Reply With Quote
First good thread i've read here in awhile +1. Though I think Boston might be better then Orlando. I guess we have to wait and see, good thread
1 Miami Heat 61 21 .744
Meet the Miami Globetrotters -- with the rest of the East playing the part of the Washington Generals. Our panel says the Super Friends should run circles around the rest of the conference, except perhaps for Orlando. Then again, Boston eliminated both D-Wade and King James a year ago, so that's why they play the postseason …
2 Orlando Magic 56 26 .683
The Magic stumbled vs. the Celtics in the East finals, but this is much the same team that won five series the past two postseasons. Orlando might have some magical maneuvers left, perhaps shipping out Vince Carter and/or finding a way to get Chris Paul. Until then, given Miami's summer, Orlando reverts to dangerous sleeper status.
3 Boston Celtics 51 31 .622
The C's showed the regular season means nothing to them, beating the Cavs and Magic despite starting on the road, and almost doing the same to the Lakers. So it matters little that Boston is projected to win "only" 51 games, as long as it can get KG, Perk and the other Men in Green healthy for April, May and June.
4 Chicago Bulls 50 32 .610
The East's second tier welcomes a new member: Chicago. The Bulls swung and missed on LeBron, D-Wade and CB4, but they did get Carlos Boozer, a deeper bench and a new coach, Tom Thibodeau. That and the sharp ascent of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah mean that Chicago's sellout crowds finally have something to see.
5 Atlanta Hawks 48 34 .585
Amazingly, Atlanta has improved for five straight seasons, but our panel says the streak ends here. The Hawks are a solid team that seems stuck in no man's land, having failed to make the conference finals for 40 years -- since the Lakers swept them in the 1970 Western Division finals -- and that probably won't change in 2011.
6 Milwaukee Bucks 46 36 .561
The East seems to have six sure playoff teams, and for the first time in years, Milwaukee is a member of that echelon. Our panel remains in a prove-it-to-me posture regarding whether the Bucks can crack the East's upper crust, but if Brandon Jennings progresses and Andrew Bogut's arm is OK, the pieces are in place.
7 Charlotte Bobcats 39 43 .476
Have they peaked? Fresh off of its best season in franchise history, Charlotte's roster looks weaker, its division looks stronger, and Larry Brown -- naturally -- looks like he's itching to leave. Still, with two spots up for grabs, they'll likely earn back-to-back playoff appearances and, in this scenario, a first-round rematch with the Magic.
8 New York Knicks 37 45 .451
Knicks in the playoffs! But NY fans had more than an eight-game improvement in mind when the team entered the offseason with the ability to sign two superstars. The Amare addition should help, and Mike D'Antoni finally gets some horses to run his system, but the future remains murky. Still, e Lee has something to cheer about.
9 Washington Wizards 32 50 .390
Excited about John Wall? So is our panel, which forecasts the Wizards finishing five spots higher. That says a lot about the uncertainty at the bottom of the East, but it also reflects the renewed hope expected in Washington's locker room after the gun incident that cost the team Gilbert Arenas -- now the other half of the Wiz backcourt.
10 Indiana Pacers 31 51 .378
The Pacers essentially stood pat and might miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season. But there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel -- Indy is armed with expiring contracts and on track to have cap space next summer. Meanwhile, the Pacers hope to build on last season's 10-4 finish and avoid the East cellar.
11 Philadelphia 76ers 31 51 .378
Even a new coach (Doug Collins) and the No. 2 pick (Evan Turner) didn't give Philly much of a boost in our forecast. While the Sixers have the raw materials to emerge as a surprise team in the East, our panel fears their roster of bad contracts, mismatched pieces and redundant talent will render them mediocre at best.
12 Detroit Pistons 31 51 .378
The Pistons haven't missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons since 1994 and 1995, back when Joe Dumars was still playing. To avoid back-to-back lottery visits, they'll need better health and perhaps some bold moves from Joe D in the coming months. Signing Tracy McGrady, Ben Wallace and Will Bynum? That just won't cut it in Detroit.
13 Cleveland Cavaliers 30 52 .366
Get used to scrolling down this far to find the Cavs in the standings, sad to say. With a certain King taking his talents to South Beach, we're forecasting a 31-game drop in Cleveland. In other words, unless Christian Eyenga is the second coming of LeBron James, Dan Gilbert may want to back off his championship guarantee.
14 New Jersey Nets 27 55 .329
Speaking of owners with lofty goals … Mikhail Prokhorov expects the Nets to make the playoffs in 2010-11 despite finishing with the NBA's worst record last season. Our panel isn't as optimistic, not after New Jersey struck out in free agency. Still, a 15-game jump in the standings under new coach Avery Johnson would be a good start.
15 Toronto Raptors 27 55 .329
After the ugly departures of Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu, the Raptors are basically starting over with a roster more random than designed. Given the significant dollars tied up in the likes of Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, Leandro Barbosa and Amir Johnson, don't expect a lot of defense -- or a lot of wins anytime soon, either.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/s...-EastStandings
First good thread i've read here in awhile +1. Though I think Boston might be better then Orlando. I guess we have to wait and see, good thread
thanks, it's been a while since basketball has been talked in here ...... can get brutal at times
Eastern conference Playoffs
1. Heat
8. Knix
4. Bulls
5. Hawks
3. C's
6. Bucks
7. Bobcats
2. Magic
With the Eastern conference actually getting stronger, the playoff match ups would look really good if this happened
I don't think i'd be able to stand another Magic Bobcats playoff match up lol
I still think Orlando or Celtics will be better then Heat, I don't think Heat will be as good as people think, and Nets won't be as bad as people think and then Knicks will miss the playoffs again
I think your Nets will be much improved, I know thats not sayin much after last season but I think the Playoffs are possible. what do u think?
I think playoffs are possible, I mean I'm not expecting Nets to win the finals, but playoffs why not. You can't look at last years team for the Nets most of gone and have a bunch of new players. If we kept the same players you could say we suck.
I agree ... i think Bobcats Heat would be FAR more intersting ...
Doubt Cats could beat Heat but maybe put a LITTLE scare though ...maybe like Bulls did ...
I think we can all safely say that the top three teams will be Orlando, Miami and Boston. The two/three match up in the 2nd round should be quite nice ......
I also think if healthy (Pacers) Collison gives them a shot at #8 ...
All depends if their young rookie can help and if reports of Hibberts development is true ...
I wouldnt put the Heat at #1 just yet
who would you put number one ????
Barring injury I would say they're a pretty safe bet for the #1 seed. Boston will most likely employ last year's strategy and play it safe to keep their legs healthy and fresh for the postseason. Orlando is probably the biggest regular season threat to the Heat, but I just don't see them dominating like Miami will.
Once the playoffs start, however, Boston will be the team in the EC to look out for again.
Just trying to not be a homer, wait I thought your home was Cleveland 23LebronJames23?
1. Miami Heat
2. Orlando Magic
3. Boston Celtics
4. Atlanta Hawks
5. Chicago Bulls
6. Milwaukee Bucks
7. Charlotte Bobcats
8. Philadelphia 76ers
9. Cleveland Cavaliers
10. Detroit Pistons
11. New York Knicks
12. New Jersey Nets
13. Indiana Pacers
14. Washington Wizards
15. Toronto Raptors
4-5 could go either way. I like the Bulls better, but I'll give the Hawks the slight edge due to continuity.
There's only six playoff teams in the East, but as we know, eight teams in each conference make the playoffs and seven and eight are a crap shoot. All but 2-3 teams probably have a realistic shot.
Brown is a good enough coach and that team is good enough defensively to make up for their relative lack of talent and squeak in.
76ers because I think they underachieved last season and I expect Collins, Turner and the fact that the bottom half of the East is yet again terrible to be enough for them to hold off the myriad of other teams who could potentially get this spot if nearly everything breaks right for them.
7-8 could go either way.
The Hawks won't be as good in the regular season but I think come playoff time we should be okay. I'm even surprised we made it to the 2nd round, considering that it was obvious throughout the regular season the players had tuned Woodson out. The players had quit on Woodson and our system sucked which resulted in our playoff disaster versus the Magic. We still need to make some moves but getting rid of Woody was the first step in the right direction imho.
The Hawks made the second round by default. The Bucks would have had a legit shot to beat them with a healthy Bogut, but without him the Hawks couldn't have not made the second round if they tried to...and they seemingly did.
The East is terrible beyond the top six teams.
9-13 is the toughest part of either conference to predict. I'll probably tweak my order before the season starts, but for now I'm going with the Cavs at 9 because I think they'll have a ton of motivation. From hearing that their success was all James' doing for years to him leaving them because they weren't good enough to people expecting them to be terrible without James, etc. This is their chance to prove to people that they're more than James. In the West, that alone wouldn't be enough to get near the playoffs. In the East, it might be. But honestly, the Pacers could get that spot as well if nearly everything goes right for them. That's how tight and mediocre - worse that group of teams is.
Now in THIS thread I agree with you ...and bucks are only really good if Bogut is 100%
Another Lebron lapdog. #1? Gimme a break. They will make the playoffs, for sure, mostly because they're in a weak conference. But they're still not better than the Celtics, the Magic, or the Bulls, who will, I predict wind up being 1-3 in the East come playoff time in 2011. Beyond the top 3 it doesn't really matter cause no one else really has chance. Heat will probably wind up #4 and knock out whoever is #5...yay for Bosh's first playoff victory. But then they'll get their asses handed to them by whichever of the top 3 teams they play in the semis.
Look I think the Heat are being slightly overrated as much as the next person, but that post is borderline ignorant
Boston
I dont think MIA should be at number because I havent seen them play with the different/new roster.
But if we talkin on paper which team is better I'd put them next to Lakers
Subs ute beyond for borderline and I agree with you.
I'd love to see the Heat fail and ultimately they might as far as winning the championship next season goes, but to have them 4th and eliminated in round one is pure ignorance.
If you're not going to be objective, then you have no credibility.
ATL will shoot themselves in the ass again ......
Chicago? Really? That's as ignorant as it gets. Just stop posting
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
