Atlantic division

You might have noticed that I don’t include all players when dissecting a specific team. Left out are the towel-wavers (for obvious reasons) and some of the rookies (cuz you can’t really know their impact until you’ve seen them play an actual NBA game).

Now that we have this clear, we can move on with the new and improved Atlantic division.

Boston Celtics –Fans in Boston are brimming with optimism because management aborted the rebuilding program (in year 4 no less) and decided to go with Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Rondo and Posey. Not bad but … what most of them conveniently forget is that Doc Rivers is still coaching this team. So unless KG and co. can find a way to circumvent The Coach, the Celts will be self-destructing in the postseason. You can count on it.

This team’s got some very good players but they need time to gel, so even with a great coach they wouldn’t be bringing home any trophies. Not in year one at least.

Of course there’s lots of room for optimism for next year - there’s a decent chance they realize Doc can’t coach and replace him with a good one (Larry Brown, anyone? … going once, going twice … sold to the gentlemen in green!), fill out some holes in their roster (which they invariably have at PG and at back-up spots whether they choose to admit it or not), get some more seasoning for the youngsters, let everyone gel some more and they’ll be ready to take on the world.

Now I’m not saying they won’t do some damage in the East. Not at all.

Let’s break down their roster, European style (and just by way of explanation: 1 – PG, 2 – SG, 3 – SF, 4 – PF, 5 – C; first guy on the list in each position is the projected starter and guys listed behind them - projected backups)

1 - Rajon Rondo, Gabe Pruitt,
2 – Ray Allen, Eddie House, Tony Allen
3 – Paul Pierce, James Posey,
4 – KG, Brian Scalabrine, Glen Davis, Leon Powe
5 – Kendrick Perkins, Scot Pollard

Some obvious problems with the roster –
1) Rondo needs to improve his shot and needs time to grow as a playmaker,
2) they don’t really have back-ups at the PG position although House and Tony Allen can play some (Pruitt is a rook)
3) if KG goes down Brian Scalabrine, Glen Davis (rook with conditioning issues) or Leon Powe (often injured) get to supplant him in the starting lineup. Oh joy. At least Scalabrine has the same brain type as MJ
4) NBA teams keep signing Scot Pollard even though he’s always injured and never seems to play even when he’s healthy.

And even with all that Boston will be a major factor in the East if the big three can stay healthy. Just don’t expect any titles this season.

New York Knicks – you didn’t expect these guys to be an even bigger mess than last season did you? Well, they are. Do I even need to mention the sexual harassment trial? No, I didn’t think so. But let’s focus on basketball issues:

Isiah usually drafts well but has a penchant for acquiring free agents whose games don’t mesh with the players on the roster (which often leads to costly buyouts) – like Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry (they are basically the same player – except only one’s got a heart problem) and Q-Rich and Jamal Crawford (except only one’s got a bad back).

Marbury hasn’t played well the past 2 years and seems to have lost his mind in the off-season (or in a more optimistic view he might have just been hopped up on goof-balls during the infamous interview).

Malik Rose is an undersized PF who plays with a lot of heart; which, on a team with no heart, would seem to be a good thing. But Zeke will have none of that. He never plays him.

Jerome James – do I really need to say anything?

Jared Jeffries (he earns about $ 6 mill per season … only in New York)

Fred Jones is no more than an average SG, Renaldo Balkman no more than a decent SF and Nate Robinson just a smaller version of Marbury … which would make David Lee the only bright spot on this team.

Uh, and did I mention Isiah is coaching them?

New Jersey Nets – Not a bad team with the addition of Jamaal Magloire, Nenad Krstic coming back from an ACL tear and their version of the big three coming back.

Let’s take a closer look:

1 – Jason Kidd, Marcus Williams,
2 – Vince Carter, Antoine Wright
3 – Richard Jefferson, Bostjan Nachbar
4 – Nenad Krstic, Malik Allen, Sean Williams
5 – Jamaal Magloire, Jason Collins

As long as Kidd is running the point the Nets should be in contention and if Magloire brings it this season (which I suspect he will given Kidd’s leadership and penchant for making big men look better than they actually are) they have a chance.

Philadelphia 76ers – They added more prospects and their big off-season signings were Reggie Evans and Calvin Booth. Would you believe that?

They haven’t got much besides the two Andres (Iguodala and Miller) and a bench of role players. Get it? Bench?

They’re not winning any time soon. This team is a perfect example of why the NBA should be scaled down to 25 teams, tops. There’s just not enough talent to go around for 30.

Toronto Raptors – I’m not sure if they’ll be able to build on last season’s success. The coach sucks, they’re not sneaking up on anyone like they did last year, the roster hasn’t really improved, Jason Kapono is overrated and their division just got a lot more competitive.

Let’s break it down:

1 – TJ Ford, Jose Calderon
2 – Anthony Parker, Juan Dixon
3 – Jorge Garbajosa, Jason Kapono, Carlos Delfino
4 – Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani
5 – Radoslav Nesterovic, Maceo Baston

Now if they’re smart they’ll play Bosh at Center and Bargnani at Power Forward (doable cuz they play up-tempo) which would eliminate the Rasho factor and give them a starting five of Bosh, Bargnani, Garbajosa (a great glue guy), Parker (who is so underrated he doesn’t even get recognized in Toronto) and Ford (or better yet - Calderon). Now that’s not a bad starting five, right?

Also, not that I’m questioning the two time GM MVP Brian Colangelo, but he seems to be the only one who thinks TJ Ford is a better fit for this offense than Jose Calderon and yet anyone who watched the Raptors last season would beg to differ. I know I do.

So, just to summarize: they have playmakers at PG, good shooters at SG and SF positions, a great glue guy, they play defense and have Chris Bosh. Damn. I think I just talked myself into liking this team.