Eastern Powers

[celticfan42487]

Cavs don't have horrible players surrounding LeBron.

They all are good roleplayers for the most part. And in the playoffs they have reliable shooters from the 1 spot during clutch time in West and Gibson.

Pav,West,Gibson,Wallace,Z, Sideshow Bob, Joe Smith

Certainly no all-stars but pretty good roleplayers all around. Just need to use the expiring Wally and others to get one all-star into this group. Hell even a fringe one like Redd.

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

I see it more like this:

1. Boston
-------------------------------
2. Detroit
3. Orlando
4. Cleveland
-------------------------------
5. Toronto
6. Washington
7. Philadelphia

Is this real? We just added a premier 20/10 forward, and we don't improve at all, in a conference that didn't improve much if at all? ROFL.
-------------------------------
8. Miami
9. Atlanta
10. Chicago
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Bottom 5

Celtics are still a step above everyone else.
Could easily see Detroit moving up OR down, Orlando stays where they are, Cleveland could move down. Toronto stays where they are, Washington stays, Philly could move UP. Miami and Atlanta could both move UP. Only team in the bottom 5 that has a chance is Milwaukee.

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

I see it more like this:

1. Boston
-------------------------------
2. Detroit
3. Orlando
4. Cleveland
-------------------------------
5. Toronto
6. Washington
7. Philadelphia

Is this real? We just added a premier 20/10 forward, and we don't improve at all, in a conference that didn't improve much if at all? ROFL.
-------------------------------
8. Miami
9. Atlanta
10. Chicago
--------------------------------
Bottom 5

Celtics are still a step above everyone else.
Could easily see Detroit moving up OR down, Orlando stays where they are, Cleveland could move down. Toronto stays where they are, Washington stays, Philly could move UP. Miami and Atlanta could both move UP. Only team in the bottom 5 that has a chance is Milwaukee.

Edit: Here are my standings

1)Boston: Losing James Posey was a big blow, as who is going to backup Pierce? We don't know what Giddens or Walker will be capable of doing yet. Ray Allen was decent against the Pistons, and he and the Celtics got to abuse the Lakers. But in an 82 game season, will Ray Allen be okay? What of Rajon Rondo? Can he take his game to the next level? Alot of questions, but with KG/PP and at the very least they have shooting and depth on their roster. I pick them to be #1. But it is questionable if they can return to power,

2)Orlando: The people who have Cleveland here are fooling themselves. Cleveland has some decent shooters and LeBron James. That used to get to the finals, but not anymore. Orlando has one of the tallest frontcourts in the league with good outside shooting. The only questions are rebounding and better PG play. If Orlando feels like it can sac a little shooting, I see a potential swap with this next team.

3)Philadelphia: I'm not a homer, it's hard to be because with this roster: What you see, is what you get. Andre Miller is now among leaders, if not the leader in consecutive starts. Andre Iguodala has played in all 82 games for all but 1 year. Brand has been consistent before the Achilles Tendon and he showed he was back to form in LA. Dalembert has had two consecutive seasons of 82 games played. Now, let's talk about the makeup of the team. Because it's beautiful. The Sixers won their games by pushing up the tempo of the floor, right? Insert Elton Brand and you have a front court(Daly-Brand-Thad) that you can project to average 5 BPG and a back-court(Miller/Iggy) that averages up to 3 steals a game. The best thing about the Sixers may be their bench. Louis Williams has improved every year he's got playing time and there's no reason for that not to continue. Not to mention how he's a natural scorer. Williams/Willie and Rush give the Sixers excellent scoring guards. Reggie Evans is arguably one of the best bench players in the league. Rebounding, tough nosed defense. Jason Smith is that weakside shotblocker who looks like he's improved his offensive game.
Green/Rush/Ivey are also very versatile. As as Rush can play 2/3 and Ivey 1/2. Anything less then threatening for an ECF Spot will be a wasted season.

