looking ahead

[victorious2]

I really dont think the Cavs will be better. so just try to be honest

[NeedForSheed]

orlando

[mgent]

I really can't see the Cavs being better than Orlando.
Unless Shaq has an absolute dominant season, they're gonna be the same as last year.  And even if Shaq turns out to be a blessing, I have a feeling the Magic are just gonna be too good.

[lon3lytoaster]

First of all, Boston's biggest opposition is Boston itself. Everyone needs to be healthy, and if that happens this team wins another championaship.

Now, as for other teams its gotta be Cleveland. They give us fits. Orlando, as I stated in another thread doesn't scare me. Seven games without Leon Powe or Kevin Garnett. Cleveland has LeBron, and that's almost all they need.

[indyceltic]

Cleveland.  I think Orlando lost a little when they brought in the selfish Vince Carter.

[Fafnir]

Cleveland.

If we have KG we match up very well with the Magic. No one matches up well with LeBron in the whole league...

[cdif911]

old man winter... if KG slips, he could break a hip!

[CelticG1]

I think that Cleveland is most defintely are stiffest competition. They won 66 games last year, have arguably the best player in the league, swept their first 2 opponents in the playoffs before running into match up problems against Orlando. They added Shaq which i think will help or at the very least not make them worse. I also think that Orlando pretty muched re-vamped their roster and might have a more difficult time putting it altogether, where as the cavs shoudn't have as much trouble.

We almost beat the magic in the playoffs last year without KG and powe and because of that we had a nightmare of a match up issue with Lewis. We had BBD or Scal (and Mikki for 1-2 minutes) guarding Lewis the whole series and almost took it. 

[Prof. Clutch]

It's a close call between Cleveland and Orlando, but I gotta give it to the Cavs.  Their teams should be really really good this year.  I could see it being Orlando if they develop a really good chemistry between all their players quickly, and if Howard takes another step forward in his development (like being a more reliable threat in the paint.)  But the Cavs currently scare me the most, with Orlando as a close second (in the Eastern Conference.)

By the way, Toronto has no place on this list.  If your looking to put teams on there just to fill out the poll, I recommend replacing Toronto with Washington.  Everybody is overlooking Washington, but their team is gonna be pretty strong this year (depending on health - just like every other team in the league.)  Look at what they've quietly put together this offseason.

New Coach: Flip Saunders who has a career coaching record of 587 wins - 396 losses (good for .597 win%)  The last three seasons he's coached his teams carry a 176 wins - 70 loss record.

First Unit
PG  Gilbert Arenas
SG  Mike Miller
SF  Caron Butler
PF  Antawn Jamison
C   Brandon Haywood

Bench:
Guards/ SF's: Randy Foye, DeShawn Stevenson, Nick Young, Mike James, & Javaris Crittenton
Big Men:  Andray Blatche, Fabricio Oberto, JaVale McGee, Dominic McGuire

Their first unit will live and die by the progress of Gilbert Arenas.  All reports from his recent practices say he looks as he did a few year ago before the injuries.  His quickness is back and he has been nailing all his shots (a good sign with a leg injury.)  If he can regain his form the team has everything it needs to give people a lot of trouble.  They won't be the most talented defensive team, but Flip has never been the most defensively minded coach.  They have a ton of fire power, and injuries to some of the starting five last year gave their young guys an opportunity to grow and get better in replacing them.  They acquired Mike Miller and Randy Foye and signed Fabricio Oberto. They've got firepower of the bench in Foye, and James and some defense in Stevenson.  Though many people think they aren't deep in the big men department, they have a better group of big men than most realize.  Just check out the numbers on some of the players above and you'll be surprised.  A good example is JaVale McGee, a legit 7 footer, who averaged 6.5 pts, 4 rbs, and 1 blk in only 15 minutes per game last season.  Andre Blatche has been a promising and steady back-up for a few seasons now, and everyone here knows a thing or two about Oberto.

I think one of their biggest weaknesses is one that may be familiar to us, in that they have no legit back-up for Caron Butler.  Flip is gonna have to get creative with the rotations and most likely slide Miller over to SF when Butler sits.  And as I said before, they shouldn't be a lock-down defensive team, but they will put a lot of points on the board, and they have a deep stock of people who can do that.

All in all, I don't think they have what they need to actually win a championship, but they aren't too far away.  Either way, they are gonna turn more heads in the Eastern Conference than people may realize.

