BY PAUL JONES
sportsnet.ca
The division will once again be property of the Boston Celtics, and it will be a battle between Toronto and Philadelphia for the second spot.
For every team (aside from the Celtics) it will be about how well they are able to defend as none of the other four teams in the division were in the top half of the NBA in opponent field goal percentage.
New York is playing this season with an eye to next summer and the future in New Jersey rests with the development of the younger players. It will be a while before the playoffs come back to the New York/New Jersey part of the world.
BOSTON CELTICS
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Would there have been a NBA Finals rematch last season if Kevin Garnett was healthy? You never know, and even with the injury to KG the Celtics fought like champions before going down to Orlando in seven games.
To say the regular season doesn’t matter is foolish; as it is almost the opposite with a team like Boston. True, this team will be judged by what happens in the playoffs, but securing the top seed in the East means avoiding either Orlando or Cleveland en route to the Conference Finals. The addition of Rasheed Wallace in the offseason will be nice insurance in the event Garnett is injured; or just can’t get back to 100 per cent.
Burning Questions:
Can Garnett come back and contribute at the same level?
The early signs in training camp did not look good for Kevin Garnett. However, he has come around and although his gait still does not look like it did before his knee injury and subsequent rehab, he is definitely back and ready to help the Celtics.
Garnett’s impact is felt in so many ways when he is in uniform. He is a vocal leader on the floor and one of the constant communicators on the defensive end. Last season during the playoffs, he could only do it from the bench. Offensively he moves the ball and is a willing screener, scorer and passer.
Will Rasheed Wallace add or detract from the team’s chemistry?
OK, think back say five-or six years; if somebody told you at that time that Wallace and Garnett were on the same team, you’d have said, “Boy that’s a powerful team and a championship contender.” Well they are together now and that statement still applies. At one point, the only guy that could cover Garnett was Wallace and vice-versa. Garnett jokes that Wallace talks more than he does, but the answer to the question is a resounding yes in favour of Wallace. ‘Sheed is also going to enhance Boston’s team chemistry. The big three (Allen, Pierce and Garnett) helped recruit him to Beantown and they have enough veteran respect between the three of them to help keep him focused.
(Not that there won’t be blow ups over the course of the season but it comes with the territory.)
Can the bench contribute enough to limit the wear and tear on the veteran stars?
To get a good seed in the playoffs you have to do well in the regular season, but there is a fine line since you need to have something left in the tank for a run at the title. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Garnett and Wallace are all great veteran players but playing at a high level to win every night is taxing and that is why the bench has to play well. They must perform good enough to enable head coach Doc Rivers to have the confidence to play them.
Keeping the starters minutes at a manageable number will be a key factor in how far this team goes in the post season. “Big Baby” Davis was good in the playoffs last year but he will be shelved for the start of the regular season with a hand injury after breaking his thumb in a fight. Marquis Daniels comes over from Indiana and has impressed Rivers during the preseason and will be called upon to play multiple positions.
How will the Celtics do?
Boston will win the Atlantic Division, but it is where they finish in the Eastern Conference that is more important. If healthy, the Celtics have the chance for the No. 1 spot, but if injuries hit they will have to fight its way back to the finals — going through Cleveland and Orlando.
TORONTO RAPTORS
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There was a lot of promise at the start of last season in Toronto. They had a man in the middle and there was talk that this was the best team on paper that the Raptors had ever had. It turned out that the team wasn’t worth the paper the roster was documented on.
Jermaine O’Neal could not find his stride and after a series of disappointing losses where the Raptors had either given up leads or not put out maximum effort, head coach Sam Mitchell was fired. It was early, but the move was made as management thought the season could still be salvaged. But it turned out that injuries and a major midseason trade were too much to overcome and the Raptors missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.
Burning Questions:
Can the team find a way to be better defensively?
Toronto’s defence was targeted as an area that needed to improve if they had any plans on getting back to the playoffs. In 2008-09 Toronto finished in the bottom third of the NBA in opponent scoring and opponent field goal percentage. Improving the team’s defence was a major point of emphasis during preseason and training camp. Since Toronto is not blessed with great individual defenders it will be have to be accomplished as a team, playing a system and trusting one another.
The acquisition of Antoine Wright and Reggie Evans will help as Wright started 53 games for a 50-win team in Dallas and was a solid defender. Evans is a non-stop energy guy and plays with intensity. The problem is that both these players are hurt and need to get back into the lineup to help the defence as soon as possible. Rasho Nesterovic is back in Toronto and will help as a good communicator on the defensive end.
