Revision.

[Diesel]

1. New Jersey. The addition of deke and Childs make them the most high powered defensive team playing.

2. Indy - Still deep. Still good. Oneal + Miller = Hmm?

3. Washington. Don't sleep. MJ's coming back and he has Pippen..I mean Stackhouse at his side. He also have Brown, Jeffries, Heywood, White, and a whole slew of big men.

4. Orlando. HIll, Tmac, Knight, Kemp. Thats a lot.

5. Boston. Now, your health means little. Everybody is back and healthy. Boston's lack of defense will be evident.

6. NO.. I look for this to be a down yr for the hornets. They are solid but I don't see them turning it up when they need to.

7. Milwaukee. I bet Toni makes a big difference. They have a lot of talent.

8. Atlanta. Yeepee. What was Detroit Thinking.

9. Detroit. They traded an allstar for an overrated Sg. Jordan is good. Even still, I like Tayshun Prince and him and Rip will do a little damage.

9. Philly. Good. Iverson's heart may propell them into the playoffs.

11. New York. All I have heard is spreewell is old, Mcdyess, Houston? Well, if McDyess is healthy, NY will be a really good team in spurts. The question is who is their PG?

12. Toronto. Why so far back? Hakeem is another yr older. There's no Clark to lean on. They loss Childs who I felt was their defense at Sg. Lenny has lost all his defensive components. They are a 2 man team. However, If Chris Jeffries can come along quickly and if he is Pippen like... This may all change.Vinny C will get his 25/6/4. However, what they need is big play at PF and C. AD will do what he can but ultimately this is the time for the JYD to earn his money. The other thing is that there might be a mo pete trade in the works?

12. Chicago. with Rose, Fizer, and Williams they will make some noise. If CHandler comes along, they could make a run. The real deal is that they have:

Jay Williams/Erob/Rose/Chandler/Curry. Now I don't trust Curry and they might have to play Chandler at C with Fizer as Pf... However, with old man rose on the team they should fair well.

14. Miami. No Zo. NO Go. Brain Grant Sucks. Until they get a big man, Miami will be underacheivers.

15. Cleveland. I look for nothing from Miles but he might average 17/8. Giving up Dre might have been the downfall.

The East is stacked.

[Gray Mule]

Two Things.

1-- Health -- With everyone expected to be very close,

talent wise, to everyone else, who has the least time

lost to the I.R. list will be a huge factor this season.

2 -- Age -- Some of the best players on these teams may

have lost just a bit, due to age. They may play great for

a while, but over the long haul, it will wear them down

much more than when they were a year younger.

Hawks, like everyone else, must stay healthy if they are

to make a run for the top of the east.

Hawks do not have an age problem as so many seem to

have. All of our players are either at their prime or

still growing into mature N.B.A. players. That may be

a big plus before the year is out.

Gray Mule