2012 NBA Eastern Conference Projections

The
Celtics are tough-minded team that is built to win in the playoffs more
than they are in the regular season. With a nucleus consisting of
forwards Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce who are both in their mid-30s, I
can see Celtics head coach Doc Rivers preserving them in the regular
season while making sure that they have some gas in the tank for the
playoffs. The Celtics tank was on empty last season in The Eastern
Conference Finals against the eventual NBA Champions The Miami Heat. The
Celtics were up 3-2 in the series, but they were ravaged by injuries
and their age showed against The Heat which allowed Miami to pull out
the series in seven games.

Rivers and Celtics general manager Danny Ainge have gone back to
the formula that produced a NBA Title in 2008. Although Boston was
disappointed that guard Ray Allen bolted Beantown in favor of Miami,
they still have a deep squad. The Celtics have Rajon Rondo who has the
potential to be the best point guard in The NBA. At first, Rondo played
in the shadow of Garnett, Allen, and Pierce, but he is now the leader of
this Celtic team. Rondo led the league last season in assists with 11.7
per game and there isn’t a spot on the floor where he cannot find a
teammate to deliver the ball to. Rondo is becoming a better perimeter
shooter which should open up the floor for his teammates.

The Celtics re-signed forwards Brandon Bass and Jeff
Green which will give them versatility in the front court. Ainge had a
good NBA Draft as well. With two first-round picks, The Celtics drafted
forward Jared Sullinger from Ohio State and center Fab Melo from
Syracuse. Both players were initially pegged to be Lottery picks, but
fell to The Celtics late in round one. The Celtics also signed
free-agent shooting guard Jason Terry to provide depth off of the bench.
This is a veteran team which Rivers and Ainge like and I wouldn’t want
to see them come playoff time if I were an opponent.

2012
was indeed a roller coaster season for The Knickerbockers. The Knicks
started off the season with a record of 8-15 before “Linsanity” took
over in New York City. Point guard Jeremy Lin was inserted into the
starting lineup and he shined bright on Broadway. Lin didn’t last long
in New York as he is now a Houston Rocket. The Knicks core of Carmelo
Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler are hopeful to get the
team back to the postseason for a third consecutive season.

The main challenge for Knicks head coach Mike Woodson is to get
Anthony and Stoudemire to co-exist on the court. The Knicks are hoping
that the re-acquisition of point guard Raymond Felton can ignite the
team as he is a good facilitator. Felton has averaged 6.7 assists for
his NBA career and his job is to dish the ball to Anthony and
Stoudemire. Guard Steve Novak is entering his seventh season in the
league and the former Marquette University star led The NBA in
three-point shooting percentage at .472 last season.

The Knicks made the playoffs last season, but it is time for
them to take the next step. In order to do that, Woodson will need this
team to play defense which is something that he is noted for. Woodson
was hired last season to be an assistant to former Knicks coach Mike
D’Antoni. After D’Antoni was fired, the job was handed over to Woodson.
Woodson has the individual talent on this team to succeed, but the big
question will be if this Knick team can be a cohesive unit for a full
season?

This season will indeed be a little different
to The Nets. The Nets have moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn as they
will call The Barclays Center in Brooklyn home. Nets general manager
Billy King made a failed attempt to land All-Star center Dwight Howard
from The Orlando Magic, but that didn’t prevent him from improving the
team. The Nets sent five players to The Atlanta Hawks to acquire
six-time All-Star shooting guard Joe Johnson. Johnson will team with
three-time All-Star point guard Deron Williams who is fresh off of his
second gold medal as a member of The United States Men’s Olympic
Basketball Team. Williams flirted with signing with The Dallas Mavericks
as a free-agent in the summer, but after The Nets traded for Johnson he
decided to stay. The Nets also re-signed center Brook Lopez and forward
Kris Humphries to give them the punch that they need to compete in The
Eastern Conference.

After only winning 22 games last season, hopes are high as The
Nets are led by head coach Avery Johnson. This team will be vastly
improved from last season and the people of Brooklyn are excited to have
a professional basketball team.

The Philadelphia 76ers had an up and down
season that ended on a positive note. After earning the eighth and final
spot in The Eastern Conference Playoffs, The Sixers upset the
top-seeded Chicago Bulls in six games. In the offseason, Philadelphia
was involved in a four-team trade with The Orlando Magic, Los Angeles
Lakers, and The Denver Nuggets. The trade sent All-Star swingman Andre
Iguodala to The Nuggets and in return The 76ers obtained All-Star center
Andrew Bynum. Bynum is starting come into his own in The NBA as he
averaged 18.7 points per game last season. The main question lurking
around Bynum is his health as he has a history of knee problems. The
Sixers have young perimeter players in the form of Evan Turner, Thaddeus
Young, and Nick Young. The Sixers have a young team that will give
teams problems and they will not be an easy out in the postseason
either.

