Who's Next Best In East?

by Jeff Clark on Oct 24, 2008 4:30 PM EDT in Articles Comment 23 comments

Getting back to basketball, I thought I'd open this up for debate. Who do you think is the next best team in the East? I'm of the opinion that it is LeBron and the Cavs, in particular with the addition of Mo Williams. However, you could make a case for the Sixers, Pistons (still), Magic, or even the Raps or a healthy Wizards team. What do you think?

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Pistons have jumped the shark

I think they’ll make a trade or two and retool on the fly, but I don’t think they can fight for the top spot in the East anymore.

by Jeff Clark on Oct 24, 2008 4:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think Detroit will stand still and run with what they have. They’ll be an improved team over last season because of Rodney Stuckey …. and perhaps Amir Johnson.

Stuckey looked phenomenal in preseason. Much improved over last year. A lot more confidence and better understanding of how much damage he can cause with his penetration, plus his defense has been excellent (huge leap). His pull up jumper off the dribble looks better but we need more time to see if that holds up or not. Stuckey is a high quality starter right now. As a 6th man playing 30 minutes a night in a three man backcourt (Rip, Chauncey), that’s going to be very difficult to play against. Stuckey does look like an unselfish two guard playing the point rather than a true floor general though.

Amir Johnson is an interesting case and we won’t know what they have there until the end of season, I expect him to continually make progress throughout the season so what we see now won’t necessarily be what we see at the end of the year. Unlike last season McDyess will come off the bench which means they can use him as go-to scorer more often (second unit) which should boost his impact (scoring didn’t change last year despite playing 50% more minutes because of who he was alongside). ‘Dyess also gives the bench a needed veteran presence so now it’s easier to play an out and out second unit. Last year the Pistons couldn’t do this (Sheed played with bench the most) and that’s why they had to drop their better bench players in the playoffs because as a unit they were too weak through lack of experience. Johnson is interesting in the starting lineup because he doesn’t need the ball, he’ll make hustle plays all night long that quietly kill you. He’s a nice fifth wheel alongside those four top starters Detroit have.

Also Afflalo looks more likely to have a role which is good for Detroit because he’s been their best stopper on the perimeter since the first game of summer league 16 months ago. Also the Kwame Brown signing will help them, they desperately needed a big body that could defend the better bigger interior players in the league (dumb signing cap wise).

The only Piston I’d be worried about declining is Rasheed Wallace. How large a setback can the Pistons withstand there?

Detroit will finish with the East’s second best record in the regular season …. I think that’s a done deal … but I’m not sold on their capabilities come playoff time. Chiefly questions over their offense (lack of diversity in how they score) and top players (Sheed, Tayshaun, Chauncey), I need more convincing on that. Right now I’m going to rank Detroit fifth in my power ranking of the East but they’re within striking distance of the teams ahead of them. I need more convincing.

by Who on Oct 25, 2008 12:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i was hoping to get the first comment on the new site!

by Cousin It on Oct 24, 2008 4:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think Philly could be pretty good. I like Miller, AI and Brand. Speights is interesting, Lour Williams is a really nice bench scorer, Reggie Evans is a tough rebounder off the bench.

Toronto also has a well-rounded team. I honestly believe O’Neal is pretty much washed-up, but if he can give them any amount of inside toughness—a big body for banging—they could be very tough.

by Cousin It on Oct 24, 2008 4:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

who knows what to expect from Philly?

I don’t think you can just assume Brand adds 10 wins to last year’s team – it is a sum of the parts thing – he makes them better, for sure, but can the other pieces fall in to place properly?

by Jeff Clark on Oct 24, 2008 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cleveland

Their defense is great. Their biggest problem last year was they had trouble scoring. I think with Mo Williams, they won’t have as big of a problem. Plus, they have LeBron…

Detroit will be just about as good as last year, maybe slightly worse as their veterans age. The Pistons are always tough to call.
Philly has no shooters, but otherwise I like their team. Toronto is very weak on the wings and on the bench. Orlando I’m not sure about. And it doesn’t matter what a healthy Wiz team can do because they’re never healthy.

by silvershamrocker on Oct 24, 2008 5:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

am I the only one that thinks the O’Neal/Bosh experiment might just work? Raps always kinda scare me

by Jeff Clark on Oct 24, 2008 5:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Having two 7 footers will clearly be great for them. But what is Toronto’s ceiling? No way will they win a championship with that team. 2nd round max for them.

by silvershamrocker on Oct 24, 2008 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Toronto have the worst collection of perimeter players of any playoff team in the league. That’s why they lose in the first round. Take a moment and compare them to every other team, the gap is massive.

Toronto are a regular season team. Their group of perimeter players will get exploited on both ends of the floor to greater effect once the playoffs start.

by Who on Oct 25, 2008 12:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cleveland

I think it’s going to come down to Detroit and Cleveland. Detroit is not going away completely, and Cleveland clearly got better. Hell, they almost took us out last season as it is.

I think Detroit will have the slightly better regular season record, but Cleveland will be the bigger threat come May.

Go Celtics! Go Hoyas!

by CelticBalla32 on Oct 24, 2008 5:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

how far away are the Bulls?

if Rose is as good as he looked in that one preseason game, how long before they are a real threat again?

