Threats

I don’t think the Raps get enough credit for how good they’re going to be next year. It’s not about how good Jermaine O’Neal will be, but how much better he’ll make Chris Bosh. Also, O’Neal’s ability to average 15/10 will open the floor for the sharpshooters on the Raptors. Fortunately, I still think the Celts match up very well head to head with the Raps, I’m just not sure other teams in the East do.

the cavs are overrated. Mo Williams will help, i’m sure. But the Cavs lost their 3rd best player from the series against the C’s:

Joe Smith – (1 and 2 were James and West)

Another parallel move by the Cavs…

1.pistons – donot sell them short. 2.cavs – any team with lebron is very dangerous. 3.76ers- the near beast of the east. will toronto have depth? and donot forget washington.

Biggest threat to the Celtics: injury and old age.

I see three teams as threats to Boston – Cleveland, Phily, Orlando. Detroit are capable of springing a surprise but I’m not enamored with them.

I think Phily are the biggest threat of the bunch because I reckon they can beat everyone below Boston, which I don’t think Cleveland/Orlando can claim.

Cavs are probably still the toughest individual matchup for Boston though. Followed by Orlando who I think caused the C’s problems last year, and will be a much improved squad this year.

That second tier behind Boston is fairly crowded, not a lot of separation between the trailing pack. Boston is clearly ahead of the pack.

I don’t think Toronto are significantly better than before. They are better but not by much.

Look at the playoff squads from last year and who you think will make the playoffs this year. Who has the weakest perimeter play, both offensively and defensively, of all those teams? Toronto. That’s 60% of their lineup at all times and they’re the weakest playoff team, that’s a huge flaw.

They also have a very weak bench with Calderon moving to the starting lineup, and with Delfino leaving the club. If Bargnani got his act together this could change, so there is some promise there.

I was more concerned about Toronto last year. Not because they were better, they weren’t, but because of the matchups they could cause with two perimeter bigs and having a top 12 PG on the floor at all times. It was integral to their squad to have a top PG who could create everything because it hid how incompetent their wings are as a group. I like their wings individually but they’re being asked to do things they’re not capable of which makes them very weak. The loss of TJ Ford, so is the loss of Rasho, is a lot bigger than people realize and it will discount nearly all of the gains Jermaine brings.

I just don’t think Jermaine is that big of a problem for Perkins.

This year should say a lot about what the limits of LeBron’s talent are. Last year, he was at roughly the same level as Kobe. This year, he should be all by himself. Hopefully, he’ll be only a little better than everyone else, like Duncan has been, and we will get one more shot.

My guess is that he ends up in Jordan territory in a couple of years, meaning it will be very tough to beat him.

The Cav’s are still a LeBron oriented team. If they are defended properly they can still be beat. Defend LeBron the best you can and deny others the ball. I think the Sixer’s, if Brand can still play, are the ones to beat out.

Gotta agree with Truegreen and say that Philly is going to be our biggest threat. They have a top 5 pg, a top tier power forward, and a wing that is a blooming star in progress.

The one thing about Phily that gives me more confidence on Boston’s chances is that I think there’s a good chance their offense falls down considerably if someone can limit/contain Brand … it’ll revert to last season’s offense. They still need someone else to step up.

Phily’s best asset might be the combination defensively of Iggy and Thaddeus. Few sides have defenders of their caliber and physical size. That will help them match up with the C’s.