Four
seasons have gone by since the last playoff appearance by The Toronto
Raptors. The Raptors finished last season 28th in scoring which is a
recipe for disaster. In the hopes of spicing up the offense, Raptors
general manager Brian Colangelo signed free-agent shooting guard Landry
Fields to a three-year, $20 million contract. Toronto was also able to
acquire point guard Kyle Lowry from The Houston Rockets. The Raptors are
trying to rebuild, but unfortunately they are doing it in a division
that has become extremely tough.

Frank
Vogel’s first full season as head coach of The Indiana Pacers was
extremely successful. The Pacers won 42 games which was their highest
win total since the 2004-2005 season when they won 44 games. The Pacers
had the eventual NBA Champions The Miami Heat on the ropes in The
Eastern Conference Semifinals as they were up two games to one in the
best-of seven series. The Pacers have a versatile team that can become a
match-up nightmare for any opponent. In his first season with The
Pacers, power forward David West wasn’t the focal point of the offense,
but he still chipped in as he averaged 15 points per contest. Along with
West, The Pacers have a nucleus of center Roy Hibbert, and forwards
Danny Granger, Paul George, and Tyler Hansbrough.

The Heat and The Celtics might be the class of The Eastern Conference, but The Pacers are not that far behind.

The
Chicago Bulls appeared poised to make another deep run in the
postseason until All-Star point guard Derrick Rose suffered an ACL
injury in his right knee at the end of the playoff opener versus The
Philadelphia 76ers. The Bulls lost in six games to Philadelphia and they
are trying to regroup for this season. Rose will more than likely miss
the start of the season which will hamper the offense. To offset the
potential loss of Rose, Bulls general manager Gar Forman signed
free-agent point guard Kirk Hinrich who spent the first seven years of
his NBA career in Chicago. Hinrich has averaged 5.4 assists for his
career and he will be charged with getting the basketball to forwards
Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Carlos Boozer, and center Joakim Noah who is a
defensive stalwart in The Bulls frontcourt. The Bulls will have to tread
water until they can get Rose back into the lineup.  .

The Milwaukee Bucks ran out of gas at the
finish line as far as qualifying for the playoffs last season. Milwaukee
finished four games short of the postseason last year as Bucks head
coach Scott Skiles and crew are looking for improvement this season. Led
by the backcourt of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, The Bucks were
the fifth highest scoring team in The NBA last season. With Jennings and
Ellis on the court, it might be difficult for their teammates to get
shots as neither player has met a shot that they didn’t like. The Bucks
lack a true post presence, but center Samuel Dalembert alternates shots
as he has averaged nearly two blocks per game throughout his career.
Skiles is a no-nonsense head coach that will get the most out of this
team, which means that Jennings and Ellis will find a way to co-exist.

After eight consecutive trips to the
playoffs, The Pistons haven’t qualified for the past three seasons. Last
season was over before it started for The Pistons as they started the
campaign with a record of 4-20. The Pistons are a young team that will
show signs of improvement this season. First-round draft pick Andre
Drummond is raw, but he is extremely athletic. Pistons general manager
Joe Dumars hopes that Drummond and center Greg Monroe will fortify
Detroit’s frontcourt for years to come. Forward Charlie Villanueva
averaged 18 points per game last season and Pistons head coach Lawrence
Frank hopes that he along with veteran forward Tayshaun Prince can lead
this team. 

I am projecting this team to lose 50 games, but The Eastern
Conference has gotten a lot tougher. I believe that The Pistons are one
or two years away from being a force again in The NBA.

Cleveland Cavaliers 28-54

The Cavs are entering year three of the post
LeBron James era. The Cavaliers have struggled mightily and that will
continue. Cleveland has attempted to improve the backcourt. Point guard
Kyrie Irving is the reigning NBA Rookie of The Year as he averaged 18.5
points and 5.4 assists per game. Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant
had his eyes on University of Florida guard Bradley Beal, but once he
was selected one pick ahead of Cleveland’s fourth overall slot in last
June’s NBA Draft by The Washington Wizards, Grant took versatile guard
Dion Waiters from Syracuse University. Waiters averaged over 12 points
per game off of the bench last season for The ‘Cuse as a sophomore. Now
Waiters will team with Irving to give The Cavs an exciting backcourt.
Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott is a fan of point guards as he had
success while coaching Jason Kidd with The New Jersey Nets and Chris
Paul with The New Orleans Hornets. 

