East More balanced ??

[Gray Mule]

From what little I know and what I hear, this season finds

the East to have no team that is expected to run away

and hide from the rest of the teams.

There appears to be no team in the East who will simply

roll over and play dead game after game. On any given

night, even if they are not the best, they can and will

rise up and bite any unsuspecting opponent.

This makes for a very tight race. I don't believe that the

top teams will be that far from the bottom teams by

years end. If the teams that end up on top win just a

few games less this season and the bottom teams win

just a few more games than last year, there will be a

real dog fight for position by the end of the season.

If we look at the team Atlanta put of the floor the last

season that Lennie W. was here and the team Hawks

expect to start this year's season, we find that there

has been an almost complete turnover in personell.

Hawks had to get worse to get better. We did that.

We tore down and rebuilt. We went to the bottom,

then, the last half of last season, we began our turn

upward. We weren't great but pretty good.

With what we had last season and the pretty good team,

we have added Theo, Big Dawg and Ham as experienced

players and drafted Dickau to back up J.T. at the point.

With Hendu coming in healthy this season, that is five

players that should have a positive impact on this year's

Hawks. I don't believe that there is another team in

the N.B.A. who can match the improvements of the

Hawks for the upcoming season. And remember, of the

five players mentioned above, only Hendu was a part of

that team that played so well in the last half of last

season, but we still have all the starters from that team

back for this season.

I believe that a healthy Hawks team will end up in the

top 4 or 5 in the East and with a little luck, could just

win the whole darned thing!!

Gray Mule

[Diesel]

Actually, that's starting to change.

The East is getting more talented but the balance is fading. Teams like NY, Cleveland, and Miami are expected to Lay down night after Night. Chicago will be better but they probably won't win 30 either.

The West, teams are becoming more balanced by age. They are still top heavy... Sac, Dallas, LA, and San Antonio. BUt the teams like Houston, Memphis, LAC, Phoenix, and GS might find themselves a spot at the table because other teams like Seattle, Utah, and Portland are starting to AGE.

What's happening in the East is that teams are realigning.

Washington got stronger by virtue of making Detroit weaker.

Orlando got stronger.

Indy and Atlanta will be stronger if we remain healthy.

NJ got stronger by making Philly weaker.

This yr will be interesting. IN the east, the wildcard teams will be Detroit, Boston, and Toronto. These three teams made themselves weaker, but coaching can get them somewhere that talent doesn't predict. If these three teams make the playoffs, it would mean that either we don't make the playoffs or that we are probably the best team in the East. That's my prediction.

[Guest Walter]

& the bad (or rather mediocre) are worse.

NY, Philly, & Miami will be worse this year due to injuries, infighting, or in Philly's case a poor trade (especially team chemistry-wise). Milwaulkee, whom I consider a mediocre team due to their failure to make the playoffs last year, will be worse as they lost talent and have a coach that is on the verge of becoming a poison to whichever team he touches. Cleveland will be worse as they traded away Murray and Miller and replaced them with Stewart and Miles, who, while very good, is equally as young and without any skilled an d experienced teamates to speak of.

NJ will be better. New Orleans will be better thanks to some new players but more importantly a new, caring (Would you care with their owner?) hometown and less distraction. Similarly NJ will be better. Boston might be as good depending upon the hard to gauge impact of a gone Kenny Anderson. Indy SHOULD be better if their coach doesn't screw it up, again. Toronto...a good trade, an important but lost FA, a HUNGRY superstar, and a mediocre coach. They'll do fine in the regular season but fade fast in the playoffs even with inspired play from Carter.

The trend this year in the EC is the good to get better and the bad/mediocre to get worse. Detroit (who is the one good team that will be worse), Atlanta, Chicago, who will be a little better (emphasis on "a little"), and Memphis (will be again "a little" better) are exceptions (Atlanta will be the biggest exception due to improved health and a terrific trade.). Thus, the east may not be and doesn't appear to me to be stronger overall but it has stronger teams at the top than in previous years.

...

