Post by Orlando Magic on Jun 4, 2008 2:05:23 GMT -5
And now, we take a look at the Eastern Conference. Loaded with Veteran General Managers and great players, getting just the 8 seed can be an all out battle. In fact, some circles would say that the 8 seed in the East can beat the 3 seed in the West. While that might be a bit of an exaggeration, there is no doubt that this is the better conference, even moreso than last year.
Same rules as last time, kiddos.
Starting lineup goes in order of: C, PF, SF, SG, PG
Backups are listed from biggest to smallest (position-wise, not height wise).
1. [glow=purple,2,300]Toronto Raptors[/glow]
With so much overall Guard talent in the West, a teams dominace usually comes down to one thing: Big Man Talent. With the Raptors recent acquisition of Jermaine O'Neal from the TrailBlazers, there is no question that they are thes best in the East. Their defense is absolutely unstoppable, they have some of the best scoring big men in the league, they have great shooters from the outside, and they are backed up at almost every position. If they could somehow get a guard with A- or A handles, I would never doubt their dominance. And who knows, Dwayne Wade might be that guard! If there was one team to take down the Lakers this year, it would be the Raptors.
Likely Starters: Jermaine O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Andrei Kirilenko, Steven Jackson, Larry Hughes
Key Backups: Bruno Sundov, Danny Fortson, Dennis Scott, Edward G. Robinson, Dwayne Wade'
2. [glow=blue,2,300]Orlando Magic[/glow]
Thats right, the cellar dwellers of three years straight went to the playoffs last year in the East. And this year, you ask? They just may be going to the Eastern Conference finals. Hell, they could be champions. After another fantastic training camp, oft-ridiculed General Manager TMaczDaddy1 has finally lead his team to dominance, and will probably stay there for years to come. What makes them worse than the Raptors? Well, Krstic is a relative weakspot for now, and Ray Allen is an echelon below Stephen Jackson. But the kicker? These guys are still developing. Tmaczdaddys trade stinginess has finally paid off, and he, I think, will be the one to break the barrier of Eastern Conference teams.
Likely Starters: Krstic, Gasol, Pierce, Allen, Iverson
Key Backups: Causwell, Kenny Thomas, Atkins, McInnis, Brent Price
3. [glow=grey,2,300]New Jersey Nets[/glow]
Another newcomer to the Eastern conference greats, the Nets are another team with excellent starters and backups at almost every position. What puts them below the Raptors and Magic? Once again, Big Man Talent. Tyson Chandler and Dirk Nowitski are a GREAT combo, but they are still slightly worse than O'Neal, Garnett and Krstic/Gasol. AI is a step above Jamaal Tinsley, and the Magic have a slightly better bench. So, the NEts are GREAT, but not SUPER GREAT. With most everyone capped out but Tyson Chandler, this team is gonna need just a little luck to get onto the top.
Likely Starters: Chandler, Nowitski, Artest, Carter, Tinsley
Key Backups: Bison Dele, Leandro Barbosa, Damon Jones, Mookie Blaylock
4. [glow=red,2,300]Cleveland Cavaliers[/glow]
Alonzo Mourning may be 34, but he's still sexy! Elton Brand is a great big man, and Szczerbiak is a championship winner. Allan Houston can't do much more than shoot at this point, and Penny Hardaway is a shadow of his former self, but a Brand/Mourning ticket can go places. With solid backups in Sharone Wright, Malik Rose, Robert Horry, and Dan Dickau, this team will do fine, as long as Mourning doesn't go down.
Likely Starters: Mourning, Brand, Houston, Szczerbiak, Penny Hardaway
Key Backups: Sharone Wright, Malik Rose, Horry, Dickau
5. [glow=red,2,300]Washington Bullets[/glow]
The Bullets have 3 white men in their starting lineup, and that means that they can't get anything beyond number 5, even with the extreme coolness factor of Baron Davis and Richard Hamilton. ;D In all seriousness though, for the bullets it comes down to the fact that, compared to the top teams of the East, they just can't score inside. Memo is an outside specialist, with Brad Miller being the only threat in the paint. Sure, Baron and Peja can go in once in a while, but they still can't hold a candle to the 5 teams above them. Getting a real drive first guard or trading Memo for a paint monster might solve their problems and put them over the top.