4)Cleveland Cavaliers: I said the Cavaliers wouldn't be able to contend for a title anymore. But they should at the very least be one of the top teams in the league. One of the main problems Cleveland face is they probably want to use their expirings to get a solid man into their rotation. If Louis Williams(PHI) improves,Andre Miller becomes a 10M expiring to use. And if Philadelphia gets any better, then it's a Boston/Philly ECF and there's nothing anybody can say or do about it. Perhaps, except The King. We shall see.

5)Detroit Pistons: Talk about falling off. Yes, Detroit has youth. But, unless Samb impresses the Pistons are lacking a 5, which is ironic since I have them at the fifth seed. Their offense will be good, and their bench will lift them into playoff contention. But a team like Philadelphia wasn't supposed to be in the playoffs. To be on the verge of elimination to the Sixers is proof of where this team is headed. Their glory days are as good as done.

6)Indiana Pacers: Some people may say I'm making a reach here. But if people call Toronto a top seed, Indiana should get into the playoffs. 7'2 center Roy Hibbert should be able to produce the same shotblocking and defense JO will bring, and is only 21 years old. Dunleavy and Granger are two tall players that will give opposing wings trouble on both ends. What Indiana lacked, was a PG that could set people up and make plays. With guards like Brandon Rush, Jarrett Jack, Marquis Daniels coming off of their bench. And solid bigs like Murphy and Rasho. Yes, Indiana's rebuliding. But quite nicely IMO.

7)Toronto Raptors: That brings us to the Raptors, who IMO have had the 2nd worst off season to the Knicks. Why did they spend 18 Million on a guy they could've selected in the 17th pick of the draft? Further more, by losing Ford, you move Calderon off of a very thin bench. If the Raptors do make the playoffs, it'll be as a 7th or an 8th seed.

8)Miami: They don't have a true PF yet, but that's fine if they can get a bruiser C downlow for them. As of now, the talent of Wade/Beasley/Marion should carry them to a 40 win season. Even if they don't have big men or a bench. Or perhaps a team for that matter.

Eastern Conference First round:
(1) Boston Sweeps (8) Miami 4-0
(2) Orlando repeats last yr(7)Toronto 4-0
(3)Philadelphia Beats (6)Indiana in a tight 4-2 series
(5)Detroit Beats (4) Cleveland 4-3.

Eastern Conference Semi's
(1) Boston Beats (5) Detroit 4-2
(3)Philadelphia beats (2) Orlando 4-3

Eastern Conference Finals:
(3) Philadelphia Beats (1) Boston 4-3

[sca]

7)Toronto Raptors: That brings us to the Raptors, who IMO have had the 2nd worst off season to the Knicks. Why did they spend 18 Million on a guy they could've selected in the 17th pick of the draft? Further more, by losing Ford, you move Calderon off of a very thin bench. If the Raptors do make the playoffs, it'll be as a 7th or an 8th seed.

The Raptors were 18-12 without Ford last year, just for your info.
And how can Hibbert be equal to JO is above me.

[sca]

I see it more like this:
5)Detroit Pistons: Talk about falling off. Yes, Detroit has youth. But, unless Samb impresses the Pistons are lacking a 5, which is ironic since I have them at the fifth seed. Their offense will be good, and their bench will lift them into playoff contention. But a team like Philadelphia wasn't supposed to be in the playoffs. To be on the verge of elimination to the Sixers is proof of where this team is headed. Their glory days are as good as done.

Wow. You talk as they've been eliminated to Sixers. They may have started slowly, but then went on to dominate the series. But the same can be said for the Celtics (vs. the Hawks) and all in all doesn't amount to much in my opinion.

[Kuq_e_Zi91]

6)Indiana Pacers: Some people may say I'm making a reach here. But if people call Toronto a top seed, Indiana should get into the playoffs. 7'2 center Roy Hibbert should be able to produce the same shotblocking and defense JO will bring, and is only 21 years old. Dunleavy and Granger are two tall players that will give opposing wings trouble on both ends. What Indiana lacked, was a PG that could set people up and make plays. With guards like Brandon Rush, Jarrett Jack, Marquis Daniels coming off of their bench. And solid bigs like Murphy and Rasho. Yes, Indiana's rebuliding. But quite nicely IMO.

