NBA Atlantic Division Preview
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2007-08 Boston Celtics
Eastern Conference: Atlantic Division
Boston Celtics: 24 W - 58 L, 42-39 ATS, 06/07 season
What a makeover! After missing out on Greg Oden and Kevin Durant with another night of bad ping-pong ball luck, Celtics GM Danny Ainge shifted gears, dumping much of the youth he had been stockpiling. Joining Paul Pierce will be newcomers Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Overnight they went from a bad young team, to one with three stars in their 30s.
7-foot Kevin Garnett is 31 years old and has been around a long time. Still, he's off another monster season averaging 22.4 points,
12.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. This guy is a force, and racks up a tremendous amount of assists for a big man (5.7 apg two years ago). He's an unselfish, team-oriented guy, perfect to build a team around. He wanted out of the mess in Minnesota, and who can blame him?
6-6 Paul Pierce just turned 30, and for the first time in years he is surrounded by some veteran talent. He's also a terrific all around player, putting up great numbers last season averaging 25.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists, though injuries limited him to 47 games. He is joined by 6-5 Ray Allen, who led Seattle with 26.4 ppg, 4.50 rpg, 4.1 apg, coming over in a draft day trade with the Sonics. These guys won't average that many points, as somebody's scoring will have to go down. The key will be how these three mesh and focus on team (not to mention defense and rebounding).
They are short on role players with all that star power, but a lesser known key acquisition is 6-8 James Posey. A 6'8" swingman, Posey has mostly made his name in the league on perimeter defense and rebounding. His quick hands, long wingspan and large frame make him an above-average defender who can guard up to four positions. There are plenty of players who want to be scorers in the NBA, but it takes a different mindset to become a stopper in this league, something he learned from his college coach Skip Prosser. He's the type of defensive rebounder this team badly needs.
Posey played a key role for the Heat during their run to the Finals, coming off the bench as a shutdown defender, rebounder and a clutch three-point shooter. Posey averaged 7.3 PPG and 5.7 RPG in just under 28 minutes a game for the Heat in the postseason, and he led the team by connecting on 42% of his three-point attempts. Posey's three pointer with 3:43 remaining in the deciding Game 6 of the NBA Finals put the Heat ahead by six and helped close out the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals.
Point guard is a concern as they are committed to 21-year old Rajon Rondo. He has a lot to learn and dished out 3.8 assists pg as a rookie. 6-4 Tony Allen is a keeper, a quick guard who was having a great season until a serious injury stopped him 33 games into the season. They really need his healthy return. Veteran guard Eddie House is in the mix along with rookie guard 6-4 Gabe Pruitt (USC).
There are role playing big men in 6-10 Kendrick Perkins, 6-11 Scot Pollard, 6-8 Leon Powe, and rookies 6-9 Brandon Wallace and Big Baby Glen Davis (LSU). Perkins actually has some moves on offense when he has the confidence to use them, and he's become a better-than-average passer for a big man. His coaches didn't realize how decent a one-on-one defender he was until he had some good stretches guarding Dirk Nowitzki and others late in the year.
One criticism is that coach Doc Rivers hasn't done a good job getting this team to play defense, which was also a problem before he got fired in Orlando. Three years ago this team gave up 103 ppg on the road, which is why they were 25-19 "over" the total on the road. Last year their defense was nonexistent. Youth? Or bad coaching? With all this talent, there are no excuses for poor defense. This team is good enough to be a force in the weak East, so the heat will be all on Doc Rivers.
2007-2008 New Jersey Nets
Eastern Conference: Atlantic
New Jersey Nets: 47 W - 47 L, 49-44 ATS 06/07 season
The Nets finished in second place last season, but they still went 41-41. They had a nice playoff run, defeating Toronto before losing in 6-games to eventual East champion Cleveland. This is still a veteran team built around Jason Kidd and Vince Carter. The man who sets the tempo and runs the floor is 34-year old Jason Kidd, who does it all averaging 13 points, 8.2 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game.
He dishes the ball off to scorers Vince Carter (25.2 ppg) and Richard Jefferson (16.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg). Jefferson played in just 53 games while battling injuries. A big factor they didn't really have last season was 23-year old 7-foot Nenad Krstic in the middle. He played in only 26 games while averaging 16.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. Two years ago he was solid with 13.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg. He's a key young piece of this puzzle, manning the middle.
