Going Upstairs: East Preview

For this year's NBA preview, I've broken down each conference into five tiers. Each tier contains teams that I consider to be at the same level heading into this season, and teams that can expect about the same degree of success. Teams within each tier are ranked on their likelihood of ascending to the next tier, or in the case of Tier 1, winning the championship. Note: This is not a projected order of finish, but rather a ranking of how good each team is.

Tier 1

Miami - People are beginning to forget how good LeBron James is at basketball. He is still the best player in the world, and he turned a pathetic Cleveland roster into a 60 win team. Dwyane Wade took a similarly lack-of-talented Heat squad to 47 wins. The key point: superstars MAKE other players look good. If you're wondering about this team's depth, remember that before the Boston trio was assembled, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins were miscast role players on a bad team. I'm willing to bet that you'll see two or three nobodies turn into solid role players, simply by playing next to James and Wade. For this reason, I'm on board for this team winning it all, personal feelings aside.

Boston - I think the Celtics will have trouble scoring points. It used to be cute that they didn't have to have a 20 point per game scorer, but now it's a legitimate problem. Their elite defensive system will help create a lot of fast break buckets, but I wonder how they'll score in the fourth quarter when other teams tighten up defensively. Keep an eye on this.

Orlando - The Magic are like Phoenix from the mid-00's. They play a unique style that results in a ton of regular season wins, but ultimately their inability to make the proper adjustments in the playoffs leaves them falling short. There's a very good chance they finish with the league's best record this season, but until they have a legitimate perimeter playmaker, they can't beat the Lakers.

Tier 2

Chicago - Year three is usually the season where superstar players show you who they're becoming. Assuming this is true, we can expect a Durant-like breakout season from Derrick Rose. I believe this will happen, but I still want to see more efficient scoring from Rose. The stat I'm going to watch this season is Points Per Shot. He ranked 19th among point guards at just 1.18 PPS, an unacceptable number for a franchise guard, especially one without high assist totals. Derrick has got to get to the free throw line more or I'm afraid we might be watching Stephon Marbury 2.0 (without the baggage).

Atlanta - The Hawks were not a championship contender last season, they weren't even really close. By resigning Joe Johnson to a max deal, Atlanta has now lost any and all flexibility they might have add to add a piece that would make them one. Once Al Horford gets paid, the trio of Horford, Johnson, and Josh Smith will eat up 80% of the team's salary cap, and that's assuming it doesn't drop significantly after the new CBA. But if you like 45 wins and a 5-seed every year, then you're okay with this.

Milwaukee - Another team that hurt their future financial felixibility in order to make marginal gains in the short term. At least John Salmons and Drew Gooden will be valuable assets as expiring contracts in 2015.

Drew Gooden enjoying his 10th NBA team in 9 years.

Tier 3

There is such a large gap between the teams above and the teams below that Tier 3 has to remain empty. In other words, there is no chance that any teams from Tier 4 can reach the level of a Tier 2 team. Sorry, Knicks fans.

Tier 4

New York - The Knicks should make the playoffs, albeit with a losing record. It still seems like their focus is on Carmelo Anthony, but in the mean time they will be fun to watch.

Charlotte - Top to bottom, this might be the least talented team in the entire league. But they could still be a playoff team in the Eastern Conference, how sad is that?

Washington - John Wall looks like he might have Derrick Rose's offensive game and Rajon Rondo's defensive game. Gulp.

Philadelphia - The fate of this team rests in the hands of their young players, and how much Doug Collins decides to play them.

Cleveland - Still a tight-knit group of team-first guys, which is why I expect them to be half-decent under coach Byron Scott.

Indiana - They've finished in the 9th spot in the East three of the last four years, and the 10th spot last year. Until they upgrade over the McRoberts/Hansbrough power forward combo, that's exactly where they'll finish this year.

 

A real life NBA starting power forward.

Tier 5

Detroit - This is one of those teams that is going to look very different at the end of the season from how they do now. Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton should be shipped out to contenders, who else will join them?

New Jersey - All you have to know about this team is that they had to pay Travis Outlaw, Jordan Farmar, and Johan Petro $59 million just to meet the NBA's minimum salary requirement.

Toronto - Using the sandwich approach: The Raptors should play well at home, even though there's a severe lack of talent on the roster. But Andrea Bargnani might be an All-Star this year.