Finally somebody other than a Pacers fan realizes what we are doing. I've seen the Pacers ranked as low as the worst team in the East. Some people just don't realize we didn't lose anything. JO barely even played last year and we managed to get TJ Ford, Rasho and Roy Hibbert out of him. You are right when you say we lacked a PG and we got 2 this off season in Jarrett Jack and TJ Ford that compliment eachother nicely. Hopefully more people will realize this or a lot are going to be surprised next year.

[Liqourish]

5)Detroit Pistons: Talk about falling off. Yes, Detroit has youth. But, unless Samb impresses the Pistons are lacking a 5, which is ironic since I have them at the fifth seed. Their offense will be good, and their bench will lift them into playoff contention. But a team like Philadelphia wasn't supposed to be in the playoffs. To be on the verge of elimination to the Sixers is proof of where this team is headed. Their glory days are as good as done.

Rasheed Wallace has been the starting center for two years now and they just signed Kwame Brown to back him up in the rotation. They also have Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson who are all capable of playing out of the post despite not being "true centers".

verge of elimination? I love the arrogance of Sixer fans after getting Brand.

[Liqourish]

5)Detroit Pistons: Talk about falling off. Yes, Detroit has youth. But, unless Samb impresses the Pistons are lacking a 5, which is ironic since I have them at the fifth seed. Their offense will be good, and their bench will lift them into playoff contention. But a team like Philadelphia wasn't supposed to be in the playoffs. To be on the verge of elimination to the Sixers is proof of where this team is headed. Their glory days are as good as done.

Rasheed Wallace has been the starting center for two years now and they just signed Kwame Brown to back him up in the rotation. They also have Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson who are all capable of playing out of the post despite not being "true centers".

verge of elimination? I love the arrogance of Sixer fans after getting Brand.

[TheKingOfVa360]

1. Boston
------------------
2. Washington
3. Detroit
4. Orlando
5. Cleveland
--------------------
6. Philly
7. Toronto
------------------
8. Chicago
9. Atlanta
10. Miami
------------------
11. Charlotte
12. Milwaukee
13. Indiana
14. New Jersey
15. New York

[KillerBee]

1. Boston
------------------
2. Detriot
3. Cleveland
4. Orlando
--------------------
5. Philly
6. Toronto
7. Washington
------------------
8. Atlanta
9. Indiana
10. Chicago
11. Miami
------------------
12. Charlotte
13. Milwaukee
14. New Jersey
15. New York

[Gordon Bombay]

heres what hoopsworld believes
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9710

[Liqourish]

I don't trust the opinion of any man who refers to Lebron James as "Bron Bron". But that's just me.

[pspot]

I'm not sold on Philly (especially if Iggy doesn't come back, but I'm assuming he does)
they are basically the 06/07 Clippers who missed the playoffs

I put the east at

1.Boston
------------------------
2.Orlando
3.Detroit
4.Toronto
5. Cleveland
6. Philly
7. Washington
8. Chicago

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

The 06/07 clippers? Don't kid yourself. This team has 3 legit scoring options. It has a front court that projects to average 5 BPG. A Back Court that projects to average 3 SPG. And with Brand/Daly/Thad/Evans, Philly will dominate the boards. Philly is deep and it can beat any team in the conference. I think of them as a more offensive version of the 04 Pistons.

[Cevap]

1. Boston
------------------
2. Washington
3. Detroit
4. Orlando
5. Cleveland
--------------------
6. Philly
7. Toronto
------------------
8. Chicago
9. Atlanta
10. Miami
------------------
11. Charlotte
12. Milwaukee
13. Indiana
14. New Jersey
15. New York

LOL!!!