As the NFL season is on a roll, the MLB season winding down, and the NHL season just starting, there is just one more of the “four major” sports to look forward to. Basketball. And seeing how this is UB, and Boston is in the Atlantic Division, we will be taking a team-by-team look at that division here.
Boston Celtics- Defying most trends in sports right now, the Celtics have seemingly gotten older. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, for now, however. The influx of veteran players seems to work for and against the Celtics. In the case for, a veteran presence is good for the locker room and mostly for the younger players. The playoff experience is a nice bonus if they get that far. That brings me to the case against; can the veterans stay healthy and hold up over the 82-game season. This is the ultimate question for the Celtics. If the veterans can stay healthy and not lose too much steam over the regular season, they should easily make it to the playoffs with the squad they have. However, if injuries plague the veteran squad and they begin getting tired as the season progresses, the playoffs may not be in the cards.
New Jersey Nets- Ahh the lowly Nets. Or are they as lowly as last season? Well, not as bad, but they are still rebuilding. They failed to land vaunted prospect John Wall at the annual draft, but still made out favorably landing Derrick Favors (pun totally intended.) In addition to Favors, the Nets have a stud center in Brooke Lopez and a solid guard in Devin Harris (though he is in midst of trade talks.) The biggest change for the Nets is the new owner, Mikhail Prokhorov, who will be looking to throw money at this team, which leads me to the big question for the Nets this season; if they can land some star power before the trade deadline, they may be on the cusp of a playoff berth. But if they stick with the squad they have now, it looks like they’ll be playing the lottery again.
Nets Prediction- Fourth in the Atlantic Division.
New York Knicks-The key for the Knicks is Ama’re Stoudemire, their newest edition and now biggest star. If he can stay healthy enough to get the Knicks a decent record this season, other star players may consider playing at MSG under Mike D’antoni. However, Stoudemire is notoriously injury prone, so the Knicks may be banking on a player who isn’t always 100%.
Knicks prediction-Third in the Atlantic Division.
Philadelphia 76ers- The good? Evan Turner, the 2nd pick in the NBA draft. Andre Iguodala will be the star player and the face of the franchise again for the Sixers. The bad? The point guard position. Jrue Holliday will be taking the ball up for the Sixers again this season, and he still hasn’t proven himself to be a viable point guard, yet. Elton Brand’s season last year was nothing short of mediocre. Since we are assuming that Turner will turn out to be a great draft pick and Iguodala will continue to play at a high level, the key for the Sixers is this; if Holliday can mature as a point guard and Elton Brand can bounce back,the Sixers will be a successful team.If not, it might be another high draft pick for the Sixers this year.
76ers prediction- Second in the Atlantic Division.
Toronto Raptors- The loss of Bosh and Turkoglo almost guarantees a losing season for this team. Though a good they have a good combination of Jarrett Jack and Jose Calderon, and some long-range strength in Andrea Bargnani. They also add a good player in Leandro Barbosa. Unfortunately, this team can’t defend. And defense wins games, as most coaches say. I wouldn’t be betting any money on this team, unless you are placing bets on which teams will land in the lottery picks of next year’s draft.
Raptors Prediction: Fifth in the Atlantic Division.
I'm going with:
ReplyDeleteCeltics
Knicks
Raptors
76ers
Nets
I like the new Knicks a lot more than the 76ers, a team the Celtics almost beat with their bench (and philly was playing starters a lot). 3 through 5 are interchangeable...and probably irrelevant in the big picture.