The 2010-11 Season Preview fifth serving is finally here! The NBA regular season is set to tip off tomorrow, so the final offering will be out tomorrow if all goes according to plan. Be prepared for some intense basketball tomorrow as the team that everyone has been talking about (The Heat) will be kicking off the season against the Big 5 (Rondo, Jesus, the Truth, The Big Ticket, and The Diesel). What a coincidence then that this time we’ll be previewing the Southeast Division, which contains a couple of contenders to the NBA throne.
Atlanta Hawks
PG: Mike Bibby
SG: Joe Johnson (Jamal Crawford)
SF: Marvin Williams (Maurice Evans)
PF: Josh Smith (Josh Powell)
C: Al Horford (Zaza Pachulia; Etan Thomas)
Coach: Larry Drew
Breakdown: While I’m tempted to describe this team as a young, up-and-coming team, the time has passed for that. This is no longer an inexperienced team with nothing to lose. This team has been to the playoffs several times now and there are expectations now. After almost losing to the Bucks and then getting dominated by Boston, I would say that this team needs to find itself quickly before the chemistry they built starts to break down.
Prediction: 51-31
Charlotte Bobcats
PG: D.J. Augustin (Shaun Livingston; Javaris Crittenton)
SG: Stephen Jackson (Matt Carroll)
SF: Gerald Wallace (Tyrus Thomas)
PF: Boris Diaw
C: Nazr Mohammed (DeSagana Diop)
Coach: Larry Brown
Breakdown: Larry Brown may have a history of making bad teams decent, but it’s hard to have hope with this group. Coach Brown is going to have to pull out all the stops to get this team into the playoffs. Gerald “Crash” Wallace is the best player on this team with Captain Jack providing experience and support. D.J. Augustin is good, but still young and inexperienced. I don’t think they’re going to do much this year.
Prediction: 22-60
Miami Heat
PG: Mario Chalmers (Carlos Arroyo)
SG: Dwyane Wade (James Jones; Eddie House)
SF: LeBron James (Mike Miller; Da’Sean Butler)
PF: Chris Bosh (Udonis Haslem)
C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Joel Anthony)
Coach: Erik Spoelstra
Breakdown: Here we go! Although they have been “plagued” with injuries this preseason, it doesn’t really matter. As long as they make the playoffs, this team is going to make it to the NBA Finals and square off against the Lakers. Don’t be fooled, this is a good team outside of the big three. Chalmers is a capable point guard and the team is replete with an array of shooters that can come off the bench and spread the floor. The team is a little weak at the center position, but LeBron, Wade, and Bosh should be enough to offset this deficiency. I expect the team to start off strong, struggle a bit mid-season, and then pick it up for the Playoffs. Will they win it all? We shall see. Let the journey begin!
Prediction: 59-23
Orlando Magic
PG: Jameer Nelson (Jason Williams; Chris Duhon)
SG: Vince Carter (J.J. Redick)
SF: Michael Pietrus (Quentin Richardson)
PF: Rashard Lewis (Brandon Bass; Ryan Anderson)
C: Dwight Howard (Marcin Gortat)
Coach: Stan Van Gundy
Breakdown: The Heat’s biggest threat in the East may very well come from within their own division. The Orlando Magic are consistently overlooked and disrespected year after year and that definitely doesn’t sit well with them. The team is better than most people give them credit for, but they do rely a bit too much on shooting the three. Biggest factor for this team this year: Dwight Howard’s growth (not physically, but in ability). He’s been working with Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing, so we’ll see if he’s developed his own “Dream Shake”. Another factor will be consistent play from Rashard Lewis who has a habit of being really hot and really cold. In the end, I’m putting my money on Superman to figure it out.
Prediction: 58-24
Washington Wizards
PG: Kirk Hinrich (John Wall)
SG: Nick Young (Gilbert Arenas)
SF: Josh Howard (Al Thornton; Adam Morrison)
PF: Andray Blatche (Yi Jianlian)
C: JaVale McGee
Coach: Flip Saunders
Breakdown: A lot of questions for this team. Will John Wall dominate as a rookie? Will Josh Howard return healthy and is Al Thornton going to be a good backup/replacement at small forward? Will Yi finally play to his potential? Is Gilbert Arenas going to stabilize and morph back into “Agent Zero”? With that many questions on the table, I can’t see this team figuring it out this season. They’ll do ok, but eventually fall short.
Prediction: 39-43
-Shogun