Head coach Jay Triano has talked about keeping opponents “out of the house” and has taken to taping the outline of a house around the key area in the preseason. If Toronto can pick up its defence, they have enough offence to be much improved.
How quickly can they develop solid team chemistry?
There are nine new players on the roster since the start of the offseason and only three players that were on the roster at this point last year. The big acquisition in the offseason was Hedo Turkoglu. He will help as a scorer and distributor. He is a good decision maker who can handle the ball on the perimeter and will help create shots for Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani.
Marco Belinelli and DeMar DeRozan, who was drafted ninth overall, will be part of the wing corps with Jarrett Jack addressing the problems the team had at point last season when Jose Calderon went to the bench or was out of the line up due to injury. Amir Johnson brings athleticism and shot-blocking on the inside. The big question is how quickly can all of this be put together particularly with a very difficult early season schedule.
What will happen with Chris Bosh and his impending free agency next summer?
It is a question that has been posed for the better part of two seasons and there is still no answer. Bosh has always said that he wants to keep his options open and recently stated that he wants to be the No. 1 guy. There seems to be no guarantee that if the team does well Bosh will stay, but it would sure make it tougher for him to leave. Regardless, general manager Bryan Colangelo is not going to be left holding the bag. If Bosh leaves Toronto, it will be via a sign and trade where he can get his pay day, if deemed a max money player. Look at the record around the all-star break for some sort of indication.
How will the Raptors do?
It says here that there will be much angst from the Raptor fans after a slow start. They are not healthy (with an injury to Evans) and the team did not have time to develop a chemistry during the preseason as key players Bosh, Turkoglu and Wright did not get time to play with teammates to develop familiarity. But remember the team started 2-8 and were 7-14 in 2006-07 when they won the division title. It’s going to take some time but it can’t take too much time since the East is stronger with many teams improved during the off season. Call the Raptors second or third in the division and it should be a return to the playoffs next spring.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
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The early season play of the Sixers cost the coach his job last season. Out went Mo Cheeks and in, or should we say down from the front office came Tony DiLeo. Philly picked it up and finished with a .500 record and a playoff berth. It was quite an accomplishment considering the big off season acquisition, Elton Brand missed a chunk of the season with an injury.
There’s a new coach in Eddie Jordan and he is preaching what else, defence. It is the one element of the game that has been cited as a weakness in Jordan’s teams. If that fact remains true again this season, the athletic Sixers will have trouble getting back to the post season.
Burning Questions:
How will they make up for the loss of Andre Miller?
The loss of Andre Miller will hurt as he was a good point guard making plays to help others get good shots, running the break, and getting to the free throw line. But Miller’s loss will be mitigated by the installation of the Princeton offence that Jordan has made his staple. It is the kind of offence that does not need a traditional point guard to orchestrate it since it features ball and player movement with dribble hand-offs and back-door cuts.
A new offence will allow Jordan to take advantage of his athletic players such as Lou Williams and Willie Green. Thaddeus Young played well last season and both he and Andre Igudola should thrive in the new system. Sam Dalembert will get to have his hands on the ball more, that might not always be a good thing for Philly, but it comes with the offense. Expect the Sixers to get out and run looking for easy hoops before they have to go to their set offence.
Will Elton Brand stay healthy and what will he contribute?
The coaching staff found it difficult to integrate Brand last year as he was not a traditional position player. He was just a well-rounded basketball player for his size and it seemed like a struggle to incorporate his skills. The problem went away as Brand was injured and only played in 30 games last year and the result was the Sixers turned into the team that ended the 2007-08 season on a solid run to get into the playoffs.
Brand will be helped this year by Jordan’s offensive system. He will find shots within the flow of the offense and will have opportunities to beat slower defenders off the dribble from the mid-range area. Brand also has a good post-up game when it is called for in some of the offensive sets. The key will be the team learning the system quickly; as it has to be installed in segments. In short, some sequences need to be learned before others are put in as they build on previous plays.
How will the Sixers do?
Philadelphia will fight with Toronto for second place in the division. In the improved Eastern Conference, nobody seems to be talking about them but make no mistake, they are a good team and are right in the mix for a playoff spot. They have given conference finalists Detroit and Orlando scares over the last two post seasons. A playoff team with if all goes well for them.
NEW YORK KNICKS
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It was the first season for Mike D’Antoni as the new head coach in Gotham, and he proved that his system travels well. New York had limited success mainly because they lacked talent but its entertaining play validated the D’Antoni system. He took little used players from the previous season and turned them loose with his offensive framework and the blossomed. Wilson Chandler had a solid year averaging 14.4 points per game considering he averaged just over half that number the previous season.
