Atlantic Division Preview

I know I did a “preview” in August, but you can’t do a preview in August. I was just very excited on how one of the worst divisions in the NBA, could easily turn into one of the most interesting, competitive divisions in the League. So with the season starting this Tuesday, let’s roll the dice the next couple of days and take a few guesses on who will do what this season. I’m not gonna be all Barkley saying “I may be wrong, but I doubt it”, because what can a Dutch guy know about the NBA, right? Well, not more or less that some of those fools at ESPN, Yahoo, SI, or whoever else is writing previews. Whether you’re an “NBA Insider”, or just a fan of the game, no one knows how a season will turn out. Neither do I, but it’s fun to think about it, so here goes.

1. New Jersey Nets: call me a Simpson, call me a Homer, but yes I ranked my beloved Nets first. Above everybody’s love infection called the Boston Celtics. To me, if I have to rank teams, I’m thinking “Who will win in a seven game series?” When healthy, the Nets can beat the Celtics. But I shouldn’t compare them to teams. From what I think: if Nenad Krstic’s knee holds up through the season, and if Jamaal Magloire will fit in, it will be an interesting run in East Rutherford. Carter is back, Jefferson is finally healthy, Nachbar will be an excellent sixth man, and Kidd is Kidd. Mr. Triple-Double. Only the Nets can stop the Nets, when they stop defending, when they aren’t aggressive, that’s when the problems begin. With effort, this team could have an excellent season.

2. Boston Celtics: the Raptors might have a deeper team, but you can’t argue with the “Ceatles”, like KG would call them. Kevin Garnett in another jersey. A green one. Playing next to Paul Pierce, and oh yeah, Ray Allen too. Are you kidding me? I saw these guys playing together in the preseason, and it was nuts, I think the man with the sweetest jumper in the NBA (Ray) will lead them in scoring. Pierce will do a whole lot of everything, and who can stop Garnett when you can’t double them? You can’t leave Pierce and Allen open, that’s for sure. Although the rest of the C’s squad aren’t very exciting, they will benefit so much from playing with those three superstars. Why didn’t I put them in first place? Because I want to see what they will do in the regular season. They might have me eat my words. Who knows?

3. Toronto Raptors: A really interesting team has been put together around Chris Bosh. A lot of shooters, and a very deep bench. Last season was good; this season will be even more interesting. They’ve got two young but good point guards in Ford and Calderon, and don’t forget Bargnani. That guy will score 20 points a season soon, from every range, while Bosh will hurt defenders with his quickness from the inside. Maybe not know as a “banger”, Bosh is one of the best big men in the East, and it seems he will only get better. Canada should be proud of this team. Playoffs are once again inevitable.

4. New York Knicks: There are only two options. Either they’ll be good, win over 50 games and make the playoffs, or everything will fall apart like lepra, the Randolph-Curry connection won’t work, Isiah Thomas will lose control over this bunch, Marbury will disappoint, etc. etc. At least they have David Lee, that’s a bright spot. And Nate Robinson had a very good preseason, if he keeps it up, there’s hope in New York. And that’s at least something, because they don’t have any defense.

5. Philadelphia 76’ers: I like Andre and Andre. But that’s about it for this team. Sure they’ve got some young guys who will have a nice career, like Louis Williams, Willie Green, Rodney Carney, but the time for this team is not now. Management needs to make it a top priority to sign Iguodala for a long time. This guy can do it all, and although the Eastern Conference is full of good forwards and guards, this A.I. of the East should make the All Star team every year.