Matt’s Projected Eastern Conference Standings
1. Miami Heat– With the acquisitions of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, and the spectacular play by the big three in the playoffs last year, I don’t see anyone coming close to defeating the Heat. Projection: 62-20
2. Boston Celtics– The Celtics lost Ray Allen, however, they also acquired Jason “The Jet” Terry, a leader and great in clutch moments. Avery Bradley seems to be a solid back up shooting guard along with Courtney Lee. The Celtics were also able to re-sign Brandon Baas and Jeff Green. Kevin Garnett re-signed and will mentor the two rookies Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo. And they still have Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, the best playmaker in the league. This team is incredibly deep and should go far. Projection: 56-26
3. Indiana Pacers– Donnie Walsh has returned to the Pacers and I expect this team to build off of last year’s break out season. I actually believe that the Pacers will have a very similar season as last year as they did not make many moves. They re-signed 7’2” Roy Hibbert and added Point Guard, DJ Augistin. Danny Granger should lead this team to another winning season. Projection 50-32
4. New York Knicks– Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler. Arguably, the best front court in the league. With the additions of veterans Jason Kidd, Raymond Felton, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas, and Ronnie Brewer, the Knicks will have a huge amount of pressure to go far this year. Knicks fans always say, “This is our year.” Well folks, its now or never. Projection 49-33
5. Chicago Bulls– The only reason that I do not have this team up higher is because Derrick Rose is going to miss at least half the season and there is no way of knowing if he will return 100% healthy. Without D-Rose, the Bulls lost in the first round to the Sixers last year and barely put up a fight. Boozer and Noah are solid, but the Bulls offense runs through Rose, and without him, this team will struggle. Projection: 45- 37
6. Brooklyn Nets– the Nets will make the Playoffs their first year playing in Brooklyn. With Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace signing long term contracts, this team is going to be talented for a long time. All-Star Joe Johnson has left Atlanta and has joined Deron and the Nets. With Marshon Brooks off the bench and Kris Humphries at Power Forward, this squad should be very deep and fun to watch. Projection: 44-38
7. Orlando Magic- They may have a lot of controversy, and they may lose Dwight Howard before the trade deadline, but for now, you can’t count them out. Projection: 42-40
8. Atlanta Hawks- Although they lost Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams, they still have Josh Smith and Al Horford. They won’t be as good as last year, but they will still make a push for the Post-Season. Projection: 41-41
Solid points all around, and who knows maybe the Magic string together a season like the 10-11 Nuggets and overachieve with roe players, I just don’t see it, that franchise seems destined to bottom out. I like Philly to make a return trip over them, or even a late surge from a suddenly deep Cavs team.
My picks, 1. Pacers 2. Heat 3. Celtics 4. Bulls 5. Knicks 6. Nets 7. Bucks 8. 76ers.
Mike, I know you are a huge basketball fan but what could possibly make you think that the Pacers will be better than the Heat? I have the Heat and the Celtics in front of the Pacers. Why do you think the Pacers are so good?
Same reason the Bulls have had the best record in the east 2 years running, depth. There’s no stand out player on the Pacers but they can gring night in and night out while Doc and Spolestra have to watch the minutes of the core 3 on their respective teams. The Heat and Celtics know thir only goal in the regular season is to get above a 4 seed so they don’t have to play each other untl the later rounds, I like last years 3 seed Pacers to leave it all on the floor and suplant the Bulls as the over achieving regular season team with a short post season shlf life.
There is one problem with your theory. The Bulls had Derrick Rose. Danny Granger is not like Derrick Rose. Rose can win a ball game all by himself and was the MVP just two seasons ago. The Pacers are a deep team, but they simply do not have the star power to have a better record than the Miami Heat. You could argue that they are favorites over the Celtics but there is no way that Miami finishes as anything other than the #1 seed.
I just thought about it rajon rondo hasnt been on the usa team sus he to nice
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