Likely Starters: Okur, Miller, Stojakovic, Hamilton, Baron Davis
Key Backups: Etan Thomas, Turkoglu, Devean George, Nikolic, Duhon (Seriously, this is the whitest team ever. Well, since the early 80s, anyway.)
6. [glow=red,2,300]Miami Heat[/glow]
Need I say it again? Big Man Talent. Dalembert and Curry are good, but they can't hold a candle to the teams above. The good news is, they're still developing, so they'll probably be right up there with the big guns soon. On the flip side, Odom, Peterson, and Bibby are all also developing, so this team might rival the Raptors in 1-2 years if they can get some backups. Right now, the only backup they really have is Vlade Divac. Now, my writing may make it seem different, but these 6 teams are all extremely close in terms of talent, so who knows? If the starters can stand the heavy minutes, the Heat could be #1 in the East this year.
Likely Starters: Delmbert, Curry, Odom, Peterson, Bibby
Key Backups: Vlade Divac, Pete Mickeal
7. [glow=blue,2,300]New York Knicks[/glow]
It makes me sad to put such a good team at such a low number, but so it goes. Ming and Andersen are pretty far removed from all of the above big men, And Joe Johnson, Eddie Jones/Josh Howard, and Steve Francis are all looking pretty standard rate (at least when you look at the East contenders). This team has the necessary backup, but unless I see that extra bit of lemon juice from Ming, Johnson, and Howard, I just can't see them any higher. Still, if this team can figure out a good Depth Chart early, they could sneak into a higher seed.
Likely Starters: Ming, Andersen, Joe Johnson, Eddie Jones, Francis
Key Backups: Oliver Miller, Sean Elliott, Josh Howard, Lue
8. [glow=red,2,300]Philadelphia 76ers[/glow]
This team is LOADED with talent. Good talent? Not nessessarily. But talent nonetheless. If you just glance at their roster, you might think they're good just because you see a smattering of Bs and occasional As across your screen. However, upon closer inspection, this team really has no All-Star, no go-to guy. Jsut a bunch of OK to good players. If the General Manager can find some way for them all to mesh together as a cohesive, well-oiled unit, than fine. But I'd be the first one to seriously doubt that, and I'll put these guys as a 6 seed at best. In case you were wondering, yeah, this is kinda the point where the teams drop off. Drop off into badness? No. Rather, they drop off into goodness rather than excellentness.
Likely Starters: Muresan, Ketner, Marion, Derek Polynice, Bobby Jackson
Key Backups: Ostertag, Jerome James, Miles, Bender, Smith, Udoka, J.R. Smith, Hart
9. [glow=red,2,300]Chicago Bulls[/glow]
Okay, if you look at the starting lineup, this team would probably rank among the top 6-7 in the East. But if you look beyond the starting lineup....there's a whole lotta Nebraska there. (Nebraska means nothing, if you didn't know). Still, this is probably more of a developing year for the Bulls, and I think they'll be smiling in a couple of years, as Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, Carmelo Anthony, and Kirk Heinrich are still developing. Hunter will inevitably be lost to old age soon, but if General Manager Mike can play his cards right (meaning, draft the right guy and use his Free Agency money well), this team will be saying "Ole!" in the East playoffs.
Likely Starters: Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, Anthony, Lindsey Hunter, Heinrich
Key Backups: Gooden, Dixon, Joe Smith, Nebraska
10. [glow=green,2,300]Milwaukee Bucks[/glow]
Now you may be thinking, "Bucks? Out of the playoffs? No way! In fact, No way, Jose!" Well, yes way. Aside from Shaquille O'Neal and Jason Kidd, this team doesn't really have all that much. In fact, I feel like I'm placing them kinda high, because all of the teams below them (sans Pistons) have better overall talent. But, Shaq brings great things, and there's no way I can place him lower than 10th. Brian Grant will score and rebound some, Glenn Robinson will do some scoring, and Bonzi will do some things, but the bottom line is that they're like wet matches in the dark compared to the above teams. In fact, they're probably more equatable to theire backups rather than their starters. Yeah, I'm ragging on this team now, but put them in the West, and they'd be competing for the 3 seed. (Yes, I go back on what I said above.) Don't be surprised to see this team begin rebuilding soon.
