NBA: New Year, Same Beast Of The East

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Indiana Pacers: The Pacers were by far the best team in the Eastern Conference last season. They are a year older and are without their starting point guard (Mark Jackson) and starting center (Rik Smits). But they still have Reggie Miller, Jalen Rose, Austin Croshere, Travis Best, and new forward Jermaine O’Neal. They still have a whole in the middle, but with the exception of Miami, so does everybody else in the East. Sam Perkins will be back for one more season at center. Can they repeat? Yes, they have the talent to repeat . But they must stay healthy. Jonathon Bender’s minutes will also increase and suddenly, the Pacers have one of the youngest and most athletic teams in the East. The guess here is the Pacers will repeat as the Conference champs and make another run at an NBA title.

Miami Heat: While everybody is jumping on the Heat bandwagon, I’m not on it yet. They will be great defensively, but Pat Riley’s teams are always solid on the defensive end. The big question is the health of Alonzo Mourning. Without him, the Heat will be near the middle of the pack in the East. With him, they will contend for the conference title. But who does the Heat go to down the stretch of a close game? Will Tim Hardaway stay healthy? How will Anthony Mason mesh with his new teammates? Will Eddie Jones be happy if he doesn’t get 20 shots a game? There are just too many questions to make them the favorites. They will win a lot of games and may even have the home court advantage again in the playoffs, but as the Knicks have proved in the past, homecourt doesn’t mean too much in Miami.

New York Knicks: Can you name the starting center for the Knicks? Me either. They did sign Felton Spencer and have Luc Longley, but Longley is out for two months with a knee injury. It is true, the Knicks were a better team in the playoffs without Patrick Ewing. But can they go a whole season without a go to guy in the paint? Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell will continue to excel in Knicks’ offense, but where does Glen Rice fit in? Or does he? Will Luc Longley help after he recovers from a knee injury? How will the point guards play? Are they a better team now without Patrick? Maybe, but it all depends on how the other post players play. The prediction is that they will somehow manage to play the Heat again in the playoffs, this time falling short.

Orlando Magic: If this team would have signed Tim Duncan, they would cruise through the Eastern Conference. There is nobody in the conference that can guard Duncan. But they didn’t sign him and instead had to “settle” for Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady. The Magic will have a solid year and have one of the better coaches in Doc Rivers. It will be fun to see what Rivers can do with some talent to play with. But this is a whole new team. Will McGrady play shooting guard? They gave up a lot of solid players to acquire two big money free agents. It may pay off, but not this year. Maybe the second round of the playoffs, but that’s it for the Magic.

Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks were able to re-sign Tim Thomas and Darvin Ham and also acquired Lindsey Hunter in the trade with the Pistons. Hunter will back up Sam Cassell at the point. Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson will be the main offensive weapons for the Bucks. The problem for the Bucks is in the middle, where Ervin Johnson is their starting center. The Bucks could finish anywhere from fifth to eighth in the conference and will may be able to surprise somebody in the first round. But don’t count on it.

Charlotte Hornets: P.J. Brown and Jamal Mashburn join Elden Campbell and Derek Coleman in the front court for the Hornets, but their questions are in the backcourt. Baron Davis will play the point and Hersey Hawkins will be at shooting guard. Do they have enough offense to compete with the elite teams? Probably not, but they will make the playoffs. Charlotte should finish in the seventh or eighth spot in the conference and will have a three-game run in the playoffs.


Philadelphia 76ers: How long can this last? Every year, there’s some kind of turmoil surrounding this team and this season is no different with the Allen Iverson’s rap album. The answer is not much longer. This team may fall apart before the season is over. On the positive side, Aaron McKie should build on a solid playoff performance and become a star. The Sixers have the same team as last season and it wasn’t good enough last year. This year will be no different. Philly will make the playoffs, but should be out of the playoffs quickly.

Toronto Raptors: Vince Carter may be the most exciting player in the league, but the loss of McGrady is going to hurt. They did pick up the solid Mark Jackson at point guard and also acquired Corliss Williamson for help in the paint. The Raptors will be fun to watch because of the many highlight film alley-oops from Jackson to Carter, but are still a player or two away from competing for the conference title.