NBA Preview: The Eastern teams that didn’t make it last year.

Philadelphia 76ers

Last year: 38-44

My prediction: 30 wins.

Why?: Well, this team isn’t any better. At the end of the season last year, Allen Iverson didn’t show up to the last game of the season: Fan Appreciation Night. Now, I realize the team was out of the playoffs, AI was hurt, and the talk all during the second half of the season was how AI was going to be traded. Still. Damn. The 76ers should have traded him, even if they only got 50 cents on the dollar. Seriously, why hang onto him? So he can be part of a team that scratches and claws to even be competitive? Why not get rid of him and move on? If AI hadn’t been such a dickhead at the end of the season I would have felt completely differently about this. Is there any hope at all for this team?

Orlando Magic

Last year: 36-44

My prediction: Around 45 wins.

Why?: Well, let’s see. They’ve got this guy named Dwight Howard see. He’s amazing. Seriously. Amazing! This team finished last year on a 16-4 streak, and I see no reason for them to slow down. I actually think JJ Redick could really help (if he’s healthy), but even without him they’ve got 2 great point guards (Nelson and Arroyo), two great bigs (Darko and Howard) and an interesting set of swing guys (Hedo, Grant Hill, Keyon Dooling and Redick). I like. I think they’re a slam dunk.

Boston Celtics

Last year: 33-49

My prediction: 40 wins

Why?: The Celtics have gotten better. The addition of Telfair and Rondo are going to be big, and this team has a LOT of young, raw talent: Gerald Green, Delonte West, Ryan Gomes and Kendrick Perkins. Hey, they might even be able to revive the corpse of Al Jefferson. I’d like this team to win 35 games off of just those guys right there. Then we come to my man Paul Pierce. He’s easily worth 5 wins by himself, but the guy has been playing a ton of minutes his entire career, I fully expect him to break down this season. I guarantee that nobody would want to play this team in a 5 game series…but of course the NBA decided to make the first round of the playoffs boring!

Toronto Raptors

Last year: 27-55

My prediction: 25 wins?

Why? I love the idea of bringing together a team with a huge amount of international flavor, but it isn’t going to be an instant success. Personally, I think Sam Mitchell is one of, if not the, worst coach in the NBA. During his tenure some NBA players with good reputations (see Rafer Alston and Aaron Williams) have walked away thinking the guy was flat-out, batshit crazy (and people seem surprised Vinsanity didn’t give 100% in his last season with the Raptors). The year before Mitchell assumed ‘control’ the Raptors got 33 wins. In Sam’s first season they got: 33 wins. Last season they got: 27 wins. This coach should be fired.

Charlotte Bobcats

Last year: 26-56

My prediction: 35 wins

Why? The lineup looks pretty good actually: Ray Felton, Gerald Wallace a, Adam Morrison, and Emeka Okafor are all quality. After that the decline in talent is pretty steep, but that’s a good core (if they can stay healthy). The real downside to this team is the coach, who’s had just 3 winning seasons in his 13 years, and the last one came in 1998 with the Wizards. Bernie Bickerstaff…are you serious?

Atlanta Hawks

Last year: 26-56

My prediction: 26 wins

Why? Ok, unlike the Raptors, Bobcats, Knicks and Celtics, we have no reason to believe that Mike Woodson isn’t a decent coach. He inherited a TERRIBLE Hawks team in 2005, and they scraped together 13 wins. Last year they got twice as many wins, so clearly the team is moving in the right direction (not that they could have moved much further in the other direction). Furthermore this team has 5 (!) long, lanky swing players who can score and defend: Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Salim Stoudamire, Josh Childress and Marvin Williams. They’ve got a trio of bigs that you really can’t complain much about (Zaza, Lorenzen, and Sheldon Williams). And hey, looks like they picked up a starting caliber point guard in Speedy Claxton. In fact, if this combination of talent was playing in, say, Denver, I’d pick them to win 40 games. But this is the Hawks, and Joe Johnson will probably break his leg, or Speedy Claxton will have a piano fall on his head, or the coach will turn out to suck. 26 wins.

New York Knicks

Last year: 23-59

My prediction: 35 wins

Why? This team really does have a lot of individual talent. I don’t think anyone’s questioning that. But it is sorta a weird assortment talent. I mean, I played Starbury and Francis in the same backcourt on NBA2k5 one time, and it didn’t even make sense then. And for the record, I think Nate Robinson totally sucks. However, I think Larry Brown was the worst possible coach for this team. On the other hand, if Phil Jackson had come back to coach the Knicks instead of the Lakers…well, this is right up his ally. Phil would have had this team at 50 wins last year and we’d have seen a thousand Shaq versus Phil Jackson storylines in the second round. By the way, Mark Cuban, if you’re reading this, Isiah Thomas is still the GM of this team. See if maybe you can convince him to go for a Diop-Dampier for Frye-Jalen Rose trade (Rose’s contract is going to expire). It’s worth a shot!

For the record, it appears my playoff teams from the east next year are:

Detroit
Miami
Cleveland
Washington
New Jersey
Chicago
Orlando
Boston