Likely Starters:
Shaquille O'Neal, Brian Grant, Glenn Robinson, Bonzi Wells, Jason Kidd
Key Backups: Diop, Eschmeyer, Marshall, Mercer, Blake
11. [glow=red,2,300]Atlanta Hawks[/glow]
They've got good starters and good backups, but a real weakspot at Power Forward and no real superstars (yet). It's pretty much another case of the "sit on your hands and wait" game for the Hawks, as David West, Lebron James, and Ben Gordon slowly come into their own. Once these guys develop, this team could come into the upper-echelon of the East (Geez, I've been saying that a lot lately!).
Likely Starters: The Kandi Man, West, Lebron James, Gordon, Billups
Key Backups: MacCulloch, Loren Woods, Fotsis, Cheaney, Delk, Penn
12. [glow=teal,2,300]Charlotte Hornets[/glow]
This team is probably worse talent-wise than the Celtics and Pacers, but the Long-Distance General Manager from Vienna, Austria is so great at organizing his players, I figured he deserved to be a few spots up. Again, this is another case of a team with no star (although Damon Stoudamire is prettty close). But, to make it worse, they have no developing stars either. This team could compete for a mid-seed in the West, but they'll have to begin rebuilding now if they want to compete in the East. They do have one bright spot, though: Josh Smith is only 18 and has A potential.
Likely Starters: Marc Jackson, Rashard Lewis, Maggette, Bell, Damon Stoudamire
Key Backups: Hilario, Lorenzen Wright, Swift, Josh Smith
13. [glow=green,2,300]Boston Celtics[/glow]
Are the Celtics bad? No. Could they, also, compete for a higher seed in the West? Possibly. They'd need to get a lot out of the underrated Dale Davis, and rely on a lot of outside scoring from Anthony Parker and Jason Terry. How are they in the East? Cellar Dwellers, pretty much. I'll laugh if their pick lands them a great player. Would this put them in the upper-echelon of the East? It'd take a bit more, but if they can cash in on Dale Davis and rebuild a bit, I'd be pretty confident as a Celtics fan.
Likely Starters: Ben Wallace, Dale Davis, Trent, Anthony Parker, Terry
Key Backups: Doleac, Pollad, Turkcan, Deng, Hubert David, Wagner
14. [glow=yellow,2,300]Indiana Pacers[/glow]
Again, we come on another "sit on your hands and wait" team. This time, the development of Wilcox, Igoudala, and Arenas. I'd be pretty confident if I was the GM of this team about it's future. Still, if they want to get into the upper echelon of the East, they'll need a real impact big man, which will probably be on the Pacers General Managers mind this season. I wouldn't much worry about their bench though, which is fine. And before you ask, YES, this team could compete for the #3 seed in the West. And no offense to the Pacers, but they were just the odd men out, I guess.
Likely Starters: Kenyon Martin, Wilcox, Abdur-Rahim, Igoudala, Arenas
Key Backups: Wilcox, Lafrentz, Vujanic, Arroyo, Mo Williams
15. [glow=teal,2,300]Detroit Pistons[/glow]
MWAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! A BAD team in the East! I will crush them with my awesome might of words! Okay....Okay....I'm gonna say it....The Pistons....SUCK!!!! And they're in the Eastern Conference! Yes! That's right! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahaaaaaaa.....haha....Okay, in all seriousness, this team is by and far the worst in the East. They wouldn't be last in the West, though. Still, pretty bad. Right now, It'll be the Elden Campbell, Andris Biedrins, and Gary Payton show. It isn't all bad news, though. They'll be getting a lot of salary off of the books next year, they'll get a good pick, and Andris Biedrins is still developing. Look out for these guys....in 2009.
Likely Starters: Campbell, Biedrins, Kevin Martin, Peeler, Payton
Key Backups: Montross, Collison, Montana, Idaho
And that concludes my Power Rankings, hope you liked them!
