With the NBA back, and Mustache Sports taking notice, I think it’s time we provide you with a preview of how we feel this season will play out. I’m not talking about giving you a team by team breakdown, but maybe just a playoff prediction sort of thing? Will that work? Good, thanks for understanding, I’m at work and although it is pretty slow this week, I still have stuff I need to get done.
Here’s how I think the top 8 seeds will look come playoff time.
1. Miami Heat
Through two games, the Miami Heat look really, really good. If they were playing the full 82 game season, I wouldn’t be surprised if they took a run at the 1996 Bulls 72 win record. Norris Cole can ball (thank the Bulls for dealing him last draft day) and might be the answer at PG. Shane Battier will help them in the locker room and in crunch time situations with his defense and ability to not be an offensive liability. I’ll go on record right now and say that the Heat will win the NBA title this year. I’m not at all trying to jinx them into a season ending Lebron/D Wade knee injury, I’m serious. There, if you don’t like basketball, you can stop reading.
2. Chicago Bulls
I’m super stoked to watch the Bulls when they get everything going. Derrick Rose is great and the addition of Rip Hamilton is going to be HUGE the last 6 minutes of close games. The Bulls have the best 10 man rotation in all of the NBA. The only problem being, they will have to beat the Miami Heat in the playoffs and I don’t think D Rose has enough help to get that done. I will say that IF Carlos Boozer plays like an All-Star and stays healthy, and IF Joakim Noah gets better and stays healthy, and IF Luol Deng turns into Tony Allen on defense, they have a chance of taking the Heat to 7 games and anything can happen in a game 7. So yes, I guess I’m telling you there is a chance.
3. New York Knicks
After watching them get outscored by 27 points in a 17 minute stretch against the Celtics and still end up winning that game, I think they are the 3rd best team in the East. Anytime you have a scorer like Carmelo “Slap and Run” Anthony, a versatile big like Amare Stoudemire, and defense in the middle with Tyson Chandler, you are going to win close games. The Knicks look good right now, but I still think they are missing a point guard and although I do like Toney Douglas, I think the Eastern Conference Semi’s is as far as they go.
4. Indiana Pacers
As a Bulls fan, I got to watch them a lot late last year and then some early this season. The Pacer roster is very nice and I think they become, along with the Knicks, the team that surprises people this season and take that leap into the “teams we follow closely in the East” category. Danny Grainger needed some help last year and I think with the development of Paul George, Roy Hibbert looking like a top 5 Center, Tyler Hansbrough getting better, and the addition of David West, he got it. Look for these guys to make a move at the deadline and possibly win a playoff series this year.
5. Boston Celtics
It’s crazy to look at a ranking of the East and see the Celtics getting ranked at 5. Especially since they haven’t had Paul Pierce these first two games and almost won both of them (against teams ranked higher nonetheless). But I think you will see KG and Pierce not play in 100 combined games this year and I just don’t see enough scoring on the team to make up for them being out. The lockout schedule with its 7 games in 10 nights is going to hurt older teams and the C’s are no exception. Brandon Bass looks like a great pickup, but Keyon Dooling, Marquis Daniels, Jermaine O’Neal, and Sasha Pavlovic will all play significant minutes this year and they are not very good at playing basketball.
6. Orlando Magic
This prediction is all predicated on Dwight Howard staying in Orlando for the entire season. If he gets dealt, then I get a pass. Deal? Thanks.
7. Atlanta Hawks
Losing Jamal Crawford may not have been a horrible thing for the Hawks but they didn’t do anything to replace the scoring he provided. I like Josh Smif (he looks like The Game if you’ve never heard that before, go ahead, google it), Joe Johnson is nice, I like Al Horford, and Jeff Teague is a fun player to watch, but they start Marvin Williams at the 3 and Tracy McGrady is in their 8 man rotation. I think they will finish around .500 and lose to the Bulls in 5 games in the first round of the playoffs.
8. Philedelphia 76ers
Out of the bottom 10 teams in the East, Philly serves to have the most depth and most well rounded roster. They have a lot of assets with Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Specer Hawes, Lou Williams, Evan Turner, and Jodie Meeks, but they need to turn those assets into a superstar and I just don’t see a realistic scenario out there right now where that happens. They remind me a lot of those Kirk Heinrich, Ben Gordon Bulls teams. Fun to watch and root for, shows signs of promise, but are stuck in NBA Purgatory…….no legitimate superstar, will always pick between 10-16 and have a lot of really nice role players.
Worst Teams to Watch
In no particular order, the Bobcats, Bucks, Raptors, and Pistons are all really bad and really boring. Conversely, the Cavs, Wizards, and Nets are really bad but for reasons I won’t go into, could be worth watching on a random Tuesday night.
Playoff Predictions
Heat over 76ers in 4
Bulls over Hawks in 5
Knicks over Magic in 6
Celtics over Pacers in 7
Heat over Celtics in 6
Bulls over Knicks in 7
Heat over Bulls in 6
See you tomorrow when I do this EXACT same thing for the West! I know, I’m excited too.
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