Reply With Quote
A cakewalk.
I don't see Orlando or Cleveland eliminating them if all 3 teams are healthy.
Shaq is simply to big of a defensive liability to make it all up by good offensive production.
And we all saw what happened to Howard's offensive game when a proper defensive game plan was made against him in the finals. I believe Celtic's are able to make that happen.
I would love to hear a serious take on them from some of you who follow them more.
A cakewalk.
I think all 3 have an equal shot
BOS 33%
ORL 33%
CLE 33%
If I had to pick one of those, I'd have to go with Orlando because of their extremely talent laden bench, and relative younger ages.
I don't know but I think Cleveland had better motivation, LBJ will be a free agent next summer, Shaq will do his best to surpass Duncan.Boston is good but they've got champ once.
Magic has very good players but I doubt Carter could fill in Turkoglu's role, who was very good at decision-making and play-making in Orlando.
I wish I had 10 bucks for every time I've heard someone use this argument as a reason the magic will be worse this year. A simple look at the numbers proves otherwise, and actually shows that the magic will be better off w/VC.
Carter's assist ratio last year was nearly identical to Turk's. (4.7/4.9). There goes the crux of your argument right there. Rebounding, steals, blocks all pretty much equal as well. Carter shoots a better % and turns the ball over significantly less (there goes the rest of your argument).
I don't think there's a clear-cut leader of the 3 East teams although If I had to choose, I'd go with Boston.
I hope the ECF matchup will be Cavs vs Celtics, that would be an awesome series and probably the most hyped ECF in recent memory.
One huge obstacle stands in Cleveland's way...the Wizards. If the Cavs and Wizards matchup in the Playoffs again, we might see a major upset.
boston is the best but lebron almost beat the celtics by himself in a 7 game series. and he is better now, kg always defers to players in big games letting vaerejo shut him down
In my opinion they have the best chance out of coming out of the east. Ronda showed last year in the playoffs that he could hold his own, his teamates will compliment him. Ray Allen is still a lights out shooter. Paul Pierce is still a great leader. Garnett if he can have a good this year I think they will have a great shot.
If the Cavs were to get Jackson, I think they'd be the favorites in the East.
It's impossible tell, but right now they have the best chance cause there are still question marks on orlando and Cleveland way bigger than that of Boston.
As long as they are giving Mo Williams a major role, they are setting themselves up for failure.
Well acquiring Jackson would lessen his role, which can only be a good thing. Unless it's a regular season game against a team 15 games below .500 and then he's money.
While the bench of Orlando may have more talent, I like the bench of Boston with House, T.Allen, Daniels, Davis, Wallace and I think their defensive system can maximize Sheldon Williams as well. They all know their roles, most can shoot and/or defend/rebound.
Health, as mentioned, will be the key, but even if Garnett allows himself to be shutdown on offense, he's a fierce defender and will not just allow LeBron to crabwalk his way down the lane. They may be missing that one piece (a true backup PG or another big, good-shooting wing), but they'll have some contracts to move for that player should he become available. Scalabrine, House and Allen total roughly 8 million in expiring contracts, and only House is a true rotation player.
Their problem is Mike Brown, it sounds crazy but he's got a lot of similarities to Mike D'antoni. His team loves to blow all the crappy teams out, and lose to all the other contenders, and being the idiot he is, he convinces himself that that's not a problem. He plays the starters 40 MPG during the regular season to inflate their record and doesn't develop the bench, so he's up 's creek without a paddle when someone in his 6-7 man rotation is having a bad series. He also is horrible at making any adjustments over the course of a series. Delonte West was getting torched by Turk in game 1-5, so of course he goes with the same matchup for a must win game.
Carter will have his way with Allen by what, settling for perimeter jumpers all game long? Carter isn't attacking the basket with Garnett, Perkins, Wallace, Davis, Williams waiting for him in the lane... I mean, he hardly attacks the basket anyways.
Magic have a ton of talent, so it makes sense to pick them, but not on the dribble-drive potential of Carter. He's six years removed from consistently being that player.
In my opinion, if Boston is healthy, they are the clear cut favorites in the East by about the same margin as the Lakers in the West.
They can be that good. Scary good.
Right now I'd break the odds down like this:
Boston 40%
Cleveland 30%
Orlando 30%
I like this.
boston is easily the favorite in the east. they wouldve destroyed the lakers last year with a healthy KG. this year is infinitely more interesting, with artest and a healthy bynum, the lakers are just loaded.
I don't have an opionion.
I think Cleveland is much better than Boston. They had the best record in the league last year and just imploded in the ECF. With the addition of Shaq I see no way for Boston to beat them.
The critique of Allen would have more wait if that same critique didn't fit Carter's game/mentality like a glove.
I am judging it by how good of a team they were when they were healthy and by the additions they made to their team. The health is a big if, but keep in mind, the Lakers were taken to 7 games by a depleted Rockets team and could have lost the Nuggets series as well. It is not like they steamrolled their way through the playoffs.
Celtics are just a better overall team than the other teams in the East if they are healthy.
It is not hype, they smashed the Lakers in the finals when healthy and the only major contributors missing were Ariza & Bynum and really Bynum did not do this year.
Health is a major concern, but if they are healthy, they will be a great team. Not as good as the Lakers, but they could be if all things go well.
Bynum did not do this year in the playoffs. He was not putting up the same numbers or playing the number of quality minutes Perkins was. Bynum was a non-factor this year, Perkins was a major factor, even if his numbers weren't great.
Bynum this year is why the Lakers will be ahead of the Celtics, but the Celts will be very good if they are healthy.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
