Here’s a quick team-by-team preview to wet your pallet for the upcoming NBA season.
ATLANTA – The Hawks somehow snuck into the final playoff spot last year mainly because the Eastern Conference was incredibly weak. They didn’t do much to improve in the offseason other than sign Thabo Sefolosha and bank on the return of a healthy Al Horford. It will be interesting to see what this team can do if Horford can manage to stop tearing his pectoral muscle and return to his all-star form. Atlanta has good depth down low, but not much shooting outside of Kyle Korver.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Jeff Teague
Kyle Korver
DeMarre Carroll
Paul Millsap
Al Horford
Shelvin Mack
Thabo Sefolosha
Mike Scott
Pero Antic
Elton Brand
BROOKLYN – The Nets didn’t make any significant changes over the summer other than hiring Lionel Hollins to replace departed power-hungry coach Jason Kidd. The Nets got off to a miserable start last year but were able to bounce back and make a run of it. If they can avoid stumbling out of the gate again this season, they can do some damage in the East. The Brook Lopez injury really hurt the Nets last season but they’ll have him back. Mason Plumlee was the benefactor of that injury and the experience he gained last season should give the Nets a very strong front-court. On the back end they’ll need more from Joe Johnson and hope to see Deron Williams return to his all-star ways. Brooklyn should be a contender in the revamped East.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Deron Williams
Jarrett Jack
Joe Johnson
Kevin Garnett
Brook Lopez
Marquis Teague
Alan Anderson
Andrei Kirilenko
Mirza Teletovic
Mason Plumlee
CHARLOTTE – The old is new again as the Bobcats nickname is gone and those horrid Bobcat uniforms went with it. Charlotte’s team is the Hornets once again. The purple-and-teals made some major changes this offseason, mainly in upgrading their back-court. The big grab was former Pacers standout Lance Stephenson, but they also added solid bench options Gary Neal and Brian Roberts. The signing of Marvin Williams will help one of the league’s worst defenses. Michael Jordan’s team might finally be on to something as the new-look Hornets should contend for one of the last playoff spots.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Kemba Walker
Lance Stephenson
Gerald Henderson
Marvin Williams
Al Jefferson
Brian Roberts
Gary Neal
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Cody Zeller
Bismack Biyombo
CHICAGO – Bulls fans have had to endure two straight seasons without their superstar point guard. It’s anyones guess as to what kind of player Derrick Rose will be after two knee surgeries, but if he’s half the player he used to be that should still make for one of the best guards in the East. Chicago tried their damnedest to convince Carmelo Anthony to jump ship from N.Y., but ended up settling for a sweet consolation prize in Pau Gasol. With those two studs in the lineup Chicago shouldn’t be the worst offense in basketball anymore. Tom Thibodeau’s teams are always among the best on the defensive side, so if Rose goes back to superstar status the Bulls will be a major player in the East.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Derrick Rose
Jimmy Butler
Mike Dunleavy
Pau Gasol
Joakim Noah
Kirk Hinrich
Aaron Brooks
Doug McDermott
Taj Gibson
Nazr Mohammed
CLEVELAND – Well, I think it’s obvious that the Cavs will be slightly improved.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Kyrie Irving
Dion Waiters
LeBron James
Kevin Love
Anderson Varejao
Matthew Dellavedova
Mike Miller
Shawn Marion
Tristan Thompson
Brendan Haywood
DETROIT – The Pistons hired Stan Van Gundy to help usher in a new era of Motor City basketball. The hope is that he’ll be able to get more out of last year’s big free agent acquisition Josh Smith. Some depth was added in the offseason and the Pistons have more talent than they’ve had in a while but Van Gundy definitely has a tough road ahead.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Brandon Jennings
Jodie Meeks
Josh Smith
Greg Monroe
Andre Drummond
D.J. Augustin
Will Bynum
Caron Butler
Kyle Singler
Jonas Jerebko
INDIANA – If you haven’t seen the horrific injury Paul George suffered practicing for Team USA, I advise you just take my word that it was gruesome and disgusting, but if ogling train wrecks is your thing feel free to YouTube. George is apparently driven to make an attempt at playing this season if the Pacers make the palyoffs, but his injury and the departure of Lance Stephenson have put Indiana’s playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
George Hill
Rodney Stuckey
C.J. Miles
David West
Roy Hibbert
C.J. Watson
Donald Sloan
Luis Scola
Lavoy Allen
Ian Mahinmi
MIAMI – LeBron went home but it could have been much worse for the Heat. It appeared that Houston had signed Chris Bosh until Miami swooped in at the eleventh hour to bring him back. Luol Deng and Danny Granger were brought in to pick up the slack created by the loss of James. Miami is certainly still a playoff-calibur team, but a fifth straight trip to the Finals might be just out of reach. If the Heat meat the Cavs in the postseason, expect to hear about nothing else in the sports world for those two weeks.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Mario Chalmers
Dwyane Wade
Luol Deng
Josh McRoberts
Chris Bosh
Norris Cole
Shannon Brown
Danny Granger
Udonis Haslem
Chris Andersen
MILWAUKEE – A 15-67 record in 2013-2014 gave the Bucks the dubious distinction of being the leagues worst team. In response they gave Jason Kidd the keys to the organization and will hope top draft pick Jabari Parker develops quickly. He’s more of a natural 3, but the Bucks’ lack of depth might force him to start his career at power forward. Milwaukee took a risk giving the GM duties to the non-experienced Kidd, so Parker being a quick learner would do wonders to endear him to an organization and fanbase that hasn’t seen a championship team since the days of Kareem and the Big O.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Kendall Marshall
O.J. Mayo
Jared Dudley
Jabari Parker
Larry Sanders
Jerryd Bayless
Brandon Knight
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Ersan Ilyasova
Zaza Pachulia
NEW YORK – Phil Jackson returns to the place where his career began and will try to turn the floundering Knicks around. He hired his former pupil Derek Fisher to teach his triangle offense, and was able to convince Carmelo Anthony to stay and continue to search for a ring in N.Y. The Knicks swapped point guards and centers with Dallas and will hope the shooting of Jose Calderon and the defense and rebounding of Samuel Dalembert will be a better fit in support of Melo. They’ll have a lot of money coming off the books after this season so they’re probably still a year or two away, but Jackson has a knack for turning superstars with individual talent into leaders on championship teams.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Jose Calderon
Iman Shumpert
Carmelo Anthony
Amare Stoudemire
Samuel Dalembert
Pablo Prigioni
Tim Hardaway Jr.
J.R. Smith
Andrea Bargnani
Jason Smith
ORLANDO – The Magic continue to rebuild and have a roster full of youth. It could turn out to be a great team in the years to come, but they’re not quite ready for playoff basketball yet.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Luke Ridnour
Victor Oladipo
Tobias Harris
Channing Frye
Nikola Vucevic
Elfrid Payton
Evan Fournier
Moe Harkless
Andrew Nicholson
Kyle O’Quinn
PHILADELPHIA – Reread the previous paragraph, just change the word “Magic” to “Sixers.”
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Michael Carter-Williams
K.J. McDaniels
Hollis Thompson
Nerlens Noel
Henry Sims
Tony Wroten
Alexey Shved
Jason Richardson
Luc Mbah a Moute
Arnett Moultrie
TORONTO – The Raptors were one of the biggest surprises in the NBA last season. Kyle Lowry had a career-year and is quietly developing into one of the best point guards in the East. His quickness compliments his squad nicely as Toronto is an extremely athletic team. The Raptors also now have playoff experience and should be able to make a run in the postseason. Bored? YouTube “Terrence Ross dunks.”
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Kyle Lowry
DeMar DeRozan
Terrence Ross
Amir Johnson
Jonas Valanciunas
Greivis Vasquez
Lou Williams
Patrick Patterson
Tyler Hansbrough
Chuck Hayes
WASHINGTON – Last year was the best season the Wiz have had in quite some time. John Wall has become a complete player, and Marcin Gortat is an absolute beast in the paint. In the offseason they added the savvy and experience of Paul Pierce. Expect big things from the Wizards.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
John Wall
Bradley Beal
Paul Pierce
Nene Hilario
Marcin Gortat
Andre Miller
Martell Webster
Drew Gooden
DeJuan Blair
Kris Humphries
Article By Anthony Schiano
