.

1. We call that a late bloomer. Turkoglu has probably peaked as well.

2. Okay, looking from a basketball perspective (not a numbers), it's a lateral move in my opinion. They each gave Toronto something they were devoid of. Turkoglu gives them a legit playmaker (fishing for assists does not make Calderon a legit playmaker) and someone that can actually create his offense on the wing. Marion gave them toughness, D, and rebounding. Marion on Toronto really didn't work last year, so they're changing it up. They basically made a swap of role players (Kapono/Evans) to try to cover what they lost in the Marion for Hedo move.

3. Marion played a huge role with the Suns and they were definitely championship contenders.

Besides us the atlantic is pathetic.

I think the Raps and Sixers are going to be fighting it out for the 2nd seed.

I don't see the Knicks being 2nd.

3. Marion played a huge role with the Suns and they were definitely championship contenders.



So why has he been acquired by 3 different teams in the last 2 seasons? The Suns gave up on him for a reason. Phoenix couldn't get over the hump and Marion was the first move towards rebuilding. There's also a reason Turk is making $12 Million more over the life of either players' 5-year contract.

hairybyrd wrote:The Celtics are the clear favorites in the Atlantic division but what about NJ, NY, Philly and Toronto? How do the other teams stack-up?

What do you think and why?

Atlantic division

My predictions...

Best team: Boston
Worst team: New York
Sleeper team: New Jersey
Comeback team: Toronto
Team that might take a step back: Philadelphia


Boston's key to winning games is still their penchant for defense. With Thibodeau returning and, if Garnett is healthy, the Celtics' defense has a chance to be dominant again. Perkins, Rondo, Pierce, Daniels and R. Wallace help solidify the team defense as a whole. The team's biggest concern presents itself when Rondo sits. And Perkins must stay healthy. House will be again motivated as he's playing for a new contract. The bench can be that much better with a contributing T. Allen.

New York will seemingly remain a team in transition. Resigning Lee and Robinson are huge. What, if any, kind of real impact could Gallinari have in the rotation next season? Has Curry found his motivation? Chandler must emerge as the team's go-to scorer, and be their best player. Might be too many "What if's" on this team to overcome and avoid being in the division's basement. It's tough not to sound cliché in talking about this team. A lot would've to go their way next season to even have a semblance of respectability.

New Jersey is a team that has good young pieces to potentially be a team on the rise sooner than later. One thing that needs to happen is the emergence of Yi. Yi and B. Lopez would form an imposing duo in front court. Lee could have an impact on the team in his first season as a Net similar to Harris this season. If that happens... Watch out... Also, if the players can ignore the rebuilding perception, they could possibly defeat some stronger opponents on their schedule who underestimate them. Having all of these young and talented players come together and mesh can go a long ways in establishing a team identity. But who's the leader?

The addition of Turkoglu and the continuing maturation of Bargnani could be enough to help Bosh lead Toronto back to the playoffs next season. Will be interesting to see whether or not Belinelli can help offset the lost of A. Parker's perimeter game. Also, the additions of Evans, Jack and Nesterovic are significant. However, Bosh's immediate future with Toronto is still unclear. Might that become a distraction to him and/or team. If not, Toronto's chances of being among the best of the second tier of teams in the eastern conference is good. Both Bosh and Turkoglu create mismatches for most teams. The latter, can provide Bosh that legitimate sidekick he has been lacking. Couple this with Bargnani and Calderon, and Toronto (on paper) wins the most games after Boston in the division. The bench looks intriguing.

I've my reservations about Philadelphia. When Brand was healthy, he didn't exactly fit in well with the current starters this season. Some of the starters had to shift their position to accommodate him into the starting lineup. Not to mention, the lost of Miller. I wonder could Brand start at center with Dalembert coming off the bench. Could be some pressure on rookie Holiday to have a Rookie Of The Year-like season to fill the void at point guard. While Williams could be better served to this team if used primarily as a scorer. But are both of these guards more like Stuckey and less of a point guard. Philadelphia will need to establish their roles from day one to avoid any confusion if they're to start together in the back court. Green's another scoring guard, so you could see a three-man rotation unless someone emerges ahead of the others. On the bright side, Young and Speights are two promising pieces moving forward. But, even if Philadelphia should regress, they still have enough on the team to be at least a dark horse.

Good posting, bonsaiflops

I have, behind us, the following order:

TOR
PHI/NYC
NJ

Can't decide between Philadelphia and New York. I think NY will get to 35 wins. PHI would have to make a real step back just by losing Andre Miller. That's really possible, but hard to predict before the season starts. Additionally it might be interesting how they use Brand now that Miller isn't controlling the offense anymore.

Thanks!

I foresee either Philadelphia or Miami as the one previous playoff team that could miss qualifying next season.

Both the Heat and the Raptors could (potentially) lose their star player to free agency. However, of the two, Toronto at least went business as usual this summer.

If you're Miami, you can't rest your playoff hopes in J. O'Neal remaining healthy and helping Wade. You very well could be disappointed. Besides, his expiring contract could become trade bait before then. Moreover, the fact that Miami has an interest in adding another point guard does leave one to wonder just how confident are they in Chalmers. Still, if things should go south for their season, Miami will have a lot of salary cap space next off-season, and they're an ideal destination (warm weather) for most players to play.