Q's Annual 30 team preview

[QuinielaBox]

Starting off with the big 3 EC teams:

3. Orlando - Added Vince Carter but lost four players including Hedo Turkoglu. Realistically, they took advantage of Celtic injuries and a favorable matchup against Cleveland to gain a spot in the Finals. I think this team flatlined over the summer as Vince Carter is not an upgrade over Hedo Turkoglu. So they will go out in the 2nd round against hopefully Cleveland.

2. Cleveland - Added the Diesel , Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, Leon Powe - They are all in this year as well as the number 1 team on this list.

1. BOSTON CELTICS - After falling ingloriously to the Mental Midgets, We got the SHEED and we got Marquis Daniels to replace James Posey. With KG's good health and added depth to reduce Ray Allen and Paul Pierce's minutes, this team should secure the HCA throughout the 2010 playoffs. With Rondo's maturity, we will celebrate our 18th championship in 2010.

[QuinielaBox]

2. Toronto - The addition of Hedo Turkoglu is enough to lift this team up to 2nd place. They also picked up a solid backup PG in Jarrett Jack to add another 3 pt shooting threat. With Bosh and Bargnani in the forecourt and Jose Calderon at PG, they have great players at 4 out of 5 positions. I question their depth in case any of these frontliners go down.

3. Philadelphia - They lost Andre Miller and replaced him with Jason Kapano at PG. That is not a good thing. They have good athletes but a 76er fan must be concerned how well they mesh. Also watch to see if Marreese Spieghts takes time away from Elton Brand, who is a contract albatross.

4. New York Bricks - Finally, they are going in the right direction and are clearly relying on the 2010 FA sweepstakes to change their fortunes. Of note, they added Darko Milicic but there is still some deadweight like Eddy Curry and Jared Jefferies they need to burn off. No playoffs for this team.

5. New Jersey Nets - Aside from Devon Harris, Brook Lopez, and Yi Jainlain, who do they have. Enjoy those 6,000 fans on your HC who support you. Your only sellouts will be Cleveland, Lakers, and Boston and there will be a lot visitors you have to rely on for your income.

[QuinielaBox]

2. Washington Wizards - I'm gonna go against conventional thinking here (that Atlanta finishes 2nd). 1st Gilbert Arenas is back in full force. 2nd Mike Miller and Randy Foye were added to the mix. This team causes a lot of backcourt matchup problems and can win a lot in the regular season.

3. Atlanta Hawks - This team really added nothing to the mix and you can't expect to pass the Big Three Teams in the EC doing that. Looks like Bibby signed a three year deal which will probably conclude his career. Joe Johnson is in his last year of his big deal. Joe Smith and Maurice Evans showed up for rebounding duties. But this team has flatlined.

4. Charlotte Bobcats - Larry Brown has a nice team returning. I like Boris Diaw, Desagna Diop, and Tyson Chandler. Plus the two Geralds, Wallace and Henderson are good. They will compete for a playoff spot along with the Indiana's Detriots and Milwaukees of the world.

5. Miami Mice - Yipes, this team is in sad shape. Dewayne Wade and everyone else is in the last year of their contracts. Their salary goes from 74 million down to 24 million. That is pathetic. Jermaine O'Neal can't play anymore.

[QuinielaBox]

2. Chicago - Tough call here because Ben Gorden left the team but Derek Rose is a serious player and the team gained a lot of confidence against the Celtics. But they gotta get off to better spots.

3. Indiana - Tyler Hansborough is my pick for ROY. Him and Granger will do a world of good for Indiana. Losing Tinsley cannot hurt either. PG is solid with TJ Ford and Earl Watson.
I look for Roy Hibbert to more of a factor here. Of course Brandon Rush is a constant 3 point threat, perfect for Obie ball.

4. Deeetriot basketball!!!! - They got Charlie Villaneuva and Ben Gorden and lost the Question Mark, Rasheed and Antonio McDyess. On the surface, it appears they lost a ton of talent but it is possible this team could turn out pretty good. Watch Rodney Stuckey and Jason Maxiel here.

5. Milwaukee - They are stuck in the toughest division in the EC. Their lineup has turned over pretty good. Micheal Redd, Bogut the 50 million dollar Aussie Center, Gadzuric, and Charlie Bell are the main holdovers. But this is a team in transition and winning 40 games will be a challenge.

