Da East
by Rob
While I'm no expert, I am the only guy that writes for the Blah that gives a crap about any NBA team outside of the Celtics. I wonder if this is just because there isn't nearly enough written about the Hawks to satiate me (Born and raised in the ATL). Here's a quick overview and things to think about as we head into the NBA playoffs. Just in case you were wondering, I don't care enough to put them into any meaningful order, plus, now you have to read through the whole thing.
Pacers should look down an everyone else
The Eastern Conference, minus the top three teams, has been the collective whipping boy for all things NBA this season. Well first of all let me say that the Nets are over-rated. This happens when you play in the world's largest television market and the other team in it is more a fantasy team for Zeke than a real franchise. Everyone talks about how great they can be but I just don't see it. They can get out and run with the best of them when Jason, Richard, and Kenyon are all on the court; we know this. Shouldn't fans be worried about Kenyon's bum knee though? Has anyone turned to the Sports Guy for clarification on the Ewing Theory as of late? With Kidd out of the line up, Richard Jefferson has turned into an absolute stud, so what happens when Kidd comes back? If the Nets were smart, they would pray that the Spurs are still interested in the wife beater for the Frenchman.
Indiana and Detroit should scare the teams out West. These teams have learned to do it on both ends of the court and don't really have a lot of gaping holes to exploit. Detroit is becoming a prolific defensive team and there is no one person that another team can key on to shut down their offense; there's always someone else that can hit you up for a bucket.
As a side note, there has been talk from fans of the Western Conference to do away with the conferences and seed the playoffs according to best record in the whole NBA. While that doesn't seem to make sense, I do think that the NBA should consider getting rid of the divisions. How is it even close to fair that the Pistons are going to be the 3 seed and the over-hyped Nets get the 2? Oh yeah, because everyone in the Atlantic sucks.
Indiana has one of the most dominant power forwards in the league who is quickly becoming a perennial MVP candidate. On a side note, can we use the Pacers as the poster franchise for the NBDL expansion that Billy Hunter has decided to oppose? Does anyone else remember the Sports Illustrated article about Jermaine, Al, and Jonathan? These three were young and full of promise, but what do they have to show for it? I already touched on O'Neal previously and Harrington has shown flashes of what we expected when he gets time while someone more consistent is hurt. Bender (who is still in the record books for the McDonald's All American game) has patiently waited his turn and fought through injuries incurred in practice. If the NBDL had been flushed out ten years ago, we could be looking at the second coming of Parrish, Bird, and McHale (except that we have a 2 instead of a 5). Beware of this team, Carlisle may be the best coach in the East and Artest can shutdown anyone in the NBA when he has his head on straight. And will everyone shut their eyes for a minute and think about a starting five of Tinsley, Artest, Bender, Harrington, and O'Neal? Now try it again if they all had a chance to reach their full potential…scary, isn't it?
I have to say, I don't know a damn thing about this team.
Milwaukee. I have to say, I don't know a damn thing about this team. Is there any team as non-descript? And they already clinched a playoff spot? At least we finally got a chance to see what Michael Redd and Desmond Mason could do. I said we got the chance, I didn't say we actually saw it.
Miami has finally found a way to put all the pieces together and win some games. You know what the answer was? Let Pat Riley bow out on what seemed to be his own terms. I've always thought that Lamar Odom could lead a team and he's doing it without really standing out in any one statistical category. They have veterans that know how to win and enough size to pressure other teams in the East.
The Hornets were a favorite of mine growing up because you couldn't be a boy without loving bad asses like Larry Johnson and Alonzo Morning. Well, this is the same franchise and they are still built on just two stars. Surprise, surprise, the first two had injury problems and so do Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn. If they can get healthy, they can put a lot of points on the board and keep up with anyone. Thankfully, this team has developed a decent post player as well in Magloire; it's been a long time since we've seen one.
Do I really have to talk about the next few teams? Even worse than trying to come up with something for the Bucks is trying to come up with something good about the teams that are fighting to lose in the first round. I know a lot of Celtics fans that would rather see them lose and get a better draft pick.
An executive decision was just made and I am going to talk about the rest of the East when I tell you what I think of the crappier teams in the league. I can't justify talking about the Knicks as a playoff team even if they did trade for Marbury and a bunch of crap. They were better off with the Mormon. Dammit, they are so bad that they sucked me into talking about them
The New York Knicks are going to be in the playoffs and they actually have a chance at making it out of the first round because it looks like they are going to draw the Nets. The sad part is that this team is going no where fast. Isiah was a great coach with the Pacers (ed. note: are you nuts?) and did a fantastic job of connecting with his players. He hasn't done nearly as well with his new duties in New York. I happen to like some of things that he did like signing the ageless Mutombo and signing Vin Baker for next to nothing, but when you look at the big picture, he's already mortgaged his future for a team that doesn't scare anyone. While I like Thomas, I don't think you should underestimate the value that Keith Van Horn brought to the table. He was just a different dimension that the Knicks don't have with an ailing Allan Houston. Marbury is never going to carry a team to the promised land; it just isn't going to happen. I think that had he spent another year or two with Bobby Cremins at Georgia Tech, he would have matured as a team player. What we have now is a kid that's still playing on the playgrounds of NYC. This team has very few tradable assets and the New York fans may be in for another long rebuilding process.