(Oh, and the lower ranked East teams (AKA 13,14) could COMPETE for the 3 seed in the West, not nessessarily WIN. Still, it's pretty Darn embarassing.)
(And yeah, you could tell that I was pretty tired by the time I got to the Pistons.)
Same rules as last time, kiddos.
Starting lineup goes in order of: C, PF, SF, SG, PG
Backups are listed from biggest to smallest (position-wise, not height wise).
1. [glow=purple,2,300]Toronto Raptors[/glow]
With so much overall Guard talent in the West, a teams dominace usually comes down to one thing: Big Man Talent. With the Raptors recent acquisition of Jermaine O'Neal from the TrailBlazers, there is no question that they are thes best in the East. Their defense is absolutely unstoppable, they have some of the best scoring big men in the league, they have great shooters from the outside, and they are backed up at almost every position. If they could somehow get a guard with A- or A handles, I would never doubt their dominance. And who knows, Dwayne Wade might be that guard! If there was one team to take down the Lakers this year, it would be the Raptors.
Likely Starters: Jermaine O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Andrei Kirilenko, Steven Jackson, Larry Hughes
Key Backups: Bruno Sundov, Danny Fortson, Dennis Scott, Edward G. Robinson, Dwayne Wade'
2. [glow=blue,2,300]Orlando Magic[/glow]
Thats right, the cellar dwellers of three years straight went to the playoffs last year in the East. And this year, you ask? They just may be going to the Eastern Conference finals. Hell, they could be champions. After another fantastic training camp, oft-ridiculed General Manager TMaczDaddy1 has finally lead his team to dominance, and will probably stay there for years to come. What makes them worse than the Raptors? Well, Krstic is a relative weakspot for now, and Ray Allen is an echelon below Stephen Jackson. But the kicker? These guys are still developing. Tmaczdaddys trade stinginess has finally paid off, and he, I think, will be the one to break the barrier of Eastern Conference teams.
Likely Starters: Krstic, Gasol, Pierce, Allen, Iverson
Key Backups: Causwell, Kenny Thomas, Atkins, McInnis, Brent Price
3. [glow=grey,2,300]New Jersey Nets[/glow]
Another newcomer to the Eastern conference greats, the Nets are another team with excellent starters and backups at almost every position. What puts them below the Raptors and Magic? Once again, Big Man Talent. Tyson Chandler and Dirk Nowitski are a GREAT combo, but they are still slightly worse than O'Neal, Garnett and Krstic/Gasol. AI is a step above Jamaal Tinsley, and the Magic have a slightly better bench. So, the NEts are GREAT, but not SUPER GREAT. With most everyone capped out but Tyson Chandler, this team is gonna need just a little luck to get onto the top.
Likely Starters: Chandler, Nowitski, Artest, Carter, Tinsley
Key Backups: Bison Dele, Leandro Barbosa, Damon Jones, Mookie Blaylock
4. [glow=red,2,300]Cleveland Cavaliers[/glow]
Alonzo Mourning may be 34, but he's still sexy! Elton Brand is a great big man, and Szczerbiak is a championship winner. Allan Houston can't do much more than shoot at this point, and Penny Hardaway is a shadow of his former self, but a Brand/Mourning ticket can go places. With solid backups in Sharone Wright, Malik Rose, Robert Horry, and Dan Dickau, this team will do fine, as long as Mourning doesn't go down.
Likely Starters: Mourning, Brand, Houston, Szczerbiak, Penny Hardaway
Key Backups: Sharone Wright, Malik Rose, Horry, Dickau
5. [glow=red,2,300]Washington Bullets[/glow]
The Bullets have 3 white men in their starting lineup, and that means that they can't get anything beyond number 5, even with the extreme coolness factor of Baron Davis and Richard Hamilton. ;D In all seriousness though, for the bullets it comes down to the fact that, compared to the top teams of the East, they just can't score inside. Memo is an outside specialist, with Brad Miller being the only threat in the paint. Sure, Baron and Peja can go in once in a while, but they still can't hold a candle to the 5 teams above them. Getting a real drive first guard or trading Memo for a paint monster might solve their problems and put them over the top.