[QuinielaBox]

1. San Antonio - They loaded up for one more run at the title -

Big 3 and Richard Jefferson - plus Pop who will get everything he can out of the bench. I for one hope to be making the 560 mile drive down I-35 this upcoming June because this would be one helleva matchup and we need to make up for the frustration of the 1997 lottery.

2. Dallas - Seems like they loaded up with Shawn Marion but it won't be enough to get them to round 2. Aside from Nowitzki, their big men are not very good.

3. New Orleans - Nice pickup of Okafor in a trade. I should probably list this team 2nd over Dallas. This team can advance to the 2nd round if they draw Denver in round one.

4. Houston - Losing Yaozer hurt big time but I can't discount this team's chances because of the coach.

5. Memphis - A team with young talent but unfortunately, they are at a competitive disadvantage in a small market. The Question Mark and Zachary Randolph sure make a lively pair, don't they Chris Wallace? I wonder if Chris will trade Conley (their bright young PG) for financial reasons. Thabeet or not Thabeet, that is the question.

[QuinielaBox]

1 and 2. Portland and Denver

1 and 2. Denver and Portland

Hard to tell these two teams apart. If Oden suddenly takes off and turns into the monster everyone thought he would be when he was in college, the scales tip toward Portland and the Fakers, Spurs, and Mavs get some real competition.

Denver kept their core together and made slight improvements at the two and three spots. George Karl is a limitation at HC. I call him the Marty Schottenhiemer of the NBA.

Portland lost a couple of players but got Andre Miller who can run good HC sets. With their defense and rebounding and punishing low post game, this team will make it to at least the 2nd round. I say they end up challenging the Fakers in the WCF instead of Denver or SA.

3rd Place - Utah - They are pretty much status quo...... Out in the 1st round. They always have a winning regular season and then get crushed by a strong team in the 1st round. This season will be no different.

4th Place - OKC - Durant Durant, Mike Westbrook, Jeff Green ... and not a lot of depth. They win 25 at home and maybe 10 on the road. See you at the Vin Baker Memorial Bah-Bah Q Classic outside Toby Kieth's (Hoosier Daddy) bar on Dec 4 with live call ins to CSL from OK City.

5th Place - Minnehaha - Poor Al Jefferson has to play with a bunch of pigs like Quentin Richardson. After we win the title in 2010, the right thing to do would be to bring back Al Jefferson to Boston with Ray Allen's salary spot. Can we engineer a sneaky trading deadline deal using Ray Allen and then he comes back via buyout?

[QuinielaBox]

1. The Fakers - Honestly they are strong enough to take the division without Kobe Bryant. They went out and got Ron Artest at the midlevel. And they resigned Lamar Odom. Gonna be tough to keep this team out of the 2010 Finals. If this division is not mathematically clinched by St Patrick's day, that would be a major upset.

2. 3, 4, 5, Phoenix - This team keeps getting weaker as Nash gets older and the owner keeps cutting salary. Once Nash retires, the Clippers will pass them and possibly the Kings.

Golden State - Nellie will try to outscore you. Nellie ball can be annoying but this team is no threat. They did draft a good player at number 10 according to Lindy's.

LA Clippers - Blake Griffen replaces Kaman and Zach Randoplh. They made a good move to get Telfair who I think will blossom into a decent PG. I wouldn't be surprised if they finished in 2nd place in this poor division.

Sacremento - Aside from K-Mart and Nocioni who else do they have of any importance? I should get a good deal for ticket on stub hub here when the Celtics roll through town.

Honestly - the bottom 4 teams in this division are not likely to make the WC playoffs. The NW and SW divisions are TOUGH.

[PosImpos]

New Orleans beating Denver in the first round?  I really don't see it.  Denver as the 3rd seed and NO as the 6th could definitely happen, but I think New Orleans is too weak on the wings (Peja Stojakovic, Posey, and...Julian Wright?  Mo Pete?  Not great) to get past the first round.

Denver absolutely shellacked NO in the playoffs this last year, too (remember the 60 pt win).

Also:  Besides K-Mart and Nocioni the Kings have Tyreke Evans.  He could surprise people as a ROY candidate, supposedly he's looked really good so far.

[ACF]

Have a Tommy Point for the breakdown