10)        Atlanta Hawks

Photo source

Last year, the Hawks were better on court than they were on paper. This year we’ll see that again. Joe Johnson stayed, they signed Josh Powell and Etan Thomas to shore up their middle and (hopefully) are close to giving Jamal Crawford a contract extension.  If Crawford isn’t signed to an extension or is traded, we’d question leaving them here at number 10. Crawford was a huge difference for this Hawks team last season and it’d be a shame for them not to reward him with the extension he wants. The Hawks do have the tools on the court to be one of the top teams in the East, but we’ve got a few questions of the front office… If Joe Johnson wanted to stay in Atlanta all along, why did you then make JJ the highest paid player in the NBA? A guy who realistically isn’t one of the top 10 players in the league. Before that, they drafted rookie shooting guard Jordan Crawford who is going to give them more firepower off the bench, but plays the same role as Jamal Crawford whom they are now struggling to come to terms with on an extension. It’s all just a little odd for us. But you can’t go past the crop of talent, Coach Mike Woodson, the youth and the improved front-court (much needed after they were dominated in the paint during the playoffs last year). If they can figure out the Jamal Crawford situation then incorporate Josh Powell & Etan Thomas properly, they are top 5 in the East.

 

9)         Dallas Mavericks

Photo Source

3MW regularly jokes that Dallas is ‘Dad’s Army’ or ‘the team where talented players go to die’. But let’s be honest, Tyson Chandler to replace the aging Erick Dampier and the continued development of Roddy Beaubois are some really positive signs.  Not to mention Caron Butler, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and some guy called Dirk. That’s a lot for any team to handle. You get the feeling that people are overlooking Dirk, but the guy averaged 25 points a game last season and is one of the greatest offensive players in NBA history. IF Dirk can continue to average around 25 a game, by the end of the 10/11 season, he will have surpassed Gary Payton, Larry Bird AND Clyde Drexler on the all-time scoring list, he’s currently at 27th all time. We also think that having Caron Butler for the whole season will make a lot of difference to the team’s chemistry. Caron is easily in the top 10 of underrated players in the NBA and with the amount of work he’s put in on the off-season, he’ll be a huge factor for them in 2010/11.

8 )         Milwaukee Bucks

Photo Source

By the end of last season, it was difficult to not be impressed by the Bucks. Now with Andrew Bogut back healthy, John Salmons re-signed & the additions of Corey Magette and Drew Gooden in the offseason, there’s plenty to be excited about. Milwaukee also added a couple of solid rooks in Tiny Gallon & Larry Sanders. They lost Luke Ridnour to free agency, but picking up veteran Keyon Dooling to back up Jennings is another good signing. We’re also (slowly) becoming fans of Scott Skiles as a coach. He’s a hard nut to crack, and we’ll be the first to admit that following his tenure in Phoenix and then Chicago, we really weren’t a fan of Skiles as a coach. But he’s really become more of a players coach and has the respect of the guys on the Bucks team. It’s great to see! When you look at the additions and the moves made, the Bucks get an A on their 3MW report card for the off-season.

7)         Utah Jazz

Photo source

We’re saying it right here…this Utah team was very good last year. BUT, when you drop Boozer (who’s mind seemed to be on his upcoming free agency and not his game at times last season), the streaky Kyle Korver and drop Wes Matthews – then you add Al Jefferson, Raja Bell, Gordon Hayward, give Paul Millsap the starting PF spot and you still have the best (yeah, we said it) point guard in the game in Deron Williams. The Jazz by seasons end could be one of the top 5 teams in the NBA. And aswell as all the talent they have on the floor, you have to give a lot of credit to the Jazz coaching (Jerry Sloan), which is some of the best in the business. The Jazz are a winning team who we think could make the Western Conference Finals in 10-11.  

6)         Chicago Bulls

Photo Source

The Bulls cleaned house to make a run at the Superfriends, but instead added Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, CJ Watson & Kyle Korver to their existing core of Deng, Rose & Noah. They did lose a pair of 3MW favourites in Brad Miller and Kirk Hinrich, but it’s no question the Bulls have improved already. They are much younger, faster & more talented than a year ago and we expect Rose to have the sort of year that puts him in the Williams/Paul/Rondo discussions. Rose has been tearing up the International competition in Turkey and even though we liked Vinny Del Negro, the Bulls are going to be better under Coach Tibbs. That coaching appointment could prove really significant in time. Boozer is out with a broken hand for 8 weeks, meaning he’ll return by early December. It’s a small speedhump in a long season, and we are really excited about Chicago for 10-11.  Let’s go Bulls!