Living in Boston, you would think that people would be excited about the Celtics being the playoffs again this season. Unfortunately, with Danny Ainge having blown up the roster and the team drawing the Pacers in the first round, the best possible thing for them would be to get back into the lottery. The Celtics aren't in that bad a position because they did find a way to get rid of Vin Baker and they still have a franchise player in Paul Pierce. They also have what could be a great supporting cast in Ricky Davis, Mark Blount (if they can find a way to re-sign him), Marcus Banks, etc. As much as it has pained me to watch the dismantling of this team, I do believe that Ainge has a plan and we should give him the benefit of the doubt. He's done a great job of tearing down a team that was sliding down the ranks of the East and so we should give him a year or two to see if he can't build it back up. Sadly, if he can't, he's still going to get a job because the NBA just loves to recycle failed executives (see Thomas, Isiah).
The Sixers feel more and more like a lost cause. Sure they still have one of the biggest draws in the NBA in AI, but they have little else for the investments that they have made. I wonder if anyone will ever realize that Glenn Robinson is not that good. He does one thing (score) and that's something that you can get from almost anywhere. They have some decent talent in Snow, Dalembert, and Salmons, but they can't seem to do anything with it. There has been plenty of discussion regarding trading Iverson in the off season, but we should realize that it isn't going to happen as long as he helps the Sixers draw fans. Sadly, the NBA is more business than sports these days.
Finally we get to a team with a bright future on the horizon. The Cavaliers have been loaded with talented players that haven't done all they could for a few years now. Then they lucked out and got the best high school player of all time. Lebron James is not just a great player; he's going to be one of the greatest. He does everything on the court and wants to make his teammates better too. With the emergence of Carlos Boozer and the health of big Z, this team can start to make some serious waves next season. If this team can get lucky and land a top draft pick, they could bring in Dwight Howard and bring him along to form one of the most dangerous inside/outside combos in the NBA. What they really need is a big time off guard who can hit from the outside, but I don't see one in the draft that can help right away. Perhaps they can land Ben Gordon and let him play the undersized 2 to Lebron's point. In reality though, this team just needs a year to mature a little more.
The Raptors are a sad story. They could have had Tracy McGrady, but they decided that they should stick with the spectacular Vince Carter. Carter is not the kind of player that can carry a team or stay healthy. Finding a way to get him off the books and starting to rebuild around Chris Bosh seems like the smart thing to do, but we all know that it won't happen. This team used to have a bright future but it's gone the way of the real Raptors, it's extinct.
I want to know why the Hawks kept winning. I happen to think that while handcuffed by the impending sale of the team and influx of new management, they have taken great strides toward revitalizing a once proud franchise. I'm not trying to say that they were a great franchise, but they were interesting and people liked them. Over the last year, they have rid themselves of a clubhouse cancer, Robinson, and in turn cleared a lot of cap room for next season. They turned around made an interesting trade in sending Ratliff and Shareef to Portland for a one day rental of Rasheed Wallace. He was then passed onto Detroit for a bunch of crap (even though Bobby Sura has been playing out of his mind). With all of this cap room and a decent draft pick, the Hawks would be best served by starting to collect a supporting cast. We all know that they aren't going to land Kobe Bryant or someone of that ilk at this stage, so why not get yourself ready for that guy? If they can get the rest of the pieces there, it will be a lot easier to lure Tracy McGrady when he opts out of his contract after next season. A guy can hope, can't he?
The Eastern Conference should have been used to being victimized by Michael Jordan, but not since he was a baseball player has he hurt his own team…until he began his relationship with the Wizards. Jordan was not a good executive and was not the same player when he stepped back onto the court. He damaged the psyche of his fellow players and hindered the development of others. Luckily, they have found a way to stockpile some young talent and they haven't given up on Kwame Brown quite yet. Let's think back to my comments about letting high schoolers develop because Kwame may be another poster boy for the NBDL. Bottom line: give these guys a year or two and they will be back in the playoffs for years to come.
I would love to use the Bulls as another point in my campaign for a minor league system, but their young guys have gotten playing time and support. Having Scott Skiles around for a full year will help and we are just about at that time when these high school grads have been around long enough to break out. Trust me, give these guys two years and they will be good again.
The Magic are a conundrum. They have talent but they haven't been able to do anything this year. McGrady hasn't been so bad that it's his fault and you can't blame the GM. Personally, I think Doc Rivers did a great job and I can't wait for him to get the job in the ATL (although Terry Stotts deserves a head coaching job). There's nothing that really stands out right now. Obviously the Grant Hill signing has hamstrung this franchise, but there's no excuse for playing this badly.
Take a trip out West.