ESPN "Expert" Predictions

[KJ33]

Unless Deng gets back to where he was nearly three years ago Chicago is going to struggle mightily.

You mean, like in the playoffs last year?  Derrick Rose is the real deal, and they have a bench.  They do not need Deng to score a bundle.  But they do need him to play defense.

As for Orlando, replacing Turkoglu with Vince Carter is taking a giant step back.  It will be 25-30 games before the recriminations start, but start they will, and Stan Van Gundy is going to take the blame.

Besides Rose, who was Chicago's best player in the playoffs last year?  Gordon, who is gone, big difference.  They have a new team, so making conclusions, either way, based on last year's playoff series is a mistake.

[celticinorlando]

i think orlando losing hedo is huge....carter is apathetic playing defense and is so streaky....i don't fear him taking a shot late in a game...perk matches up with howard....throw KG on lewis....you must take him out of the game with KG....bass is a guy in there for hustle and trash....ray covers carter...pierce can cover carter.....and no other player in the league give howard as much trouble as rasheed.....


cleveland still revolves around lebron..so you start varajo at the power? with shaq? bulky and slow down low....no outside shooting threat...play lebron at the 4? not smart takes away his best assest of driving to the hoop......the cavs backcourt is still small and will have trouble with bigger guards.....

[Brickowski]

Unless Deng gets back to where he was nearly three years ago Chicago is going to struggle mightily.

You mean, like in the playoffs last year?  Derrick Rose is the real deal, and they have a bench.  They do not need Deng to score a bundle.  But they do need him to play defense.

As for Orlando, replacing Turkoglu with Vince Carter is taking a giant step back.  It will be 25-30 games before the recriminations start, but start they will, and Stan Van Gundy is going to take the blame.

Besides Rose, who was Chicago's best player in the playoffs last year?  Gordon, who is gone, big difference.  They have a new team, so making conclusions, either way, based on last year's playoff series is a mistake.

Why?  They've only lost one rotation player, and they've replaced him with Deng.  The rest of the team is the same.  Actually, they've replaced Gordon with Hinrich, who is a better defender than Gordon and who was ill-suited to his reserve role last year.

The Celtics made alot more changes in the offseason than the Bulls did.

[Roy Hobbs]

The Celtics made alot more changes in the offseason than the Bulls did.

The Celtics lost one fringe rotation player, and added two rotation bench players.

The Bulls lost their second best player and most clutch scorer.

In other words, the Celtics supplemented their team, while the Bulls changed the nature of theirs. 

[jambr380]

Unless Deng gets back to where he was nearly three years ago Chicago is going to struggle mightily.

You mean, like in the playoffs last year?  Derrick Rose is the real deal, and they have a bench.  They do not need Deng to score a bundle.  But they do need him to play defense.

As for Orlando, replacing Turkoglu with Vince Carter is taking a giant step back.  It will be 25-30 games before the recriminations start, but start they will, and Stan Van Gundy is going to take the blame.

Besides Rose, who was Chicago's best player in the playoffs last year?  Gordon, who is gone, big difference.  They have a new team, so making conclusions, either way, based on last year's playoff series is a mistake.

Why?  They've only lost one rotation player, and they've replaced him with Deng.  The rest of the team is the same.  Actually, they've replaced Gordon with Hinrich, who is a better defender than Gordon and who was ill-suited to his reserve role last year.

The Celtics made alot more changes in the offseason than the Bulls did.

I think the Bulls will be good, and I agree that replacing Gordon's minutes with Deng/Hinrich is pretty even...but, they really need to show continuous improvement this year to be a force. They are like the Blazers of the east. Somebody on that team needs to step it up and lead- like Rose. They really go as far as Rose's 2nd year jump.

I realize that they took the Celtics to seven games last year, but that was without KG and Powe...and that was with Gordon shooting lights out...can Rose (or Salmons) be that guy from the outside?

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

For what it's worth Reggie Miller picked the Celtics to win it all (*if healthy) when he was covering the LAKERS practice during one of those real training camps they were showing on NBATV.