Al Harrington was obtained in a trade from Golden State and took to the running up tempo style like a fish to water. Nate Robinson was the team’s second leading scorer as the diminutive king of the slam dunk averaged 17.2 points per game. David Lee was also showcased in the system as he averaged a double double of 16 points and 11 rebounds per game.
Burning Questions:
Can they play some kind of effective defence?
As mentioned above, D’Antoni put his stamp on the team in ’08/09 and it was the same one he used in Phoenix: the offence was good but the defence was non-existent at times. New York finished the year 28th in opponent scoring and 28th in opponent field goal percentage. You can score all you want but you have to try, occasionally, to make the other team miss a shot. Proving the defence was not a thought at times is New York finishing 26th in opponents assists and 27th in rebounding and last in shot blocking. In short, opponents got whatever they wanted against the Knicks.
It is the second year for the system in New York, so maybe things will change slightly as some of the talent has been upgraded. Rookie Toney Douglas will help defensively and talented second year player Danilo Gallinari is finally healthy. Darko Milicic has been added as a reclamation project but he is mobile, something that oft-injured Eddie Curry is not. Jared Jeffries is another long, athletic player that can defend and fits the system.
Who sticks around after the free agent frenzy of 2010?
New York is just marking time until the free agent period next summer when they expect to have plenty of money to go shopping and do what other New York teams do and that is spend money to try and buy a winner. But this is an important year because the coaching staff will be looking carefully at who might be able to fit in next season when they have more talent. The Knicks lost 18 games by four-to-five points last season and if they can improve the personnel after next summer, they will suddenly be pushing contender status.
Will players stick to assigned roles?
There is a tendency in an up tempo system that players sometimes forget what their respective jobs are within the overall scheme. Yes, you have to live with a few bad shots here and there but it should not be something that is happening regularly. After all, that is the trap that the opponent is supposed to fall into playing your tempo.
Jeff Foster has made his mark in the NBA by rebounding and second year player Roy Hibbert will be counted on in the middle for his defence. Troy Murphy is another solid rebounder with the ability to step out and make jump shots to stretch the defence.
How will the Knicks do?
The Knicks will be exciting again and while they would like to win now, they don’t have the talent. It will be another long year in New York. On any given night if you aren’t willing to run up and down with them they will embarrass you. However, over the long grind of an NBA season this group of players can’t produce enough wins to make the playoffs. They will finish fourth in the division and miss the playoffs again. But don’t fret Knick fans, shopping time is coming up in July 2010.
NEW JERSEY NETS
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The Nets had a surprisingly good season and were right in the hunt for a playoff spot as its young talent combined with experienced role players meshed well. Of course, one of the experienced guys was a star, Vince Carter, and he was dealt away in the off season which makes accomplishing what they did last season a bigger task in 2009-10. With the loss of Carter, the Nets will lose 20 PPG and it will have to be made up by others doing its part and playing together as a cohesive unit.
You don’t just replace a player like Carter.
Burning Questions:
How quickly can the young core develop?
The pressure will fall squarely on the shoulders of Devin Harris. The lightning quick guard was terrific last season but then again, he had a running mate. Harris averaged 21.3 points per game and led the team with just under seven assists per game and made an appearance in the all-star game. Robin Lopez had a solid rookie season as he led the club in rebounding and will be expected to carry more of the load this season to aid Harris. Courtney Lee will bring his finals experience from Orlando and will be part of the group the next hope to have taking them forward. Terrence Williams, picked 11th overall in the June entry draft is another youngster that will be carefully monitored.
Yi Jianlian was injured last season and needs to be healthy and start to contribute. He is long and athletic and has good skills. Yi needs to develop consistency to help make up for the scoring shortfall that was created in the Carter trade.
When do they add pieces?
There are a number of veterans that are good role players to help out but there is a dearth of talent with the more experienced members of the team. Rafer Alston, Tony Battie, Keyon Dooling, Jarvis Hayes and Trenton Hasselll as well as Eduardo Najera have been around the league but are not players you look at as impact personnel. General Manager Rod Thorn has built good teams in the past and although it’s not as highly-publicized as it is across the river in New York, the Nets will have cap space next summer as well.
How will the Nets do?
There are not high expectations for this team. It is about learning and growing together as a group and Lawrence Frank is the good coach for this bunch. He will work hard to teach and try to improve skills. You just wonder if he will be around when things start to improve? It could be trying season in the swampland of New Jersey as the Nets will finish last in the division and miss the playoffs.
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Which team will win the Atlantic Division?
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