Everyone wants to talk about super teams. Of course, the Heat, Knicks, Clippers, Celtics and all the rest of ’em capture the imagination of the NBA fan base. There’s nothing quite like feeling the anticipation and excitement in the air when you see that news hit telling you Chris Paul has finally been traded and he’s going to the Clippers. What immediately follows is typically more invigorating than what eventually happens. The promise of what could be is almost always better than what is. Even here at Dime, we find ourselves talking about one third of the NBA about 80 percent of the time. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about everyone else.
In the final week before the regular season tips off for real this Sunday on Christmas, we’ll break down each division, team by team in an effort to give you an overall look at what to expect in what’s sure to be a relentlessly exciting season.
To start things off, we’ll get our East Coast bias on and dive into the Atlantic Division, previewed in order of expected finish:
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5. Toronto Raptors
The New Guys That Count: Aaron Gray (We guess)
Projected Starting Five: Jose Calderon, DeMar DeRozan, James Johnson, Andrea Bargnani, Ed Davis
Last week, after we stated the Hornets might now become the worst team in the league, our Twitter and Facebook following blew up. They told us “Calm down, relax. NO ONE is worse than Toronto.” Sorry to our Canadian brothers, but 80 percent of the responses that came pouring in all said the same thing: the worst team in the league is those dinosaurs north of the border.
On the basis of argument, the Raptors do have a third-year player, DeRozan, who could soon be making annual trips to All-Star weekend (and not to get robbed on Saturday night either). They have an athletic big in Davis, and the guy who once was compared to Dirk until we smarted up and realized that Il Mago makes even Nowitzki look like the next Xavier McDaniel.
But when you’re atrocious defensively, and don’t have a starting caliber player at either center or point guard, you’re going to get run over more often than a sunbathing turtle.
BEST CASE: Realistically? DeRozan makes the same step Eric Gordon made last year, Bargnani gets tougher and the Raptors stay out of the league’s cellar.
WORST CASE: I don’t want to talk about it… Is 10 wins bad enough?
4. New Jersey Nets
The New Guys That Count: MarShon Brooks, Shawne Williams, Shelden Williams, reportedly Andrei Kirilenko (Marc Stein tweeted this just a few minutes ago)
Projected Starting Five: Deron Williams, Anthony Morrow, Damion James (or hopefully Kirilenko), Shelden Williams, Brook Lopez
What’s the worst part about moving? It’s not redecorating. It’s not finding a new place to stay. It’s not even the initial decision to actually suck it up and go for it. It’s that in-between time when all your clothes, appliances and if you’re us, your sneakers, are stuffed into boxes and bags, your life in shambles all around you. A few containers might be at the new digs. Some more will still be waiting on the move, and you’ll be in a forever state of transition, not quite here or there. Constant stress. Never a moment to lay down and relax (If you even have a bed to sprawl out on). That’s the Nets right now, stuck with a half-assembled roster and sitting in the purgatory of Newark for one more year while they wait to move to Brooklyn.
Can you blame Deron Williams for testing free agency this summer? You mean besides the business aspect (He would’ve been stupid not too)? No. No one in the organization knows what the team will look like a year from now. Neither does he.
For now, the Nets are a pit stop for almost every NBA team on the schedule, a chance for local fans to check out LeBron and the Heat when they come or Kobe and the Lakers when they stop into town. No fan is losing sleep over the Nets. And that’s a pity for Deron Williams. We’ve already got dibs on a future “Deron Williams Is Back, The Best Point Guard In The League” headline once he finds himself on a playoff team again. We’ll watch this squad just to see how long he can keep a smiling face this season.
BEST CASE: Deron Williams shows out and starts hearing BPG (Best Point Guard) solicitation again. Everyone goes in over their heads and somehow come out smiling. 30 wins.
WORST CASE: Deron Williams gets tired of his teammates (Shawne, Jordan, Shelden) dirtying up the family name and starts going for his. Brook Lopez continues sliding towards All-Pusseycat and the Nets mentally bounce for Brooklyn by game no. 20.
