NBA Preview: Southeast Division
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by The Beast
This is part two of a seven part, NBA Preview, where I will breakdown all six NBA divisions, the playoffs, and season awards. So without further ado here is the Southeast Division previews.
While, the Wizards and Heat seem to be the popular picks to win the Southeast Division title, do not sleep on the Orlando Magic. They are still a young and improving team, but their offseason acquisition of Rashard Lewis and hiring of Stan Van Gundy were two moves that will make all the difference. As all-star center Dwight Howard continues to dominate the low post, he will attract more and more double teams. With a legitimate running mate and shooting threat, in Rashard Lewis, Howard will get more single coverage in the post. If they choose to double Howard, Lewis and other shooters, J.J. Redick and Hedo Turkoglou, should get wide open shots. The development of second year guard J.J. Redick will be interesting to watch and the Magic could go really far if he is able to contribute significant minutes. The team will be a legitimate contender for the Eastern Conference title if point guard Jameer Nelson can continue making strides and improve his assist to turnover ratio. The hiring of former Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy was a brilliant move by Magic management. As coach of the Heat, Van Gundy took the team to the Eastern Conference finals but was kicked out as head coach by a zelous Pat Riley.
I really think this team could have gone deep into the playoffs last year but unfortunately, Gilbert Arenas got hurt just before the playoffs. If "Agent Zero" can stay healthy, than the Wizards are one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. Their backcourt of Arenas and All-Start Caron Butler is more than capable of single-handily leading the Wizards into the playoffs. dangerous. Scoring is one of their major assets, but if they want to make a serious run at the NBA Finals than their defense must dramatically improve. As long as Arenas and Butler stay healthy, the Wiz are a lock for the playoffs.
3. Miami Heat
It seems like forever since Dwayne Wade and company won the NBA title but in reality, it was just two years ago. What makes me skeptical about this year's team is their age and lack of depth. Yes, Dwyane Wade is more than good but guys like Shaquille O'Neal, Gary Payton, Jason Williams, and Ricky Davis, are starting to get up there in age. If the role players, Shaq, Davis, Haslem, and Williams can provide consistent scoring and play well defensively than the Heat has a chance to win the Southeast Division. If they don't get any production than Pat Riley might want to book a plane ticket to New Jersey for the NBA draft Lottery.
The Hawks have a lot of potential and some nice young players in Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Al Horford, but they are still a few years away before they will be able to compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.It will be an encouraging sign for Hawks fans if they team can play more consistently, especially on the defense. As long as the defense improves than a playoff run isn't completely out of the question.
Over the past few season, the Bobcats have drafted some pretty average talent in Emeka Okafor, Ryamond Felton, Shaun May, and Adam Morrison. All of these guys are yong but from a development standpoint, they have probably peaked. They did add former Warriors guard Jason Richardson to help with the scoring, but in the long run it wasn't what this franchise needed.