The Cavs know that it will be tough for them to lure
free-agents to Cleveland and thus they must bide their time and build
through the draft as this season will be full of growing pains.

Southeast Division

In
order for this season to be a success for The Miami Heat, they must
defend their NBA Title. The Heat won it all last season in year two of
“The Big Three” consisting of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh.
For James to cement his legacy as one of the all-time greats to ever
lace them up, he cannot be content with winning one championship. The
Heat came into last season focused after losing to The Dallas Mavericks
in The 2011 NBA Finals. The Heat are expected to coast through the
regular season as The Southeast Division is by far the weakest division
in the league. 

Heat president Pat Riley has left no stone unturned in the
team’s quest for another championship. The Heat signed former Boston
Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen who is one of the deadliest three-point
shooters that the game has ever seen. There won’t be any stress for
Allen in South Beach as he will see plenty of open three-point
opportunities as teams will double James and Wade. The Heat will make it
look easy in the regular season as they prepare for possible playoffs
tussles with The Celtics, Knicks, and Oklahoma City Thunder.

The
Atlanta Hawks are a team that is in limbo. Over the summer, Hawks
general manager Danny Ferry traded one superstar in the hopes of landing
a few next summer. The Hawks traded six-time All-Star shooting guard
Joe Johnson to The Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Anthony Morrow, Jordan
Farmar, Johan Petro, DeShawn Stevenson, and Jordan Williams. The Hawks
have the hopes of signing potential free-agents Dwight Howard and Chris
Paul next summer to make this team a contender.
 

In the meantime, Atlanta must still go out and compete in The
Eastern Conference. The Hawks still have two-time All-Star forward Al
Horford to anchor the team. In exchange for sending forward Marvin
Williams to The Utah Jazz, The Hawks received point guard Devin Harris
who should start for head coach Larry Drew’s team in Atlanta, but it
will be an uphill battle this season for The Hawks.

After
four consecutive seasons from 2005 to 2008 that saw The Washington
Wizards qualify for the postseason, they are once again back the cellar
dwellers that they were for the majority of the 80s and 90s. Before NBA
training camps have officially opened, The Wizards have received news
that starting point guard John Wall will miss the start of the season
due to a stress injury in his left kneecap. Wall has averaged 16 points
and 8.2 assists per game in his brief career and his injury will affect a
team that was looking to improve this season. Without Wall, The Wizards
are expected to start slow which is the last thing that this team needs
in D.C.

The good thing for The Orlando Magic is that
the Dwight Howard saga is finally over. Gone are former Magic head coach
Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith as well. After much
debate, new Magic general manager Rob Hennigan traded Howard to The Los
Angeles Lakers as a part of a four-team trade. The Magic were also able
to deal Jason Richardson, Chris Duhon, and Earl Clark as well. The Nets
had a more lucrative deal on the table to acquire Howard which included
multiple first-round draft picks and center Brook Lopez, but with The
Nets unwilling to take on Richardson and Duhon’s contract which made
Hennigan balk at the offer.

Now The Magic are starting over with a team full of role players.
The bright spot could be that since The Magic have traded Howard,
everyone can be on the same page which can build team unity which will
be important for first year head coach Jacque Vaughn.

Last
season could not finish quick enough for The Charlotte Bobcats. The
Bobcats finished the season on a 23-game losing streak to finish the
season with a record of 7-59 which means that they only one way to go
for this season which is up. Mike Dunlap takes over at head coach for
Paul Silas. Dunlap is a detail oriented head coach which will be
important for this team. The Bobcats must first learn how to compete in
The NBA and winning a few games early could help.

The Bobcats missed a golden opportunity to improve the team prior
to last summer’s NBA Draft. Going into The NBA Draft, The Bobcats owned
the second overall pick which was coveted by The Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavs were willing to offer The Bobcats the fourth overall selection,
along with the 24th overall pick, and a second-round pick for the
second pick. The Bobcats passed up on the offer and opted to select
University of Kentucky forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Kidd-Gilchrist is
a good player, but when a team like The Bobcats needs so many pieces in
order to contend, you have to look at adding as much talent as
possible.

Bobcats general manager Rich Cho is hopeful that The UCONN backcourt
of Kemba Walker and Ben Gordon can have an impact on this team, but
both players have very similar styles which will make it interesting to
see how these two can co-exist on the court. For the fans in North
Carolina, at least they can cheer for Duke and Carolina.