Who’s in, who’s out
Damn the cliches.
Isiah Thomas will eventually be sitting at the conference table with a gaggle of advisors mapping out the upcoming playoff chase. All of the previous legwork was rendered useless once Kevin Garnett landed in Boston, and he can’t afford not to look ahead.
The standard one-game-at-a-time nonsense can wait until the season tips off.
Every team in the East will be doing another side-by-side comparison of rosters to see whether changes need to be made in order to qualify for the postseason. The list of contenders appears to be expanding. In a matter of months, the conference made up a lot of ground on the West.
So who’s in and who’s out?
Boston and Detroit appear to be locks, so that leaves six openings. Cleveland, Miami and Chicago aren’t likely to experience a huge dropoff, so let’s put them in. Now there are just three spots.
See what I mean?
New Jersey, Orlando, Charlotte, Toronto, Milwaukee and New York should all be improved. We’re officially out of fingers. And we haven’t even mentioned Washington or Indiana.
Here’s my list, right now, and it will change 15 times before training camp even opens, so don’t hold me to it:
1. Boston
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Miami
5. Cleveland
6. New Jersey
7. New York
8. Toronto
Getting four Atlantic Division teams in would be astounding, but until the next round of moves, I don’t see how else it could work out. I think now matter who’s in, the last two months of the season are going to be dramatic because there could be up to eight teams battling for three spots.
Let’s see what you’ve got, and be polite. Don’t forget to vote in the new poll.
August 1st, 2007 at 12:37 pm
1. Chicago
2. Boston
3. Miami
4. Detroit
5. Cleveland
6. New York
7. Orlando
8. Charlotte
August 1st, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Don’t be surprised if Detroit falls off. Every team peaks, and then at a certain point it all gets stale and they need to shake things up. The Pistons are at that precipice right now. Somebody gets injured, Sheed blows up, Flip Saunders loses control of the locker room. It seems pretty close to inevitable at this point.
Don’t forget, Zeke’s not done. He’s got expiring money that I suspect he’ll use to add one more rotation player. I’m looking forward to seeing the Garden reaction when, with 2:00 left in the first quarter, Crawford, Lee and Balkman get up and together walk to the scorer’s table to check in. Electric.
August 1st, 2007 at 1:58 pm
I doubt Miami will be a 4th seed, they’ll be fighting for the final few play-off spots. Shaq is one year older and last couple of years has not been going hard during the regular season and Wade is coming off surgery to both knees. Kapono will prove to be a tough loss. They lack the shooting and bench.
The teams that’ll make it for sure are…
Detroit
Chicago
Boston
Jersey
Cleveland
Final 3 spots will be fought by
Miami
Toronto
Orlando
Washington
NY
I think the Knicks do take one of those spots but I’m a fan so my judgement may be skewed but we do have hefty front line. Randolf 1 of 5 20-10 guys last season. Toronto has another in Bosh and their picks in ‘06 along with their shooters surrounding a drive and kick guy like Ford makes them tough to defend. I like the Raps and Knicks to round out the play-offs.
This would be devestating for Orlando taking a step back after throwing ridiculous chedda at Rashard. don’t discount the Wiz but they didn’t improve much in an improved East.
August 1st, 2007 at 2:29 pm
1. Chicago
2. Boston
3. Knicks (there, I said it)
4. Orlando
5. Detroit
6. Cleveland
7. New Jersey
8. Toronto
August 1st, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Also, look for Jersey to blow up their “big three” by the trade deadline—I think they’ll be one of the teams left out. How many more years will they keep that core together, winning 43 games and bowing out early in the playoffs? Somebody will overpay with a nice young player for Kidd.
August 1st, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Just to dig up an old corpse and hang it again: what if Scott Layden had had the balls to do with Ewing what McHale did with KG? Now McHale was clearly the author of the T’Wolves demise, squandered all those years he had the Big Ticket working (curiously, never receiving the vitriol and scorn that Zeke has received since arriving), forcing the classic rebuilding process, but DAMN!
It still sticks in my craw. Travis Knight?!?
August 1st, 2007 at 4:42 pm
willis,
You’re hanging the wrong guy. Dave Checketts was in charge of the Ewing mess. Scott Layden basically picked at the scab for a couple of years and made it worse.
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:13 am
Miami will experience a huge drop off unless shaq stays healthy the whole year. That won’t happen.
Cleveland
Detroit
Boston
New Jersey
Washington
Chicago
New York
Orlando
Toronto and Miami won’t make it. The East will be to competitive. Toronto needs a Superstar and Miami needs someone younger to complement Wade.
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:01 am
Thanks Mike,
I guess we can only hang him for Esley and Anderson and such. What’s the consensus on that move; was it an ownership decision to not rebuild at that time, or did Checkets feel he could really make lemonade out of all those lemons? (This feels like recovered memory therapy, very cathartic).
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:55 pm
detroit
miami
boston
toronto
cleveland
orlando
Chicago
washington
NJ
NYK
I’m thinking that we can beat out the likes of Milwakee and Indiana and that teams like cha, phi, and atl will still be scrubby. Still I’m bummed. I think to have a real shot at anything we need Artest without giving up Lee or Crawford. I’m not sure sac will do that. Quentin is our only two way player at SF right now and we all know he’s not making it through the season healthy.
August 2nd, 2007 at 6:02 pm
I counted wrong, we’re 10th. I thought we were 8th. Now I’m really bummed.
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:21 pm
1.Detroit
2.Clevland
3.Miami
4.Boston
5.Washington
6.Toronto
7.New York(it’s been too long)
8.New Jersey
That’s your playoff picture…if all goes well
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Nope…replace NJ with Chicago and switch toronto with chicago. I knew I forgot something
August 3rd, 2007 at 1:52 pm
1. Chicago (and it makes me sick)
2. Boston
3. Orlando
4. Cleveland
5. Detroit
6. New York
7. Toronto
8. Washington
I don’t think Miami will make it. They barely did last year and they’re older and more beat up. New Jersey is a Kidd injury away from irrelevance. I have Orlando at 3 since I think they’ll take the SE Divison.