The NBA is back so let's take a quick look around the Eastern Conference.
There's a lot of new faces in new places that will definitely mix things
up from a year ago. Derrick Rose is back after taking a year off to
recover from ACL surgery, the Brooklyn Nets brought in two future hall of famers in Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, while the Detroit Pistons have added Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings.
However, the East is basically a four team race. The one thing we know is that everybody will again be chasing the
Miami Heat.
Eastern Conference Contenders
Miami
Heat - Obviously we have to start with the Heat. Coming off of two
straight NBA Championships and LeBron James' two consecutive NBA MVP's,
the road to the title goes through Miami. A big question is are they
still hungry enough to get their third straight ring? At the end of
last season Dwyane Wade was struggling with injuries and another year on
his rusty knees might slow him down even more. Chris Bosh has been the
third wheel of the "Big Three" but if he's able to take some of the
load off Wade this team could be just as strong as ever. The Heat lost
playoff hero Mike Miller but added former #2 overall pick Michael
Beasley and former #1 overall pick Greg Oden. Both are still young (24
and 25 respectively) but who knows how much they have left to offer.
Beasley averaged a career worst 10.1 points a season ago on a bad
Phoenix team and in my opinion has too many personal issues to deal with
before he can become a solid contributor again. Oden on the other hand
was hit with the curse of the Portland big man. Just like Sam Bowie
and Bill Walton, Oden suffered a serious leg injury that made him miss
the last three seasons. Oden's potential all depends on his health. If
he's healthy he will be a great asset to this team, especially if he can move
Bosh to his more natural position of power forward.
Indiana
Pacers - The Pacers were one game away from shocking the world and
reaching the NBA Finals a year ago. Indiana took the Heat to a game
seven as Paul George had a national coming out party as he went
head-to-head with LBJ and held his own for most of the series. That
performance helped George win the most improved award and put the
Indiana Pacers as team that could take down Miami. Along with George,
Roy Hibbert also showed the world what he can do in the playoffs.
Hibbert seemed to plateau for three years hovering around 12 points and
eight rebounds, but in the playoffs he ratcheted up his intensity and
aggressiveness. The 7'2 center averaged 17 and 10 in the postseason
including leading the Pacers in scoring and rebounding against the Heat
with 22 points and 10 boards. If Hibbert brings that same aggression
for an entire season he could challenge Dwight Howard for best center in
the league. One addition the Pacers made was a big one when they
brought in Luis Scola. This is a guy that shares the same tough
mentality the Pacers do and can give them quality minutes off the bench
to spell Hibbert and David West.
Chicago
Bulls - The last time Derrick Rose played a regular season he led the
Bulls to the best record in the NBA for the second year in a row. He
took off last year to fully recover from his ACL tear in the 2012
playoffs and Chicago finished fifth in the East. A lot of NBA fans,
especially ones in Chicago, questioned why Rose took so long to return
to action. Especially after seeing Adrian Peterson suffer the same
injury and become the NFL MVP. But, it might have been the best thing
Rose could have done. We have to remember he's still on 25 and if he
could have played last year he would have had a higher risk of
re-injuring himself. Now that he's had more than a year to fully
recover, the Bulls are primed to take back that top spot in the NBA.
Aside from Rose, the difference maker will be third-year man Jimmy
Butler. In the latter half of last year he became a legit scorer and
defender for the Bulls. We know what they'll get out of Joakim Noah,
Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng, but if Butler continues to improve that
will give Chicago one of the best starting lineups in the league. The
spark plug for the Bull is Noah, however, he is struggling with a groin
injury right now after being less than 100% for last year's playoffs
with plantar fasciitis. With this team back at full strength they could
be the ones to dethrone the defending champs.
Brooklyn Nets - In the
2012 offseason Brooklyn made a move to acquire Joe Johnson. This
offseason they made an even bigger one getting Paul Pierce, Kevin
Garnett, and Jason Terry from the Boston Celtics. I never thought I'd
ever see Pierce play for another team after giving 15 years to Boston
but they sent him away. Another key player added was Andrei Kirilenko.
He's never going to wow you on the court but he can fill a stat sheet
and play great defense. Add these four guys to a team with Deron
Williams, Brook Lopez and the previously mentioned Johnson and you have a
roster with 36 all-star and 16 all-NBA selections combined. That's a
pretty decent resume. The problem the Nets will run into is the same
problem that has plagued teams loaded with talent. There's only one
ball and one if not two of these stars will need to take one a smaller
role than they are used to. Some guys can't handle that and become a
detriment to their team. It might take a month or two for this team to
get a feel for how each other plays but if they start clicking Brooklyn
will be a team to watch out for come playoff time.
Eastern Conference Playoff Teams
1. Miami Heat
2. Indiana Pacers
3. Chicago Bulls
4. Brooklyn Nets
5. New York Knicks
6. Detroit Pistons
7. Atlanta Hawks
8. Washington Wizards
No comments:
Post a Comment