[Neurotic Guy]

I think it may be an epic ECF between Bos and Cle but I see another Bos LAL finals.  Cle has enough chinks or flaws to be exploited I think.  The Lakers with Artest are scary.  The only way we beat them is if Rondo really has learned to shoot as Artest will shut down Pierce for the most part.  I don't see Bynum playing a whole year but that may not matter with Odom on the bench.  We are deeper I think but they are scarier now 1-6.

You don't see Bynum playing the whole year -- is this because of his history of being injury prone or is there something specific about the nature of his last injury that makes you think it will recur?  

[Neurotic Guy]

The Celtics made alot more changes in the offseason than the Bulls did.

The Celtics lost one fringe rotation player, and added two rotation bench players.

The Bulls lost their second best player and most clutch scorer.

In other words, the Celtics supplemented their team, while the Bulls changed the nature of theirs. 

The 'net' effect of the C's changes vis a vis the Celts-Bulls playoff series is much greater.  The C's add KG, Wallace and Daniels which completely changes their team as compared to the one that beat the Bulls in 7 last season. 

[BballTim]

The Celtics made alot more changes in the offseason than the Bulls did.

The Celtics lost one fringe rotation player, and added two rotation bench players.

The Bulls lost their second best player and most clutch scorer.

In other words, the Celtics supplemented their team, while the Bulls changed the nature of theirs. 

  If we'd have had KG we'd have swept them and they wouldn't be getting much love. THey have no decent inside presence on offense.

[xmuscularghandix]

I don't think we'll finish first in the east, with the age of this team i expect them to save bullets for the Playoffs.

Unless the Lebron/Shaq thing just blows up and it ruins their flow (which i think it might)

[star18]

Hey we got 4 out of 10 to win the east.  Getting better ESPN keep up the good work you are improving.  Now when it is 8 or 9 out of 10 picking Celtics to win East then you will have finally given a fair prediction.   Almost there ESPN!!

[BudweiserCeltic]

I'm surprised by Stein's pick though. In his preseason Rankings (before the games started), he picked Orlando ahead of Boston, and Cleveland as 3rd in the East. What has he seen during preseason to change his mind? If anything, the way KG and our team have looked overall should be making him think better of our team than previously.

[xmuscularghandix]

according to them the difference between us and Cleveland is like .4%, thats the fact that wherever the games have been played decides the winner.

That changes this year, the playoff confidence that Sheed brings is unimaginable. Plus i'm guarunteed he'll be up for playing the Cav's, they swept him ni the first round last year.

[nickagneta]

I was surprised by the lack of observation on KG by some of these guys. They reference KG's rehab but fail to mention that he has been looking at almost 100% KG with only 6 preseason games played. I think he just needs to get some sprinting and initial move/first step speed back to where it was and mentally get the confidence of injury re-occurrence past him and he will be his old self.

Add that to the extremely fit looking Baby, the very confident looking offense of Perk and Marquis Daniels and Rasheed Wallace additions and after watching the preseason, I don't see how any expert can pick the C's lower than 1st in the East. I think they cruise to 65 wins and will have a double digit point spread differential with the best defensive team once again.

Can't wait to see the skyscraper offense of Wallace, KG, Perk, Ray and Daniels on the floor.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I was surprised by the lack of observation on KG by some of these guys. They reference KG's rehab but fail to mention that he has been looking at almost 100% KG with only 6 preseason games played. I think he just needs to get some sprinting and initial move/first step speed back to where it was and mentally get the confidence of injury re-occurrence past him and he will be his old self.

Add that to the extremely fit looking Baby, the very confident looking offense of Perk and Marquis Daniels and Rasheed Wallace additions and after watching the preseason, I don't see how any expert can pick the C's lower than 1st in the East. I think they cruise to 65 wins and will have a double digit point spread differential with the best defensive team once again.

Can't wait to see the skyscraper offense of Wallace, KG, Perk, Ray and Daniels on the floor.

Obviously the experts can't be trusted (unless they're in favor of the Celtics of course).