The Hawks will have a hard time making the playoff

[AtLaS]

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Am I the only person who isn't sold on Toronto for next season?

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No, I'm not sold on them at all either. Bosh is basically the only impressive talent on their team, TJ can't shoot and neither him nor Calderon is a top tier PG. All of their other positions are big question marks.

Bargnani is complete garbage, he can't do anything (except shoot 3s) and didn't even average 4 rebounds. I've also read from Toronto fans that their management has said they will play Bargs at the C next year, which is suicide IMO. He will be abused inside, he's weak, has no offensive post game, and can't rebound to save his life. He's not athletic at all either, he's so slow. I seriously think Bargs is a Darko type bust.

[Peoriabird]

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Um, rookies Horford and Law. Don't you think the Hawks are relying on them this season? I do. Same with "young veterans" Smoove, Childress, Marvin, Sheldon, etc.

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So trade Law and Horford for aging veterans? I don't understand you! The players that will be counted upon will be the guys that were playing last year not the rookies. The rookies are for support! Speedy, Joe, Marvin, Smoove, Zaza are the starters! Childress, Lue, Shelden are 1st off the bench then Law, Solomon, and Horford. So again, who do you want to trade for an aging veteran?

[Packfill]

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Um, rookies Horford and Law. Don't you think the Hawks are relying on them this season? I do. Same with "young veterans" Smoove, Childress, Marvin, Sheldon, etc.

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So trade Law and Horford for aging veterans? I don't understand you! The players that will be counted upon will be the guys that were playing last year not the rookies. The rookies are for support! Speedy, Joe, Marvin, Smoove, Zaza are the starters! Childress, Lue, Shelden are 1st off the bench then Law, Solomon, and Horford. So again, who do you want to trade for an aging veteran?

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Swing and a miss. I never said anything about an aging veteran. I said they need more veterans if they are going to win consistently. It is no secret that veteran teams do better then inexperienced teams in the NBA. If you read what I wrote they need to figure out which of the young guys are keepers and then trade the rest for veteran help. Every team does this when they reach a point where they are ready to "win now."

[Peoriabird]

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Swing and a miss. I never said anything about an aging veteran.

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So Speedy, Joe, Wright, Lue, Anthony Johnson aren't veterans? Heck even Zaza, Smoove and Childress have been in the league 4 years or more so who do you want as your veteran???

[Packfill]

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But I believe that they can make it with healthy players.

Here are my top 8 Eastern teams (when healthy) in my opinion (Not in order):

1. Boston

2. NY

3. Toronto

4. Washington

5. Chicago

6. Orlando

7. Atlanta

8. Philly

I think that Detroit, NJ, Miami, Cleveland and Indiana are all on the downward spiral. I think Milwaukee is hard to call.... They have the talent, but they are still missing something. I think the Bobcats are also a bubble team. They could be one of the strongest teams in the east, but I think being healthy is their main concern.

For us to make the playoffs in either the 7th or 8th position, we will have to get good guard play. I think it was extremely important for us to acquire Law... and I also think it's just as important to get Speedy back healthy. Lue and AJ are third stringers in my opinion.

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huh? what am i missing here? ny is pure trash. they add a blackhole to an already disfunctional, overpaid, selfish collection of players that have no interest whatsoever is putting forth an ounce of energy on defense and they become the one of the best team in the east? its time to get back on the meds! ny if everything goes according to plan (or what's on paper) then they might SOMEHOW vie for the 8th playoff spot.

how in the world do you take detroit out of the playoff mix? those guys are like the braves. they can win regular season games in their sleep. their corp has been together forever and nothing has changed that. they'll easily be on of the top 4 teams in the east.

i do agree with you that boston is the team to beat in the east. those three players shouldn't have a problem playing together and i think their games will mesh nicely. if they can add another veteran pg i.e. brevin knight to that squad they should win 50 games without breaking a sweat.