Head coach Lawrence Frank has gotten these guys to play team-oriented ball and defense: Two years ago New Jersey allowed 92 ppg, 6th best in the NBA, and last season they allowed 98.4 ppg, 13th. That's one reason they drafted 6-10 Sean Williams from Boston College, a good rebounder and shot blocker. They've been adding some youth in point guard Marcus Williams in 2006 (22nd pick from Connecticut) and 6-11 Josh Boone, a center from Connecticut taken at 23. They still have role players like 6-11 Jason Collins and Bostjan Nachbar. They still have 6-7 Antoine Wright, their top draft pick from two years ago. Wright is a 6'-7" swingman who can hit consistently from the outside, as well as bull his way into the paint to contend for rebounds.
The Nets have signed free agent forward Malik Allen. Allen, a 6'-10" product out of Villanova, appeared in 60 games for the Chicago Bulls last season, averaging 4.0 points and 2.0 rebounds on .415 (107-of-258) from the field and .824 (28-of-34) from the line in 10.6 minutes per contest. He appeared in five postseason contests for the Bulls during the 2007 NBA Playoffs. The six-year NBA veteran holds career averages of 6.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 287 games, including 103 starts.
The frontcourt adds 6-11 Jamaal Magloire, age 29, who averaged 6.5 ppg for Portland. When healthy two years ago, New Jersey won 3 of 4 meetings with eventual champion Miami, going 4-0 against the spread. Defense ruled the day, with 3 of the 4 games going under the total, so this team can turn up that all-important defense when needed.
This is a veteran group with some interesting kids. New Jersey's defense is geared to creating turnovers and then outrunning the opposition to the basket, with Kidd leading the way and Carter finishing the break. If the coach can blend the kids with the vets AND get them to keep playing defense, the Nets could be a force in the East with Magloire and the return to health of Nenad Krstic up front.
2007-2008 Toronto Raptors
Eastern Conference: Atlantic Division
Toronto Raptors: 49 W - 39 L, 50-37 ATS 2006/07 season
Toronto went from 27 wins to 49 last season while winning the Atlantic division. HC Sam Mitchell has a young team and has implemented an uptempo style, although note that Toronto was 50-37 under the total. Offense is not a problem for this group, led by sparkplug guard TJ Ford, who came over from the Bucks. He's a fine point guard who chipped in 14 points per game while leading the team in assists with 7.9 per game. He has a history of injuries, but started 71 games last season.
32-year old 6-6 Anthony Parker averaged 12.4 ppg and young guard Juan Dixon adds depth to the backcourt. But the centerpiece of the offense is 6-10 forward Chris Bosh. Bosh blossomed with 22.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Bosh withdrew from U.S. training camp during the summer because of a left foot injury with plantar fasciitis. They lost athletic 6-7 Morris Peterson (8.9 ppg), but he was sixth in scoring and only started 12 games.
It's clear they will look for the young kids more alongside Bosh. This will mean more time for 7-foot, 250-lb Andrea Bargnani, the No. 1 overall pick a year ago. He was the first European ever taken No. 1 and drew comparisons to Dallas Mavericks all-star Dirk Nowitzki because of his height and outside touch: He made 37 percent of his three-point tries in Italy. He played in 65 games last season, starting only 2, while battling some injuries. Bargnani averaged just 11.6 points and 3.9 rebounds.
They will have quite an international flavor with 6-9 rookie Jorge Garbajosa (8.5 ppg, Spain), guard Jose Calderon (8.7 ppg), 6-10 Uros Slokar and veteran center/role player Rasho Nesterovic. Calderon, a point guard from Spain, played with some terrific big men at Tau Ceramica, one of the country's top club teams. He's being called the prototypical point guard the Raptors have always craved. They have a lot of potential young role players like 6-7 Joey Graham.
Toronto had no picks in the NBA draft and was quiet in free agency, so it's the same group for the most part. Toronto was 32-12 SU, 25-18 ATS at home as teams don't always like the long road trip North of the border. But on the road the Raptors were 17-27 SU, though 25-19 ATS. In fact, the Raptors are 51-31 ATS the last two years on the road! They are 34-26 and 24-20 ATS the last two seasons as a dog! This is a deep young team, but defense and backcourt depth are a concern for this campaign. It won't be easy to repeat in the new-and-improved Atlantic division, either.
2007-2008 Philadelphia 76ers
Eastern Conference: Atlantic Division
Philadelphia 76ers: 35 W - 47 L, 43-35 ATS, 06/07 season
The new era begins! This 76ers didn't fall apart after trading star guard Allen Iverson, playing respectable basketball. But they also didn't get better, going from 38 wins with him two years ago to 35 last season. Maurice Cheeks begins his third season as coach and they've had 3 straight losing years. This team is lacking in many areas, including the all important defense and rebounding.