BTW, I don't know how to read Orlando. Are they better or not? Really, it all depends upon Hill's health but even with Hill they have the weakest front court in the NBA. I still say they were a good team last year and they present this year as one slightly better.

W

[beav]

BUt the teams like Houston, Memphis, LAC, Phoenix, and GS might find themselves a spot at the table because other teams like Seattle, Utah, and Portland are starting to AGE.

Utah: given, they are older than dirt and have a cheap owner...

Seattle: well it is true that their only superstar is old and they are not nearly as deep as most teams in the west....

Portland? their only real oldster is at Center with sabonis...pippen is of course retiring after this year but hes not as good as bonzi wells right now and might not even start... dale davis is aging but still has solid years left... between all of the other youth or players not yet in their thirties (anderson, rasheed, bonzi, mcinnis, daniels), plus talented youngsters like woods and randolph, they have a young core and plenty of trade bait to pick up a decent center next year...

those guys are just going to have to jockey for one less spot at the old table...

[Gray Mule]

Now, I am impressed. It took me a while to analize

what Diesel and Walter said but, my gosh, they agree,

at least for the most part, on the makeup of all the teams

in the East!

Good job. Atlanta Hawks should be able to hold their own

with any of these teams. Washington ran hot and cold

last season. Veteran players should make them more

consistent. If M.J. can stay healthy and settle in as a

part time player, they may be very good.

N.Y. is hurting right now. Detroit looks weaker. 76ers

may be good but not great.

The Bulls are older & more experienced, but not much.

That should push them up the ladder a little bit.

Just a few more wins from the bottom teams and a few

less wins from the top teams means a tighter race.

I believe you can count on it.

There are all those games to play that count. Trades

that are yet to go down, but they will. Injuries to key

players that always happens to someone. All this can

alter the outcome of the season. So far, I like the

picture of the future for Atlanta.

Gray Mule

[Guest Walter]

The result of a greater number of weak teams and strong teams is this? The Hawks on paper/at the start of the season/sans unreasonable injury(ies) should make the playoffs AND the Hawks should have a tougher time in the playoffs.

The hope (as always)?

That there aren't enough very good EC teams (and are enough very bad ones) that we get a high enough seed to avoid playing the best of the EC teams. This year the best of the EC teams might actually mean something.

W

[Guest]

Are Toronto and Orlando the same team? Think about their compositions and deficits...with Orlando getting the edge. Montross, barely worth a damn to start with (and yes, he did start last year), is injured again...

VC/Murray/Mo Pete Log jam...with Antonio out of position at C. Alvin at the helm...

A more talented 2/3 of TMac/Hill/Miller...and Kemp? and the ailing Armstrong at the helm. No center worth mentioning.

[Guest Walter]

but he seems to play better there and reportedly Michael Bradley and maybe even McCoy(?) are playing very well meaning Toronto has at least 2 and maybe 3 post players better than the ONLY post player for Orlando in Kemp. OK, we always have a little hope that the Rain Man will join Jenny Craig but let's be real. He just isn't that good anymore and that "hope" only makes his still average play only that more disgusting for us and most certainly for his teamates.

W

[Guest]

Orlando's got two real all-stars and a rookie of the year with a nice stroke (but third man out). A good but hurting pg and a nice bu....with absolutely no one on the inside except Twinkie. Very good coach.

Toronto. One real all-star in VC, a notch below all-star (yes I know he was one two years ago) in Davis, a nice player in Mo Pete (not far behind Spanky) and supposedly McCoi and Bradley perhaps being half-way decent in the middle. (JTD and Alvin Williams sidenote).

Who's the better team, i.e. who will have the better record come playoff time (will both be in)? Who's a better/worse matchup for us?

These are two teams that will be in the thick of things (along with us and about 8 other teams) for the six (two locks imo) eastern playoff spots...

Addendum- could be one locked position if NO remains as injured as it is. I haven't really looked at their schedule, but man, they're hurting. Only one starter healthy right now...Mash on crutches.

[Guest Walter]

I'd have to say Toronto. They have about equal talent, but a MUCH better inside game and better/deeper bench. Of course, Doc is a significantly better coach.

W