the worst two teams in the east will be philly and indy. indy hasn't made a move to improve their roster and oneal and tinsley are accidents/injuries waiting to happen. i don't think mike dunleavy is all of the sudden going to be the savior either. as for philly. i like louis williams but he's only a summer league star. i wouldn't bet the house that he is going to be a major contributor or difference maker this year. he still turns the ball over too much and against real nba players he can't score at will like he does against weak 2nd rounders and the leonard hamiltons of the world.

the heat are deteriorating fast. shaq is quickly becoming a non factor. and wade simply doesn't have enough pieces to be a serious factor in the east.

toronto is a middle of the pack team. they definitely have no where to go but down. i think they peaked last year.

washington is a regular season team. gilbert is going to get his, along with caron and jamison but they don't have a single frontcourt player worth mentioning so i don't think they improve much at all.

charlotte and atlanta improves because i think their core of youngsters have been around each other for several years now and they both added some nice pieces this year. charlotte's never had a go-to guy, but they addressed that with richardson. atlanta hasn't had a legitimate starting pg or frontcourt depth which hopefully both were addressed by horford and law.

so my top 8 teams go like this. (if healthy) in order.

1. boston

2. chicago

3. detroit

4. new jersey

5. washington

6. toronto

7. orlando

8. atlanta/charlotte/ny

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Wasn't Philly better last year after they traded Iverson? They definitely need someone to step up next to Iggy and Miller, but good team play (like Toronto) can make up for a lack of talent in the regular season.

[Packfill]

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Swing and a miss. I never said anything about an aging veteran.

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So Speedy, Joe, Wright, Lue, Anthony Johnson aren't veterans? Heck even Zaza, Smoove and Childress have been in the league 4 years or more so who do you want as your veteran???

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Wright, Lue and AJ are garbage. Speedy is completely unreliable because of his constant injuries. Zaza's contract is running out and hopefully is replaced in the starting linup by Horford making him an unlikely resigning (thus you have to start thinking about trading him when you can or lose him for nothing). It is unclear whether the team will fork over the dollars to keep Childress when his rookie deal ends. Etc.

In the end, aging vets plus a superstar or two win championships.

[Peoriabird]

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In the end, aging vets plus a superstar or two win championships.

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I guess your goal for next year are higher than mine. I'm just looking growth and a playoff birth that's it.

[beav]

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But I believe that they can make it with healthy players.

Here are my top 8 Eastern teams (when healthy) in my opinion (Not in order):

1. Boston

2. NY

3. Toronto

4. Washington

5. Chicago

6. Orlando

7. Atlanta

8. Philly

I think that Detroit, NJ, Miami, Cleveland and Indiana are all on the downward spiral.

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LOL! CLE not in the Top 8?!?!? That is hilarious! NY second best! ROFLMAO!!!!!

Other than those truly priceless gems however you make some good points... As I stated the moment that trade went down Boston is the new beast of the east... there is not a team in the league that has 3 players of the caliber that they have and they have the luxury of playing in the East.

NJ and Detroit are indeed on the wane, and INDY isn't merely on a downward spiral, they will be lucky not to be the worst team in the league (one oneal injury away)... But DET will still make the playoffs IMO.. NJ? It all depends on if carter decides to sit out with an occasional hangnail now that he has his final big contract and if jason kidd's father time moment is this season or the next.

But if you think for a minute that CLE with the best player in the league (and the nba marquee player that gets the jordanesque calls) will be worse than frakking orlando, philly and the hawks you are certifiable. The only and only way that happens is if lebron gets injured. I repeat... the ONLY way that happens is if lebron misses more than 2 months.

The knicks? Oh please that is so silly as to not even be worth a response... we all know where that love is coming from!

[Blunt91]

IMO for us to make the playoffs. Speedy's defense really helped us get out and run last year when he was able to get on the court. I also noticed that his Jumper was improving despite a low shooting percentage. Maybe with his knees fully healthy he can hit the open shot, at least to help keep the opposing defense honest.

Shelden seems to be ready to contribute this upcoming season. He put together some impressive games down the stretch and he bascially dominated during the summer league games. Who knows Shelden might avearage 9 to 10rpg this year, if he can play consistant minutes.