I thought they were the team of the future before last year – could they be back just as quick?

by Jeff Clark on Oct 24, 2008 5:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Cleveland

They might not have the second best record by the time the playoffs roll around, but they will be the hardest team the Celtics have to face in the playoffs.

by Wide Load on Oct 24, 2008 5:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The Celtics are the 2nd best team in the East...

and THE BEST. That’s how much better they are than the rest. No one can touch’em.

by JAM on Oct 24, 2008 6:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think it’s Cleveland too, because they play defense and LeBron can beat you singlehandedly on any given night. Orlando is good, but even with the addition of Pietrus they are a player or two short. Philly is also much improved.

The Pistons are done.

by Brickowski on Oct 24, 2008 6:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Cleveland should be the number 2 team in the East. LeBron is, without question, one of the best individual players, but the Celtics proved last season that this is a team game, so we’ll see what happens…

by fletchercail on Oct 24, 2008 6:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The Real Large James

Good question. Why don’t we ask Hugh Downs?!?!

by The Real Large James 2 on Oct 24, 2008 6:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hard to tell

I think the Pistons will get the second best record on the East.

Come playoffs time, I believe Cleveland can beat the Pistons (see LBJ) in case they finish 3rd seeded on the east, which I think they will.

Go Celticsblog! Keep up the hard wok Jeff and Co!

Teamwork...
Defense...
Ubuntu...

The Boston Celtics

by Dirk on Oct 24, 2008 7:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Cleveland. D, depth and LeBron.

Detroit are slipping, Orlando need to upgrade the point. Toronto and Philly, like the C’s last year, will have their success determined by how well they gel. I have doubts about O’Neal and Philly need a shooter plus big years from Williams and Young.

by Green_Lantern on Oct 24, 2008 7:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

finkelskyhook

Jeff: You have to assume that O’Neal suddenly wants to play and doesn’t have a cancerous additude. That’s a real reach.

Philly is the second best team in the conference. They’re loaded. They couldn’t have found a more perfect complement to Dalembert and Iggy than Brand. Miller a perfect unselfish PG for this team. He has a solid backup. As does everybody else Evans a great backup at the 4 and 5. They have as good a chance at a 2 as anybody in the conference.

by Finkelskyhook on Oct 24, 2008 7:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

O'Neal's Attitude

“Jeff: You have to assume that O’Neal suddenly wants to play and doesn’t have a cancerous attitude. That’s a real reach.”

I don’t agree with how O’Neal acted on his way out of Indiana. But that’s the way the NBA works. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Paul Pierce could have taken the same route out of Boston, if not for a few major trades. For me it all comes down to health with O’Neal. If he can hold down the 5, play reasonable minutes, and head into the playoffs healthy the Raptors could be dangerous. I’m a big fan of Calderon and those guys can flat out shoot some nights. Still, I’d go with the Cavs for all the reasons people listed above.

Green Bandwagon: Repeat in '09 or bust. Are you on the bandwagon?

by Jim Weeks on Oct 24, 2008 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have to go with the Cleveland Cavaliers as the second best team in the East.

Over the summer I thought it was Philadelphia but my logic was flawed. I thought they were the second best because I like their chances of beating Cleveland in a playoff series – still do by the way – but Cleveland have a superior shot at beating Boston, Detroit, Orlando than the Sixers so I think Cleveland should be second.

The Cavs will likely struggle in the regular season (47-51 wins) but come playoff time they’ll be a different proposition. They’re a grind it out type of squad that looks better in a seven game series.

Orlando’s season will be decided by Jameer Nelson’s aggressiveness offensively. They need him to act as a secondary playmaker/penetrator to be a top tier team. If they fail to get that they’re a second tier squad who are very difficult to match up with.

by Who on Oct 25, 2008 12:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

East is getting better

Brand going to Philadelphia was on the forefront of the moves that have turned the pendulum more towards “our” side. I’m not insisting the East as a conference is superior by any means, but it has improved though. The rule is that the better the conference, the less disparity there will be between teams fighting for playoff spots. In the past we used to see Detroit and maybe Cleveland round up spots in the top, while teams 7 and 8 performed below .500. I doubt you’ll be seeing that this year. Too much depth and improvement from “borderline” teams. Though I do believe irrespective of personnel changes that may have been made, improvement is very doubtful (Knicks).

To answer Jeff’s question, Philadelphia is a team that really scares me, more than Detroit… more than Cleveland, although they’ll still make the playoffs and advance at least one round anyways. Philly seems to have everything as far as playoff criteria. They’ve got their PG. A viable outside shooting option. A low post threat. A low post defender who doesn’t require too many touches so as to stay within the context of his role. Just an overall deep team with pieces that are very similar to ours. I’m scared.

TPD 4 3333333

by TradeProposalDude on Oct 25, 2008 12:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'll piggyback on the Cleveland express

They play tough defense and they have the best player in the league. But as long as Boston has home court advantage throughout the playoffs the matchup should go to the C’s.

One interesting thing to keep an eye on is how the Mo Williams (propensity to shoot more than pass) and LBJ dichotomy plays out. For all of LBJ’s gifts he hasn’t really been able to let his teammates ‘play like themselves’ for lack of a better term. Mo Williams is IMO the closest Cleveland has come to adding a 2nd star alongside LBJ. He’s going to have to sacrifice some of his game for the betterment of the team. This was the main reason the ‘Big 3’ were able to strive so well together. Of course them being in their 30’s and more mature helped the process. Is Lebron ready to become the player he can be at 23?

by Birdbrain on Oct 25, 2008 9:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs