The game has changed and the East, once the bastion of defense, post-ups and uglyball, has begun to develop a smaller, faster look. Who has adapted the best? Who hasn't changed, but will make the playoffs anyway? And does any of it matter with the fearsome developments out West? Aside from that last query, all your questions will be answered herein:
Boston Celtics: If any of the truly smaller, full-court teams can make it into the playoffs, it would be Boston. But that's assuming one of those teams actually makes it. And with Detroit and Charlotte finding happy mediums between the old Eastern defense and the new Eastern offense, Boston remains on shaky ground. A little more bench support, especially in the form of a shooting threat at one of the forward positions, would compliment the changes already made and seal them for a spot next year. But if sophomore sensation Paul Pierce stays healthy and Antoine Walker stays cool, don't count the boys from Beantown out.
Miami Heat: The two-guard spot is worrisome, but hey, the Knicks did it back in '94 with Starks and Hubert Davis. But as soon as a starter or two goes down midway through the season, these guys are dead. Not completely - they'll still make the playoffs, thanks to their front court, but it'll be another season of the same old futility. The Heat have all the right ingredients, but they can't beat whoever comes out of the West. And that of course assumes that Riley can manage this unpredictable bunch of underachievers through the ever- changing East and past their greatest rivals, the New York Knicks.
New Jersey Nets: If their strong preseason is any indication, the normal rules that dictate how to build a winning team don't apply in the Garden State. The Nets, after all, are without the services of Jayson Williams. Their current healthy choices at center are Jim McIlvaine and Gheorghe Muresan. Meanwhile, a third of their active roster has 10 or more years experience, and their viable scoring threats end after Keith Van Horn and Stephon Marbury. All the same, you can't rule them out of anything. If Williams heals quickly, if Kerry Kittles gets healthy and if Kendal Gill finds something resembling his former skills, the team suddenly has a versatile, effective unit. But that only gets them into the first round of the playoffs - at best. And don't forget that the preseason was just the preseason. Anything could happen with the boys from East Rutherford.
New York Knicks: Say, whatever happened to that logjam at point from a few years ago? And why couldn't Derek Harper have imparted some defense onto former Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward before he left? But what's the sense in dreaming? These aren't the Knicks of our middle and high school years. They have a full court offense. They penetrate like nobody's business. There are far fewer whiners in this bunch. And finally they have an actual backup center in Andrew Lang (my apologies to Herb Williams). I'm not talking a title here - especially with Ewing still out - but we know they're playoff bound and not taking many prisoners en route.
Orlando Magic: When your star player this year was the front runner for last year's Most Improved and Sixth Man awards, you can both worry and smile a bit, too. Doc Rivers should remember to smile more than worry - he's got the playground crew of the year playing for him. A bunch of scrappy, up and coming players who are putting the pieces together for a future success. In an abbreviated season, they might just do what their predecessors managed - make the playoffs. But not in a full season. Oh heck, let's say they do, because their just that much of an unknown factor to pull it off, and it would be fun to watch them do it.
Philadelphia 76ers: This team goes as far as Allen Iverson takes them, and with opponents double teaming and Iverson keeping the ball too often (key stat: Philly is 1-8 when The Answer scores over 40 points), that won't be far enough. As the Pacers proved last year, good ol' fashioned defense can stop this team dead in its tracks. They aren't quite big enough to play East Uglyball, and they don't have an established enough running game to compete with the new breed on the Atlantic seaboard. Philly has to be damn careful this year, or they'll be surprised to see themselves sitting on the outside of the playoffs looking in. Note to Sixers management: remember all those rumors that Glenn Rice would be moved again? Look into it.
Washington Wizards: No depth. No defense. No playoffs. That's the likely formula here. Juwan Howard should regain his old form this season, especially with Rod Strickland behind him creating plays and Mitch Richmond taking some of the pressure off of him. But with no real threats - defensively or offensively - from the four and five spots, opponents can still double team any or all of the above mentioned. Congrats Washington: you're the Charlotte of three years ago.
Atlanta Hawks: Where have you gone, Dikembe? For that matter, where is that wonderful mix of spot-up backcourt shooting and tall, but limber, front court play that always seemed just one piece of the puzzle away from a breakout season? The newer looking Hawks have some nice depth to their guards, and rookie Jason Terry is a gem of a non-lottery draw. Lenny Wilkins will have his hands full with Isaiah Rider, but if that doesn't distract the team too much, if Dikembe can find that beautiful right hook again, and if Manning and LaPhonso Ellis stay healthy to give the front three some depth, look for Atlanta to make a run deep into the playoffs.
Charlotte Hornets: With the depth and speed added at the end of last season and in the off season, really the only thing that can stop this team is itself: can Anthony Mason and Derrick Coleman exist happily together? They better, or else the team will be holding a players-only meeting mid-season after which one or both demands a trade and breaks apart this interesting mix that was assembled over the last three years. Or they might grudgingly get along, share some court time, one gets injured, and the team still only pulls the seventh seed. I'm somewhat wary of singing this team's praises when their front court is weaker overall than you want a team in the bump-and-grind East to be. Elden Campbell will need to be at least along the lines of Bill Laimbeer, and certainly not like Matt Geiger, to ensure this team's rolling along as they should.
Chicago Bulls: Can you say cellar dweller? It's not just that the team is rebuilding in a major way, it's that they've become the Clippers of the East - no matter what kind of a team they start to build up, they're surrounded by all these teams that are just too far ahead. Heck, the Cavs might even put something decent together. Regardless, the Bulls are in a massive rebuilding stage for at least another two years, even though the city and the management seems to be hanging their franchise on Elton Brand. I just pray someone has the foresight not to hang it too hard for at least a couple of years - to jump sports briefly, let's hope Brand doesn't become the next Ryan Leaf.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Want a quick lesson in how to throw off the balance of a professional basketball team? After creating that trio of young, up-and-coming stars over the last two years, Cleveland didn't shore up their front line in the draft, or trim down Shawn Kemp in the off-season. Instead, they drafted a brand new backcourt. Okay, I wouldn't have passed up Trajan Langdon or Andre Miller in all likelihood, but what do you do if none of your center-type people are healthy, as has been the case for the last five years in the Mistake by the Lake? Miss the playoffs, that's what. Kemp is emerging as the go-to guy they wanted him to be when they traded for him, and Danny Ferry is making a push for the Sixth Man award through the first six games, but the postseason is doubtful at best.
Detroit Pistons: Grant Hill. Jerry Stackhouse. Christian Laettner. If the first two find some way to mesh on offense, the last two keep their egos in check, and the third just stays in one piece, this team will practically be forced to achieve. Sure their center position is up in the air after the unexpected retirement of Bison Dele - but whose (save San Antonio's) isn't? Be more worried about the point position in the Motor City. But even that shouldn't matter if the terrible trio above creates for themselves and each other as we know they can. The Pistons have a nice mix of bangers up front and scorers throughout. All they need is a bit of luck and maybe Bill Laimbeer as a rebounding coach. But with the Central shaping up into a dogfight already, Detroit will have to get their acts together and keep 'em together fast.
Indiana Pacers: This might just be the season that breaks Indy. If things don't go well, they'll be looking to pull some major deals. Bird leaves after this season, and that will probably signal some changes is this aging team as well. Indy never quite seemed to put all the pieces together: when their defense worked wonders, they couldn't quite score enough. When their offense nailed trey after trey and lay-in after lay-in, the defense was just a step too slow in the later going. Part of it was their focus on their stars - Mark Jackson, Reggie Miller, Rik Smits - and their opponents' ability to pick that game plan apart. Smits was injured and that forced the team to look elsewhere, and Miller has been willing to sit more as of late, but it's probably too little too late. Bird and Indy are on their farewell tours.
Milwaukee Bucks: The dark horse of the East this year, Milwaukee has a mix of vets and younger players that looks very nice on paper. Don't be surprised if they're in the thick of it come playoff time, what with fading Indiana and Atlanta, and confused Detroit. The key worries: can they adjust to George Karl's style of coaching? Will his defensive mindset survive in an increasingly running-oriented East? And will hotheads like J.R. Reid keep their cool and be able to gel together into a team? There are no real superstars here anymore, or yet in the case of Ray Allen, but the team could be a star if they and their coach are all on the same page.
Toronto Raptors: When did the front office up north actually get their act together? Toronto suddenly has a strong front court, key swingmen, spot players like Doug Christie and John Thomas and the greatest tandem since peanut butter and jelly: Vince "Highlight Film" Carter and Tracy McGrady. This team is headed for the postseason from day one... and they ain't sneaking into the eighth spot either. Plus, between Carter, McGrady and Muggsey Bogues, this team is a marketing dream. Toronto is set to become the team of the next four years at the very least, as they should be perennial playoff makers who will just keep getting better.
Copyright © 1999, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 128, Number 9, November 12, 1999
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