Likely Starters: Okur, Miller, Stojakovic, Hamilton, Baron Davis
Key Backups: Etan Thomas, Turkoglu, Devean George, Nikolic, Duhon (Seriously, this is the whitest team ever. Well, since the early 80s, anyway.)
6. [glow=red,2,300]Miami Heat[/glow]
Need I say it again? Big Man Talent. Dalembert and Curry are good, but they can't hold a candle to the teams above. The good news is, they're still developing, so they'll probably be right up there with the big guns soon. On the flip side, Odom, Peterson, and Bibby are all also developing, so this team might rival the Raptors in 1-2 years if they can get some backups. Right now, the only backup they really have is Vlade Divac. Now, my writing may make it seem different, but these 6 teams are all extremely close in terms of talent, so who knows? If the starters can stand the heavy minutes, the Heat could be #1 in the East this year.
Likely Starters: Delmbert, Curry, Odom, Peterson, Bibby
Key Backups: Vlade Divac, Pete Mickeal
7. [glow=blue,2,300]New York Knicks[/glow]
It makes me sad to put such a good team at such a low number, but so it goes. Ming and Andersen are pretty far removed from all of the above big men, And Joe Johnson, Eddie Jones/Josh Howard, and Steve Francis are all looking pretty standard rate (at least when you look at the East contenders). This team has the necessary backup, but unless I see that extra bit of lemon juice from Ming, Johnson, and Howard, I just can't see them any higher. Still, if this team can figure out a good Depth Chart early, they could sneak into a higher seed.
Likely Starters: Ming, Andersen, Joe Johnson, Eddie Jones, Francis
Key Backups: Oliver Miller, Sean Elliott, Josh Howard, Lue
8. [glow=red,2,300]Philadelphia 76ers[/glow]
This team is LOADED with talent. Good talent? Not nessessarily. But talent nonetheless. If you just glance at their roster, you might think they're good just because you see a smattering of Bs and occasional As across your screen. However, upon closer inspection, this team really has no All-Star, no go-to guy. Jsut a bunch of OK to good players. If the General Manager can find some way for them all to mesh together as a cohesive, well-oiled unit, than fine. But I'd be the first one to seriously doubt that, and I'll put these guys as a 6 seed at best. In case you were wondering, yeah, this is kinda the point where the teams drop off. Drop off into badness? No. Rather, they drop off into goodness rather than excellentness.
Likely Starters: Muresan, Ketner, Marion, Derek Polynice, Bobby Jackson
Key Backups: Ostertag, Jerome James, Miles, Bender, Smith, Udoka, J.R. Smith, Hart
9. [glow=red,2,300]Chicago Bulls[/glow]
Okay, if you look at the starting lineup, this team would probably rank among the top 6-7 in the East. But if you look beyond the starting lineup....there's a whole lotta Nebraska there. (Nebraska means nothing, if you didn't know). Still, this is probably more of a developing year for the Bulls, and I think they'll be smiling in a couple of years, as Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, Carmelo Anthony, and Kirk Heinrich are still developing. Hunter will inevitably be lost to old age soon, but if General Manager Mike can play his cards right (meaning, draft the right guy and use his Free Agency money well), this team will be saying "Ole!" in the East playoffs.
Likely Starters: Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, Anthony, Lindsey Hunter, Heinrich
Key Backups: Gooden, Dixon, Joe Smith, Nebraska
10. [glow=green,2,300]Milwaukee Bucks[/glow]
Now you may be thinking, "Bucks? Out of the playoffs? No way! In fact, No way, Jose!" Well, yes way. Aside from Shaquille O'Neal and Jason Kidd, this team doesn't really have all that much. In fact, I feel like I'm placing them kinda high, because all of the teams below them (sans Pistons) have better overall talent. But, Shaq brings great things, and there's no way I can place him lower than 10th. Brian Grant will score and rebound some, Glenn Robinson will do some scoring, and Bonzi will do some things, but the bottom line is that they're like wet matches in the dark compared to the above teams. In fact, they're probably more equatable to theire backups rather than their starters. Yeah, I'm ragging on this team now, but put them in the West, and they'd be competing for the 3 seed. (Yes, I go back on what I said above.) Don't be surprised to see this team begin rebuilding soon.