[slamtheking]

I see Orlando as the ones more likely to have improved than Cleveland.  I just don't see Shaq having that much of a positive impact at his age.  Not enough to put them up another level.  Granted Bron figures to be even better but I think they peaked last year as a team.  They'll still be a top team but I just don't see them as having the players necessary to beat the C's.

VC is the wildcard for Orlando.  If he dedicates himself to the team and to winning, he could put them on another level.   A healthy Jameer will make a big difference.  The drawbacks are they lost Hedo and traded Lee.  Howard figures to get better this year.  This team could be scary good by the playoffs if VC gels with the rest of the team.

[paintitgreen]

I'm not a huge fan of the Shaq move, but I think Orlando just posed a particularly bad matchup for Cleveland and both Orlando and Cleveland took steps to remove that bad matchup. Aside from Shaq having a body to put on Howard (I think that's overrated because Shaq is not a good defender), the Cavs made two moves I absolutely loved - bringing in Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon. Those guys give Cleveland two more tall perimeter defenders. They can put Moon in at the 3 and play Lebron at the 4 occassionally, or they can go huge with a Shaq-Varejao-Lebron-Moon-Parker lineup on occasion. To me, they upgraded their starting 2 from Delonte to Parker (similar players, but the extra height makes Parker a much better fit for that starting lineup), their starting 5 from Ilgauskas to Shaq, their backup wings from Pavlovic and Wally to West and Moon, and their backup center from Ben Wallace to Ilgauskas. While I don't totally understand letting Joe Smith go, I think Hickson and, if he returns healthy, Powe, can fill all the minutes vacated by Smith. To me, they're just a much better team now, and they've solved many of the problems that made Orlando a bad matchup.

For Orlando's part, I think they improved too, but I think they lost the uniqueness that made them so difficult for Cleveland by letting Turkoglu go. They can still have a bombs away crunch time lineup of Nelson-Carter-Pietrus-Lewis with Howard, but they don't have the size factor at the 3 that forced Lebron to cover Turk. Cleveland can combat with Lebron on Lewis, Moon and Parker on Pietrus and Carter and Mo or Delonte on Nelson, with Shaq or Varejao on Howard. Orlando got better, but Cleveland's moves were smart.

Cleveland's problem will be that last year, they built their team to beat the Celtics. That wasn't effective, because they weren't built for the Magic (or, had they gone there, the Lakers). This year, they built their team to beat the Magic. But I think they'll fall short again because they're not built for the Celtics (or, if they get there, the Lakers - Pau and Odom will wreak havoc on Cleveland's frontcourt).

By the way, on the Lakers - while I think Artest v. Ariza is debateable, that move makes some sense for the Finals. They need a guy to cover Lebron or Pierce. That's what Artest can do much better than Ariza. Ariza is overall a better defender - much quicker at this point, more athletic. However, Artest is much stronger than Ariza and due to his experience, a very smart defender. That's what you need on the likes of Lebron and Pierce. The problem for LA might be that Artest is far less useful than Ariza against the Spurs (Ariza could defend Jefferson or Ginobli much more effectively than Artest can, in my opinion).

[billysan]

We have the most talented bench now at the bigman spots by far. I am not satisfied with our depth at PG/wing until I see if Walker or Giddens can contribute anything along with House and Daniels. We need one of them to step up because Tony Allen aint gonna get it done. As previously stated, the health of our team will determine how far we go. Home court will only help us in the playoffs, and it's importance cannot be overlooked. All things considered from this admitted homer, we are the team to beat in the East.


Cleveland is in the discussion just by showing up this season. One area I see as a Cavaliers weakness is PF behind Varejao who I have always seen as more effective at the center position. I also dont see a lot of depth at SG. Where will Moon get his minutes? Is Lebron going to play some PF with Sideshow at the 5? That might be interesting and dangerous. The two bigs, Shaq and Z are slow and will not be able to run the floor even in shortened minutes. I think that slowing down Lebron into a half court game is one of the best ways to beat the Cavs.


Orlando took a step backward when they let Turkoglu go and traded Lee. Adding Carter was not the solution IMO, but Brandon Bass will help them more than people realize. I see Lewis playing more SF and that will be some relief, but not enough to offset the losss of Hedo's shooting ability. Nelson's return will help alot, but not enough.

Toronto is very talented but still not a tough enough team to compete beyond the first round so I list them at 4th. The Bulls will be a year better and could easily edge out Toronto for the 4th slot. Atlanta could give anyone a first round scare and take it to seven games. I dont think they are good enough to get by any of the top three.

Miami doesnt belong in this discussion, Washington may surprise a few people by contending.

[RAcker]

Boston's biggest opposition is Boston itself.

Amen, brother!