Southeast Division Preview

1. Washington Wizards: For one month it looked like the Wizards had the best player in the League. Gilbert Arenas was hitting game winners without even looking at the basket. Confident? Very. Overconfident? Sometimes. But if I would have to make a top three list with players who have to take the last shot when the game is on the line, Arenas would be definitely in it. But there’s more to the Wizards than just the funniest guy in the NBA. They also have Caron Butler, maybe one of the most underrated small forwards right now. He’s a perfect compliment to Arenas, knows his role, still finds ways to average 20 points a game, rebounding, defending, and does it all. The perfect small forward. And with Antawn Jamison at power forward, the Wizards have their own veteran “Big Three”. Etan Thomas will, sadly enough, probably miss the whole season, and with an already undermanned center position this team will miss him. They’re still good enough to win the Atlantic though.

2. Miami Heat: the Heat are one of those few teams who really, absolutely didn’t do anything to get better. They are supposed to be one of the top teams in the East, along with Cavaliers, who also didn’t do shit this offseason. And then finally something happened in Florida. Hurricane? No, something similar though. Ricky Davis is back. Man, he probably really has to adjust to the climate change. Being out of Minnesota and now being able to do his thing in Miami must have him all giddy. Why do I think so much of Davis? Because the Heat needs another scorer next to Shaq and Wade. The latter won’t be ready for opening season, and we all love Shaq, but he can’t do it all on his own. Udonis Haslem still is there to help the Diesel in the rebounding department, and if Wade and O’Neal are able to stay healthy the rest of the season, the Heat might have a decent season after all.

3. Orlando Magic: Rasheed Lewis got a whole lot of money, can score a whole lot of points, will play next to a whole lot of Dwight Howard. That young man is a beast, will lead the League in rebounding, will get a career high in points and now he’s got Lewis on his side. They also have Turk, Nelson, and Arroyo, and a high flyer in Trevor Ariza. But other than Howard they hardly have any big men who can play, since Tony Battie will miss the entire season. Who will be the leader of that team? If it was only for Howard this team is still interesting to watch, and they probably will make the playoffs, but they won’t get out of the first round, and there’s still a lot of work in Orlando before this team can do some serious damage.

4. Atlanta Hawks: Sometimes I wonder what Joe Johnson is thinking. Being part of a wonderful Suns offense, winning 50 to 60 games every season, or being a member of the Atlanta Hawks. But now there is something in the state of Georgia that every Hawks fan has been searching for years: hope. They did well in the draft, because getting Al Horford was an excellent choice. Picking him along with point guard Acie Law, might solve a lot of problems this season. Josh Smith keeps getting better, and we’re still waiting for the emergence of Marvin Williams. They will surprise some teams this year.

5. Charlotte Bobcats: A young team with a bright upside. Why? Well, they’ve got Adam Morrison and Sean May who are both capable of…. Whoops, they’re out for the season. Then again, their starting line-up still has Emeka Okafor, Raymond Felton, Gerald Wallace and former Warrior Jason Richardson in it. Golden State made a huge mistake trading him. It won’t be easy for Jason. Season after season missing the playoffs in California, then finally making it, getting past the first round, and after that “Thank you for your patience and your services but you’re out!”. Classy. Now he has to start over in leading this young bunch to success. It won’t happen overnight, but if the 4 aforementioned names stick together, in the next few years Charlotte will have a team that might be as interesting as they were when Grandmamma and Zo were the sheriffs.