Veteran guard Andre Miller came over in the trade for IA and played well, averaging 13.4 points and 4.4 assists and they like young G Willie Green (11.3 ppg). Up front, Sam Dalembert is a six-year NBA veteran, all with Philadelphia, who averaged a career best 10.7 points and 8.9 rebounds in the 2006-07 season. A 6'11" center, with great athletism, Dalembert was Philadelphia's first round (26th overall) pick in the 2001 NBA draft.
The 76ers have 6-6 G/F Andre Iguodala (18.2 ppg), who impressed with 5.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per contest. Young Rodney Carney will share time in the frontcourt, along with 6-10 Shavlik Randolph. 6-7 Kyle Korver (14.4 ppg) has the look of a movie star and is an All-Star 3-point shooter, nailing 43% of his long range shots. He'll need to upgrade his defense, which has been a liability. Rebounding depth is still a weakness, so they add 6-8 Reggie Evans from Denver. He averaged 7.0 rpg in 2006-07. He led the NBA in rebounds per 48 minutes last season (19.7).
Philadelphia added four players in the 2007 NBA Draft. In the first round, the Sixers came away with Georgia Tech's 6-8 Thaddeus Young (12th overall pick) and Colorado State's 7-foot Jason Smith (20th overall pick). Philadelphia also acquired the draft rights to Vanderbilt's Derrick Byars (42nd overall pick) and Providence's 6-10 Herbert Hill (55th overall pick) in the second round. Young was one of the top freshmen in the country last season. He scored a team-high tying 14.4 points per game while adding averages of 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.29 steals. The 19-year-old also hit 39 three-pointers on 41.9% shooting in 31 games played.
The 7-foot Smith was drafted by Miami but his rights were traded to Philadelphia in exchange for the rights to Daequan Cook (21st overall pick), the Sixers own second-round pick in 2009 and cash considerations. The 21-year-old Smith was named First Team All-Mountain West Conference in each of the past two years. As a junior last season, he led the MWC in rebounding (10.1 rpg) while ranking sixth in scoring (16.8 ppg), fourth in blocks (1.6 bpg), fourth in field goal percentage (.579) and fourth in free throw percentage (.770).
Byars was named Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press as a senior last season. He averaged 17.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.41 steals in 2006-07 and knocked down 142 three-pointers on 40.0% shooting over the past two seasons. Hill was the Big East Most Improved Player last season while also earning All-Big East First Team honors. After averaging 9.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.93 blocks as a junior, he averaged 18.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.94 blocks his senior season. Hill shot 64.0% from the floor in 2006-07 and 61.4% for his career. Sports bettors take note: Philly was 24-16 ATS on the road last season even though they allowed a whopping 100 ppg! Bad defense and young faces won't get this team far.
2007-08 New York Knicks
Eastern Conference: Atlantic Division
New York Knicks: 33 W - 49 L, 39-42 ATS, 06/07 season
The Knicks are the laughingstock of the NBA and it all starts with general manager Isiah Thomas. Over the salary cap? Almost as bad as the federal budget. Talent on the court? Minimal. Defense? Dysfunctional. Can a great coach like Larry Brown help? No. They got him for half a season before he threw up his hands at the hopeless cause. They gave up their draft picks for Eddy Curry to help turn things around. They did, and went from 33 wins, to 23 to 30 last season! That's a bad team moving sideways.
Help in the draft? Thomas blew that one with stunning draft picks No. 20 Renaldo Balkman (F, South Carolina) and No. 29 Mardy Collins (PG, Temple) a year ago. Balkman wasn't considered a first-rounder while Collins was overrated and can't shoot. Balkman averaged 4.9 ppg as a rookie. They should go with youth, which would mean Wilson Chandler, a forward from DePaul taken with the 23rd pick.
As of now the backcourt is still stuck with Stephon Marbury (16.4 ppg) and Jamal Crawford (17.6 ppg), and neither play defense. Crawford is a shooter who can nail the three but he's a streak shooter and shot selection can be a problem. 5'-9" PG Nate Robinson wowed 'em in college and averaged 10.3 points for the Knicks last season.
There's some size up front now. Curry led the team with 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while 6'-9" David Lee led the team with 10.4 boards per game. 6-6 Quentin Richardson chipped in 13.0 points and 7.2 boards per contest. Role Player center 7-footer Channing Frye was shipped to Portland for 6-9 Zach Randolph, a good frontcourt player, but one with a selfish and often-injured tag. So he and Marbury will vie for shots!
NY allowed 100 ppg, 11th worst defensively in the NBA. 6-11 center Randolph Morris is available and 7-foot-1 Jerome James averaged 1.6 rebounds per game for $6 million a year, so chalk about another bad move by Thomas. This organization needs a major overhaul, starting at the top, and won't be contending for several years.
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