3. Philadelphia 76ers
The New Guys That Count: None
Projected Starting Five: Jrue Holiday, Jodie Meeks, Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand, Spencer Hawes
Philly might be the worst good team in the league. At some point, they’ve got to make a move one way or another. Straddling the line of mediocrity just won’t cut it, especially in the melting pot of Philadelphia. Last season, they started 3-13 and then finished by winning 23 of their last 39 games. Elton Brand had somewhat of a bounce back year while Andre Iguodala did the opposite. Quite simply, they’re AZ in the late ’90s: decent, but without the explosive optimism some franchises/record labels can sell their fans.
Holiday might be the key. Does he have it in him to make the next step? To go from being a potentially very good player to the brink of the All-Star Game? Some of our readers were saying earlier this year they’d rather have Holiday than Rondo. Calm down now. But he does hold the keys – we’re thinking 15/4.5/7.5 this year – for how far this team goes.
BEST CASE: Thaddeus Young goes from being X-factor to beast, and Jrue Holiday backs up that tough talk from his fans. I’m thinking a No. 5 seed in the East and a six or seven game first-round series.
WORST CASE: Doug Collins grinds them to a halt, Andre Iguodala finally gets traded for pennies on the dollar and Young stops progressing. The Sixers fall out of the playoff race by February and become the most disappointing team in the league.
2. NEW YORK KNICKS
The New Guys That Count: Baron Davis, Mike Bibby, Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert
Projected Starting Five: Davis, Landry Fields, Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler
Like a bulimic on a seesaw. Nas knows what’s up. No team in the league has a more off-balance lineup than the Knicks. As we’ve noted before, they have perhaps the best frontcourt in the league this year, and yet their perimeter players couldn’t get Ray Lewis excited. Baron Davis may help, if he isn’t too concerned with his off-the-court persona. We love how Knick fans already saying “If Baron is healthy, that’s a scary team.” Considering the man has either been A) unhealthy or B) disinterested for the past three seasons or so, do you really think the prospect of playing with STAT and ‘Melo is going to change things?
While the guards will surelly take their lumps, we LOVE Shumpert. Give him all of Pee Wee Herman’s (Mike Bibby) minutes and we’re good.
The biggest problem New York has to face is that the parts just don’t match up. You have a coach that thrives only when he has a fabulous point guard directing a run-n-gun, seven seconds or less offense. This Knicks team is built for the halfcourt. We can already see the new coaching theories starting to circulate if the Knicks don’t jump out of the starting blocks.
BEST CASE: Baron Davis turns back the clock every now and then to ’06, the frontcourt gels immediately and we get daily storylines about how the Knicks are back. They go to the second round and recreate some magic.
WORST CASE: Davis spends more time on Broadway than in the Garden with the Knicks. Another barely .500 season and a spanking in the first round of the playoffs gets Mike D’Antoni fired.
1. Boston Celtics
The New Guys That Count: Brandon Bass, Chris Wilcox
Projected Starting Five: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O’Neal
Our Celtic fan friends were already freaking out before Jeff Green‘s unfortunate health issue. Now? They might go jump off the Tobin Bridge. Their once heralded size has been chopped in half, and to show for it, they actually lost depth on the wings. You know it’s bad when Boston is clamoring for James Posey, a guy that left the city three years ago because the Celtics weren’t trying to pay an over 30-year-old wing player.
But when you have a big four like Boston does, and you play in an Eastern Conference that dips off the Grand Canyon once you get past the top three or four teams, even an average year will get you to the second round.
They should restrict Danny Ainge‘s phone calls to other rival GMs, put a limit on the old guys’ minutes and hope for the best in a roller coaster regular season that’ll surely leave these old timers searching for a waste basket more often that not.
Predictions for how the condensed schedule will affect Boston are all over the place. The guys at TNT (Shaq, Barkley & the Jet) told us last week they think the experience of having gone through the last lockout will help many of Boston’s best players. When you know what to expect, it makes things a whole lot easier. Barkley went so far as to say Boston is his favorite in the East. We won’t go that far, but they should still win this division.
BEST CASE: They survive the hell hole of a regular season without anyone falling apart (Jermaine O’Neal), and Ainge doesn’t pull the trigger on some ridiculous trade after a night of shamelessly calling every other GM in the league. They survive in the shadows until the playoffs, and then make one final desperate run to the Finals.
WORST CASE: Doc tries to buy too much time during the season, starts sitting his big guns too often and they start off the year struggling to stay above .500. The Celtics end up with the No. 8 seed in the playoffs, and then are snuffed badly by Miami.
Who do you think will run this division? Who will surprise?
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