Name your top five Eastern conference teams

[slamtheking]

The 80's Celtics were great with DJ. How much better wouldn they have been with Steve Nash leading the break?

The answer to this would be -- not much better in terms of fastbreak offense.  in the half-court where Nash's shooting is far better than DJ's they'd have been much better.  On defense, much worse.

C's of the 80's when DJ played were a half-court team, not a fast break team.  that was the Lakers.  Nash's ability to shoot would have been a real asset to those teams though.

C's of the 80's would sneak an occasional fastbreak bucket but they weren't the type of team to go running down the court like the Lakers did with Magic. 

[Birdbrain]

I'm putting the Celtics at the top because the are the ECF champs

1. The Boston Celtics
Then...
2. The Bulls - Great point, good PF play, wings and I love the old vet Kurt Thomas to lead them and bring some muscle along with Boozer and Noah.

3. Orlando - Interested to see how Miami can handle Howard.
4. Miami
5. Milwaukee - it wouldn't suprise me to see these guys knock off some people if they stay healthy, including a Miami team.

I pick Chicago and Milwaukee as my sleepers, both of whom I think could knock off Miami in a series.

Main reason? Both have excellent point guards in Rose and Jennings. They'll make their teams explosive. I don't see Miami having that.

   

As far regular season record:

Orlando - 62
Miami - 60
Boston - 55
Chicago - 50 (bound to start slow and people will be surprised... again)
Milwaukee - 50
Atlanta - 48
NY - 42
Cleveland - 40 (2nd favorite team, more of a wish)

As for playoffs:
Orlando beats Cleveland 4-1
Miami beats NY 4-0
Boston beats Atlanta 4-1
Milwaukee beats Chicago 4-3

Orlando beats Milwaukee 4-2
Boston beats Miami 4-3

Boston beats Orlando 4-2

Boston beats LA 4-3

[ScoobyDoo]

Yeah, good points Nick, those are valid points. Many of the championship teams have been built without a great or dominant point guard, as you mention.

Though I'd argue Tony Parker, when the Spurs were throwing up titles was one of the better points in the elague who could control the pace of the game and definately was one of the major reasons, along with Duncan, they put up the majority of their rings.   

I don't underestimate Miami, I do think they will be dominant, particularly in the regular season. But I put them at fourth overall because I think they may not be quite as dominant come playoff time, largely becasue of their point guard play.

I could be wrong, but I still think Chicago, Milwaukee and Boston have the best chance against them because Jennings, Rose and Rondo all have the potential to expose/destroy/dominante the Miami points.

We'll see though, we should talk about it again come playoff time, and you'll have to start another thread to call me out on it if I'm wrong. It will be a good full circle conversation.

Also good points Slamtheking, we would loose defense but gain shooting with Nash, over DJ. Nash may have been a better fit with the Celtics during the first 5-6 years of the Bird, McHale, Parish era when they got up and down the court a bit more.

[Rondobaby]

Regular season

1.Heat
2.Orlando
3.Celtics
4.Chicago
5.Atlanta
6.Milwaukee
7.Bobcats
8.Nets

I think the Heat will either match the 08 celtics 66 wins or better it. Playoffs I have Celtics over Bucks, Magic, Heat, and then the Lakers!

[manl_lui]

1. Miami (67 to 70 wins)
2. Boston (55 to 62 wins)
3. Orlando (60 wins)
4. Chicago (55 wins)
5. Milwaukee (52 wins)
6. Atlanta (48 wins)
7. Charlotte (45 wins)
8. NY or Cleveland both around low 40s

now Miami will sweep the 8th seed
Boston might sweep or 4-1
Orlando will sweep Atlanta
Chicago will win 4-3

not wasting time in the Semifinals

Boston wins 4-3

Boston wins 4-2 against LA

though Id love to see OKC or Denver in the finals...but revenge would be sweeter =)

[itsthatbradguy]

1. Miami (65+ wins)--Bron & Wade are going to have to play big big minutes for this
2. Boston (58-62 wins)--Injuries could keep us on the lower end of this, but I think this team is better than the '09-'10 team
3. Orlando (55-60 wins)--Orlando hasn't really shown me anything yet that makes them any better than last season.
4. Chicago (50-55 wins)--Boozer gives them a much needed low post offensive presence. They should be much improved if they can finally find a decent shooting guard.
5. Milwaukee (47-52 wins)--If they can pick up where they left off before Bogut got hurt, no reason to think they can challenge for a top 4 spot in the East.
6. Atlanta (47-52 wins)--Atlanta has peaked with their core of players.
7. New York (40-45 wins)--They'll still be a sub .500 team probably, but that should be good enough to grab one of the bottom 2 spots in the East.
8. Charlotte (40-45 wins)--Charlotte is solid, but I'll be interested to see if Stephen Jackson & Gerald Wallace can continue their high level of play from last season.

[xmuscularghandix]

The 80's Celtics were great with DJ. How much better wouldn they have been with Steve Nash leading the break?

The answer to this would be -- not much better in terms of fastbreak offense.  in the half-court where Nash's shooting is far better than DJ's they'd have been much better.  On defense, much worse.

C's of the 80's when DJ played were a half-court team, not a fast break team.  that was the Lakers.  Nash's ability to shoot would have been a real asset to those teams though.

C's of the 80's would sneak an occasional fastbreak bucket but they weren't the type of team to go running down the court like the Lakers did with Magic. 

Not to mention that we don’t win in 86. DJ’s defense on Magic was HUGE... It’s safe to say that Magic would have a field day with weak little Steve Nash hanging on him.

[ScoobyDoo]

That'a good point,,,

[manl_lui]

I think if Miami and Orlando go head to head in the playoffs, it benefits us...

Whoever we face, we might finish them off before their series end, and while MIA and Orl duke it out (probably 7 games), theyre going to be probably tired and fatigue will hit them pretty hard

both benches aren't exactly great compare to ours, so i see both their starters playing 35+ minutes