Likely Starters:
Shaquille O'Neal, Brian Grant, Glenn Robinson, Bonzi Wells, Jason Kidd
Key Backups: Diop, Eschmeyer, Marshall, Mercer, Blake
11. [glow=red,2,300]Atlanta Hawks[/glow]
They've got good starters and good backups, but a real weakspot at Power Forward and no real superstars (yet). It's pretty much another case of the "sit on your hands and wait" game for the Hawks, as David West, Lebron James, and Ben Gordon slowly come into their own. Once these guys develop, this team could come into the upper-echelon of the East (Geez, I've been saying that a lot lately!).
Likely Starters: The Kandi Man, West, Lebron James, Gordon, Billups
Key Backups: MacCulloch, Loren Woods, Fotsis, Cheaney, Delk, Penn
12. [glow=teal,2,300]Charlotte Hornets[/glow]
This team is probably worse talent-wise than the Celtics and Pacers, but the Long-Distance General Manager from Vienna, Austria is so great at organizing his players, I figured he deserved to be a few spots up. Again, this is another case of a team with no star (although Damon Stoudamire is prettty close). But, to make it worse, they have no developing stars either. This team could compete for a mid-seed in the West, but they'll have to begin rebuilding now if they want to compete in the East. They do have one bright spot, though: Josh Smith is only 18 and has A potential.
Likely Starters: Marc Jackson, Rashard Lewis, Maggette, Bell, Damon Stoudamire
Key Backups: Hilario, Lorenzen Wright, Swift, Josh Smith
13. [glow=green,2,300]Boston Celtics[/glow]
Are the Celtics bad? No. Could they, also, compete for a higher seed in the West? Possibly. They'd need to get a lot out of the underrated Dale Davis, and rely on a lot of outside scoring from Anthony Parker and Jason Terry. How are they in the East? Cellar Dwellers, pretty much. I'll laugh if their pick lands them a great player. Would this put them in the upper-echelon of the East? It'd take a bit more, but if they can cash in on Dale Davis and rebuild a bit, I'd be pretty confident as a Celtics fan.
Likely Starters: Ben Wallace, Dale Davis, Trent, Anthony Parker, Terry
Key Backups: Doleac, Pollad, Turkcan, Deng, Hubert David, Wagner
14. [glow=yellow,2,300]Indiana Pacers[/glow]
Again, we come on another "sit on your hands and wait" team. This time, the development of Wilcox, Igoudala, and Arenas. I'd be pretty confident if I was the GM of this team about it's future. Still, if they want to get into the upper echelon of the East, they'll need a real impact big man, which will probably be on the Pacers General Managers mind this season. I wouldn't much worry about their bench though, which is fine. And before you ask, YES, this team could compete for the #3 seed in the West. And no offense to the Pacers, but they were just the odd men out, I guess.
Likely Starters: Kenyon Martin, Wilcox, Abdur-Rahim, Igoudala, Arenas
Key Backups: Wilcox, Lafrentz, Vujanic, Arroyo, Mo Williams
15. [glow=teal,2,300]Detroit Pistons[/glow]
MWAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! A BAD team in the East! I will crush them with my awesome might of words! Okay....Okay....I'm gonna say it....The Pistons....SUCK!!!! And they're in the Eastern Conference! Yes! That's right! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahaaaaaaa.....haha....Okay, in all seriousness, this team is by and far the worst in the East. They wouldn't be last in the West, though. Still, pretty bad. Right now, It'll be the Elden Campbell, Andris Biedrins, and Gary Payton show. It isn't all bad news, though. They'll be getting a lot of salary off of the books next year, they'll get a good pick, and Andris Biedrins is still developing. Look out for these guys....in 2009.
Likely Starters: Campbell, Biedrins, Kevin Martin, Peeler, Payton
Key Backups: Montross, Collison, Montana, Idaho
And that concludes my Power Rankings, hope you liked them!
(Oh, and the lower ranked East teams (AKA 13,14) could COMPETE for the 3 seed in the West, not nessessarily WIN. Still, it's pretty Darn embarassing.)
(And yeah, you could tell that I was pretty tired by the time I got to the Pistons.)