5)         Oklahoma City Thunder

Photo Source

Now….this team scared the pants of the LA Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.  Even Kobe Bryant with all his (albeit justified) ego said after the Lakers won game 6 (and the series) in OKC that this Thunder team ‘has some incredible players’. They are the team everybody loves to love, because they are a group of young guys, who are talented, play hard, and have a veteran demeanour. Their leader (KD) is a humble, freakishly talented guy who killed it for Team USA in Turkey, showing he was the best player at the World Championships. Add to that the sharp-shooting Daequan Cook, centre Cole Aldrich via the draft, and add another year of experience to that core of Durant, Green, Westbrook, Harden, Nick Collison & Thabo Sefalosha. Not to mention Coach Scotty Brooks and Oklahoma having possibly the best fans in the NBA – this OKC team is going to be awesome in 2010/11. Consider us on the bandwagon.

4)         Orlando Magic

Photo Source

That other team in Florida. Yeah, the Magic. That’s them. They won 59 games last year, are bringing back the core group (other than Matt Barnes) and added some veteran talent in Chris Duhon and Quentin Richardson. They have already said that they intend to start Brandon Bass at the 4 spot and try to have more of an inside presence this coming season. Bass is an underrated, bruising PF (and was under-utilised last year) who will create a lot of space in the paint for Dwight. The outside shooting ability of this team is probably the best in the league. Adding Q-Rich to the mix only adds more firepower. The Magic are STILL one of the best teams in the East and we think they’ve learned their lessons of 09-10 where their interior presence of only Dwight was exploited in the playoffs.  You gotta have bigs to win, and playing Marcin Gortat only 15 mins a game, and Brandon Bass only 6 mins a game in the playoffs isn’t good rotations.  If Stan Van Gundy has learned that, then the Magic could even challenge the Heat. 

3)         Miami Heat

Photo Source

Love it or hate it, the Heat will be the most exciting team in the NBA next season. They have youth, as well as talented veterans and have 2 of the NBA’s top 5 players. Does this mean Championship? We could be wrong, but we don’t think so. They will clean house in the regular season, we’re talking 60 wins here. Possibly even 65. But when it comes to the playoffs, the Heat don’t have the toughness, depth or coaching (at this stage, but we love Coach Spo at 3MW) to take out the grand prize. It’ll be fun to see what they do in the regular season, how teams react and what combinations the Heat go with on the floor. Whilst we think that Wade, Lebron, Bosh + any two other guys would wail on most teams…their bench is a little suspect. IF Mike Miller comes off the bench, he is going to be huge for them. But after Mike, it’s Joel Anthony, Mario Chalmers, James Jones, and so on. For us here at 3MW, those guys are unproven. Juwan Howard and Big Z could prove useful, but are both getting on in age too. The Superfriends will be enough to win a lot of games, but it’s going to be how Coach Spo manages those rotations and combinations on the floor that’s going to be the difference in the Miami Heat’s season. 

2)         Boston Celtics

Photo Source

Celts ahead of the Heat you ask?!? Yes. They kept Paul Pierce, they kept Ray Allen, kept Marquis Daniels, kept Nate Robinson and signed Jermaine O’Neal AND Shaquille O’Neal. Couldn’t get better back ups for KG & Perk than a pair of big O’Neals! Add to the core coming back the obscure signing of the gun-slinging Von Wafer, the two quality young guys via the draft in Avery Bradley & Luke Harangody and the C’s also kept Doc Rivers at the helm. Oh and can we mention again that they added one of the greatest centres of all time in Shaq? Even if he only plays 10 minutes a game, he’ll be a force. We’re just sayin’….we’d take the C’s above any other team in the East over 7 games. Normally, we’d say ‘insert comment here about Celtics being arrogant, old and busted’, but we think this season they are going to be DEEPER than last year. So even if there are a few injuries, they’ll have the depth, talent, coaching & experience to be atop the East.

1)         LA Lakers

Photo Source

Hard to go past the champs. Phil Jackson is back. Fisher is back. They did lose Jordan Farmar & Josh Powell, but picked up Steve Blake, Theo Ratliff & Matt Barnes. Kobe is still only 31 years old and Gasol, Odom, Artest, Barnes & Blake are all 30. They aren’t exactly the OKC Thunder, but they aren’t old-timers, either. You look at the scoring ability of this team at every position and that’s hard to match up with. Not to mention, the defensive 5 they can put on the floor of Fisher, Kobe, Artest, Barnes & Pau would possibly be the best defensive team in the league. And the benefit for the Lakers is that their best defenders are also some of their best OFFENSIVE players. You have your best guys on the floor at both ends and coaches don’t have to sub offense for defense when you have Kobe (27.0ppg), Pau (18.3ppg) and Ron (11.0ppg) out there. There’s no reason that this Lakers team couldn’t compete all the way to the NBA Finals for the next 2 seasons.