BY PAUL JONES
sportsnet.ca

Leading up to opening night on Oct. 26, sportsnet.ca NBA analyst Paul Jones gets you ready for the season by asking the burning questions surrounding each division.

In addition, Jones will wrap up the six division previews with a special analysis of both the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors.

To continue, Jones examines the Atlantic Division.

Enjoy.

Outside of the Boston Celtics who made an appearance in the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons last June, this division went back to being the "Sub-Atlantic" or "Titanic" Division last season.

Boston was the only team to finish above the .500 mark and make the playoffs. New York and New Jersey both have undergone talent upgrades this season while both Toronto and Philadelphia are entering new eras for their respective franchises.

Do they have another championship run in them?

Hey, despite the cast of characters in Miami, it's the Celtics that are still the defending Eastern Conference champs. Boston is clinging to the fact that with the starting line-up of Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo, they have not lost anything. It was a great run by Boston last season that nobody, except head coach Doc Rivers and his team, expected. But can they do it again this season with everyone a year older?

They have added Shaquille O'Neal, an able fill-in for Kendrick Perkins who is rehabbing from a knee injury suffered in the finals. Garnett looks much better than he did at this same time a year ago, continuing to lend credence to the fact that he just needed some time to recover from his knee injury. But how will Pierce and Allen hold up this season?

Rivers convinced his team last season that they only needed a good seed and didn't need home court in the playoffs because they had the experience to win on the road. They did just that all the way to the finals where one more road win in either Game 6 or 7 would have helped them raise a banner. We'll see this season just how much the window has closed or if they can fling it open with celebratory screams in June.

How quickly will the new culture in New Jersey start to emerge?

The Nets made changes, big-time changes. Hey, wouldn't you after threatening the NBA's worst record in history for much of the season?

They changed from the top right on down. They have a new owner, new general manager, new coaching staff and new players. Mikhail Prokhorov, the new Russian owner wants playoffs … yesterday, and has said an NBA title is in the crosshairs as early as five years down the road.

Billy King is making decisions in the front office and Avery Johnson is the new head coach. Johnson enters the season with a .735 winning pct, the best of any current head coach. He has been an underdog his entire life and he'll have high expectations for his team.

The roster is full of potential with some "young vets" as I like to call them. Devin Harris is a good point guard and the addition of Jordan Farmar and Travis Outlaw will lend some experience while youngsters Anthony Morrow and first-round pick Derrick Favors add to the athleticism. Brook Lopez is a solid young center and competes hard every night.

Johnson will take dead aim at improving the Nets deficiencies on offence as they finished last in scoring and field goal percentage last season and 29th in assists and three point field goal percentage. Johnson has always been a defensive-minded coach and says his team wants to be "disruptive" on defence.

You can count last year's holdovers on one hand the Nets hope that's the only thing that reminds them of last season.

Are the additions of Amar'e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton enough to get them to the playoffs?

Ever look forward to something so much and have it pass with such disappointment you wonder, "Did that really just happen?" Yep, the summer of 2010 has passed and there is no LeBron, no Bosh and no Wade in New York. But they did get Amar'e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton. Knicks fans would have been disappointed with that a year ago and still might be next summer if this team misses the playoffs again.

But there are more new faces and in Mike D'Antoni's system and this team will be scoring in bunches again this season. Anthony Randolph and Rony Turiaf are used to running the floor having played in Golden State while Kelenna Azubuike and Roger Mason Jr. will fit right into the style of play. Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Toney Douglas have had time in the D'Antoni system and will be productive this season while rookie centre Timofey Mozgov has been a surprise and may earn plenty of minutes.

Speaking of the system, it's the perfect fit for young Canadian guard Andy Rautins. The focus for Rautins this season, according to Knicks brass, is his development as he adapts to D'Antoni's system and tries to become a combo-guard -- proficient at both backcourt spots.

The Knicks will be improved, particularly if Felton and Stoudemire develop some chemistry. If the Knicks decide to play some defence and rebounding to improve on last season's disastrous performances in those two areas, New Yorkers may not be worried about what they missed out on this past summer.

How can a young and relatively small team challenge for a playoff spot?

It's not that the Sixers don't have veterans. Andre Iguodala, Andres Nocioni, Elton Brand and Tony Battie are all experienced players but in a couple of key spots in the backcourt, Philadelphia is young and inexperienced. Jrue Holiday and second-overall pick Evan Turner are going to have to perform consistently if the Sixers have any hope of becoming a playoff team.

New head coach Doug Collins will have to find a way to take advantage of the team's athleticism with the likes of Marreese Speights, Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young on the roster. Craig Brackins is a promising young player while Jason Kapono and Jodie Meeks need to make some perimeter shots.

Size will also be an issue in Philadelphia this season as Spencer Hawes is the only true center on the roster so don't expect to see the Sixers in a half-court game for long periods of time. The Sixers hope that Brand can regain some of the form that made him one of the best low-post threats in the league just a few seasons ago with the Clippers. Brand has been searching to find his game since arriving in Philly.

As general manager Ed Stefanski said during a recent interview, the Sixers play in a city where if they don't give their best effort and have some success, they're going to hear about it. There will be no love for the Sixers in Philly if they don't figure it out quickly.

How quickly can the team establish chemistry and the willingness to work harder than its opponent consistently?

It's hard to lose an all-star player who gave you 24 points and 11 rebounds every night and say you are going to be better. Let's face it, though, the Raptors missed the playoffs last season with that star player. So what do you do to replace those numbers? Well, if you're head coach Jay Triano you develop an offence based on ball and player movement and you try to get more offence from your defence.

Gone is the defensive philosophy of packing the paint and forcing teams to shoot from the outside. Instead, after a summer of being on Mike Krzyzewski's staff with USA basketball, Triano has adapted the philosophy that Toronto is not going to let opponents get to spots they want to on the floor. He has some athletic players to work with if they choose to do so. In fact, they had better do so or it could be a long year. DeMar DeRozan, Sonny Weems and new acquisition Leandro Barbosa will have to play well on the perimeter at both ends.

Andrea Bargnani's perimeter skills are exceptional for a big man but he will have to play more in the low post at both ends while becoming a better rebounder. Newcomer, Linas Kleiza, who played well in the World Championships, will have to be consistent and Amir Johnson and Reggie Evans will have to do the heavy lifting down low defensively and on the glass.

Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack are a nice combination at the point but they must do a good job of guarding their position. Rookie Ed Davis will have to work himself back into the line-up after missing the preseason following knee surgery.

The Raptors have adapted a "we'll show you" attitude and had better live up to it or else they will hear "I told you so" once again.