NBA Preview - Eastern Conference

Well, I haven't written in this blog in quite some time and frankly, I'm overdue. The NBA starts next week and I'm pumped (one of the few that still love the NBA). Since most of this blog is about the NBA, you probably know my NBA allegiance to the all mighty LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs aren't looking so hot headed into the season due to the Cavs major offseason move was trading David Wesley for Cedric Simmons. Simmons if anything is a project who won't contribute much this year. Probably the only way Cedric Simmons sees the floor is if Anderson Varejao doesn't re-sign. Sasha Pavlovic also is yet to re-sign and that doesn't leave me sad at all. Pavs does not pass the ball and takes some terrible shots. If he never plays a game for the Cavs again, I will probably forget he ever was a Cav.

That leads me to my next point. Whoever decided not making a move with a team that clearly has holes, whether it be General Manager Danny Ferry or owner Gordon Gund will give this team a very small chance of repeating as Eastern Conference champions. We couldn't even make a nice offer to Ime Udoka to come play some defense for us? Luckily for him he'll learn from one of the best defensive stoppers in the league in Bruce Bowen. LeBron can't put this team on his back again if his best teammates are an aging and broken down Zydrunas Illgauskas and the ever-so-hard-to-cheer-for Larry Hughes. We'll be one of the best teams in the East, but unless the Cavs make a trade to actually get players that fit the way LeBron plays (I'm still bitter the Cavs went harder after Larry Hughes then a player who would fit LeBron in Mike Redd). I think the Cavs will win about 52 games and be a top 4 seed in the playoffs.

Moving on to the other teams...

Eastern Conference Contenders (Let it be known that I don't think any of the Eastern teams can actually win the NBA title).

The Cream of the Crop:
Boston Celtics-They added Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to play alongside Paul Pierce. Pretty good off-season. Looks great on paper, right? This team has some major flaws. Let's start it off with one of the most incompetent coaches in the league in Doc Rivers. How is Rajon Rondo going to progress? Let it be known that I am not big on Rondo as a starting point guard. Not the distributing point guard I love (think Chris Paul or Jason Kidd). Am I supposed to believe Kendrick Perkins is a good player? Can a bench consisting of Brian Scalabrine, Eddie House, Big Baby Davis and James Posey really win in the playoffs? Can the Big Ticket, Jesus Shuttlesworth and the Truth take a cast of nobodies to the finals? In the East, they certainly can. Can they win it? I doubt it.

Cleveland Cavaliers-Everything stated above. As long as LeBron's healthy they have a chance to win in the playoffs since he's superhuman and whatnot.

Chicago Bulls-I'm still not believing in this team. I'm sorry Bulls fan (which most of the people who read this are, like all 5 of you) this team isn't a championship caliber team yet. Luol Deng is a great player. I love the way Kirk Hinrich and Andres Nocioni play basketball. I think Joakim Noah is going to be great addition to the team. I think Ben Wallace was a terrible signing when you could've received similar, if not better production from the improving Tyson Chandler. I also think Ben Gordon is very, very overrated. Why is Gordon overrated? He's a one trick pony. He's got a jumper and that's about it. That's fine if you're 6'6" or taller. When you're 6'3" with sneakers on and don't have point guard skills this could become a problem. I'd be a big fan of Gordon if he was the 6th man again. Great 6th man in my opinion. He's just not a well rounded player and Bulls fan eat him up. You are NOT going to the NBA Finals with Ben Gordon. When Ben Gordon is who you look for in the clutch, you know something has gone wrong. Luckily for the Bulls, the East is so bad that they have a shot if all goes their way.

Detroit Pistons-The reliable squad. You know they'll at least make the second round. It's a given. A deep starting five and a good bench is the trademark of the 21st century Pistons. Although the Pistons are no longer improving as a team and probably on the downside of their Eastern Conference dominance, they still have one of the best corps, if not the best corp in the East. Rookie out of Eastern Washington, Rodney Stuckey, will miss the first six weeks of the season which will hurt the bench for a while since it will take Stuckey a while to get into the flow of the NBA game. I think Stuckey will be a great player for the Pistons.

The Pretender:
Miami Heat-I doubted this team last year and I'll continue to doubt. Shaq can still be a dominant force, but can he stay healthy? I don't and probably never will understand why the Heat willingly traded for Ricky Davis, a ballhog headcase and Mark Blount, an underachieving waste of space in the middle. I can't wait to see how the point guard trio of Jason Williams, Smush Parker and Chris Quinn do. That will be loads of fun to watch.

The Sleeper:
Milwaukee Bucks-People forget this team has talent because they were ravaged by injuries last year and were a miserable basketball team. If the starting five of Andrw Bogut, Charlie Villanueva, Bobby Simmons, Mike Redd and Mo Williams can stay healthy this will be a playoff team. The bench isn't very deep but with Dan Gadzuric and Charlie Bell, they have two proven role players off the bench. If Yi Jianlian can be effective in his guaranteed 20+ minutes a night, that bench could be very good with it only being three deep. I really like Ramon Sessions, but unsure if he can really contribute to an NBA team yet. Here's to the Bucks for getting a 6 or 7 seed in the playoffs.

Off Topic: Former pro wrestler and NCAA wrestling champion Brock Lesnar has signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a scary, scary man and is going to wipe up the mat with the heavyweights of the UFC. Can't wait for his first fight.