Marvin needs to step up on the offense end. He was the Buzz of training camp last summer. I hope he has been working on his all around game. He has the athleticism, just needs to work on driving to the basket & taking contact. Also expanding his shooting range would help as well.

JJ & Smoove will do their usual Thang. Horford & Acie will help but I don't expect them to burden the load. The 3 guys I stated above are the guys IMO that need to play a bigger role on this team.

[AHF]

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But I believe that they can make it with healthy players.

Here are my top 8 Eastern teams (when healthy) in my opinion (Not in order):

1. Boston

2. NY

3. Toronto

4. Washington

5. Chicago

6. Orlando

7. Atlanta

8. Philly

I think that Detroit, NJ, Miami, Cleveland and Indiana are all on the downward spiral.

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LOL! CLE not in the Top 8?!?!? That is hilarious! NY second best! ROFLMAO!!!!!

Other than those truly priceless gems however you make some good points... As I stated the moment that trade went down Boston is the new beast of the east... there is not a team in the league that has 3 players of the caliber that they have and they have the luxury of playing in the East.

NJ and Detroit are indeed on the wane, and INDY isn't merely on a downward spiral, they will be lucky not to be the worst team in the league (one oneal injury away)... But DET will still make the playoffs IMO.. NJ? It all depends on if carter decides to sit out with an occasional hangnail now that he has his final big contract and if jason kidd's father time moment is this season or the next.

But if you think for a minute that CLE with the best player in the league (and the nba marquee player that gets the jordanesque calls) will be worse than frakking orlando, philly and the hawks you are certifiable. The only and only way that happens is if lebron gets injured. I repeat... the ONLY way that happens is if lebron misses more than 2 months.

The knicks? Oh please that is so silly as to not even be worth a response... we all know where that love is coming from!

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Go after him on the Cleveland thing if you want but notice that his 'ranking' isn't a ranking at all. He says: Not in order

[Peoriabird]

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JJ & Smoove will do their usual Thang. Horford & Acie will help but I don't expect them to burden the load. The 3 guys I stated above are the guys IMO that need to play a bigger role on this team.

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Don't agree! I think that JJ & Smoove have plenty to improve upon starting with their turn-overs and free throw Shooting. Also their shot selection need to be better! Joe & Smoove need to get to the line 20-30% more this season!

[beav]

You're right AHF, apology offered on the Knicks guffaw to Diesel!!!

[Dejay]

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In the end, aging vets plus a superstar or two win championships.

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I guess your goal for next year are higher than mine. I'm just looking growth and a playoff birth that's it.

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We've been looking for 'growth' from this franchise for the better portion of a decade and how far has it gotten us? If 4+ years of developing players and hiring scrubs (see Wright, Lorenzen) to be your 'veteran leaders' like the Pittsburgh Pirates usually do (which along with bad ownership is why they haven't made the playoffs since Sid slid home in '92; sounds familiar, doesn't it?) results in us just scraping into the 8th seed or worse, missing the postseason (again), the train should be stopped right here and now.

EDS is dead on here. Some of this young talent should and needs to be parlayed into acquiring a veteran who can actually PLAY. When JJ started asking for some help last year, he wasn't asking for another rookie; he was asking for a guy like Gasol (but ended up with Anthony Johnson ).

Unless one of the young guys steps up in a major, MAJOR way, this team is very likely going to be on the outside looking in once again.

[Peoriabird]

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EDS is dead on here. Some of this young talent should and needs to be parlayed into acquiring a veteran who can actually PLAY.

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Then go ahead and trade Josh Smith if you can't wait for him to develop! He's your biggest project! Last I checked Gasol's tract record, He's had problem making the playoffs lately too! Oh that right, with him we can evoke the Kevin Garnett rule i.e. it's everybody else on the team fault not Gasol's

[Final_quest]

Beav, you have to understand this Dieselism. I don't think he really believes what he writes about the Knicks. He knows what a hot button team they are, and takes a perspective on them that gets a big reaction from a lot of people. This is not the first year he's picked NY to be in the playoffs.

That is Diesel as I understand him. It's not always about what he really thinks. Half the time is writing stuff just to get reactions and stir up conversation.