Atlantic Division So Far...
Nov 15, 2013 18:37:42 GMT
Post by jinx on Nov 15, 2013 18:37:42 GMT
Boston Celtics
PG Pablo Prigioni
SG Jarrett Jack
SF LeBron James
PF Thomas Robinson
C Tyson Chandler
The Celtics got lucky with the draft order and grabbed what will probably be the best player in the league straight away. Any team with LeBron James will be a good team but even just within the division winning will be extremely difficult. Chandler is a defensive Center that should help against the likes of Horford and Howard in those star studded division matchups. Robinson is a cheap acquisition which is no surprise given James and Chandler take up a fair chunk of cap space already. He's got a lot of potential and playing with two experienced players should help hide his flaws initially though there will be some growing pains.
The Celtics have added Prigioni and Jack in the backcourt. Truth be told this is not as bad as it could have been having not taken a backcourt player in the first three/almost four rounds. Prigioni is old but his contract is incredibly cheap when you consider he's more than capable of taking care of the ball, running an offense and perhaps most importantly to this team, playing defense. Jack is a player the Celtics were thrilled to get. He's a good scorer and just about as good a passer and ball handler that you will find at the two guard position.
Overall: This team is LeBron James and that's not a bad thing. Few will stop him from going off. That has a knock on effect elsewhere and Jarrett Jack could have a big season if he can shoot the ball as well as he has all throughout his career. Prigioni is an unknown quantity but his defensive ability shouldn't see him have any major issues. Any offense he provides is a bonus. One thing this team looks great at is ball control. Chandler aside, we're looking at four good to great ball handlers for their positions. This team could be legitimate contenders or an average playoff team depending on how Chandler plays.
The Celtics have added Prigioni and Jack in the backcourt. Truth be told this is not as bad as it could have been having not taken a backcourt player in the first three/almost four rounds. Prigioni is old but his contract is incredibly cheap when you consider he's more than capable of taking care of the ball, running an offense and perhaps most importantly to this team, playing defense. Jack is a player the Celtics were thrilled to get. He's a good scorer and just about as good a passer and ball handler that you will find at the two guard position.
Overall: This team is LeBron James and that's not a bad thing. Few will stop him from going off. That has a knock on effect elsewhere and Jarrett Jack could have a big season if he can shoot the ball as well as he has all throughout his career. Prigioni is an unknown quantity but his defensive ability shouldn't see him have any major issues. Any offense he provides is a bonus. One thing this team looks great at is ball control. Chandler aside, we're looking at four good to great ball handlers for their positions. This team could be legitimate contenders or an average playoff team depending on how Chandler plays.
Brooklyn Nets
PG Tony Parker
SG Tony Allen
SF Kevin Durant
PF Amir Johnson
C Al Horford
On paper this is the team to beat right now in the division, maybe even the conference. Parker has issues but he can score and if they find a safe pair of hands for the shooting guard position then turnovers shouldn't be a big deal. Durant is their franchise star and given his age sets this team up for a long long time. Horford is a good addition at Center and good value for where he was drafted. The big question is how well they play together but on paper this team looks like the real deal.
Overall - Hard not to love this team on paper. It's a great mixture of scoring and defense. One potential issue is ball handling. If Allen and Parker start in the backcourt this team may give up a lot of possessions. So they'll need to watch that otherwise they'll compete for the conference.
Overall - Hard not to love this team on paper. It's a great mixture of scoring and defense. One potential issue is ball handling. If Allen and Parker start in the backcourt this team may give up a lot of possessions. So they'll need to watch that otherwise they'll compete for the conference.
New York Knicks
PG Kyle Lowry
SG Jordan Crawford
SF David Lee
PF Andrea Bargnani
PF Andrea Bargnani
C Dwight Howard
Bench
Howard is best big man in the league so this team will be good, we know that. Lee is also a nice addition but the question is just how far can you go with a team that relies so heavily on Dwight Howard? Lee and Lowry are not going to set this team apart from the rest. We're looking at a playoff team right here but they will need to get creative to be more than that. A lot will depend on Lowry because at this early stage you know this team will be zoned.
Overall - Any team with Andrea Bargnani starting has a glaring weakness. Perhaps Howard can hide him and let him do what he does best but I'm not convinced. Lee moving to SF is not ideal also it won't take long before Lee earns the starting PF spot and Bargnani is benched. Lee will get burned by smaller, quicker forwards in the league.
Overall - Any team with Andrea Bargnani starting has a glaring weakness. Perhaps Howard can hide him and let him do what he does best but I'm not convinced. Lee moving to SF is not ideal also it won't take long before Lee earns the starting PF spot and Bargnani is benched. Lee will get burned by smaller, quicker forwards in the league.
Philadelphia 76ers
PG Eric Bledsoe
SG Dwayne Wade
SF Andrei Kirilenko
PF Kevin Seraphin
C Tiago Splitter
Right now this is probably the weakest team in the division. That's not a knock on the Sixers or their GM but when you look at the rosters so far it's hard not to say that. That's the result of picking in the middle of the draft. It really is the worst place to draft if you're hoping to win. Can five teams in one division make the playoffs? It's a possibility but the Sixers could find themselves in that middle ground in the league before long. Wade is nice trade chip and they could use that to go a different road if they wish. Cant help but feel they could have gotten Splitter later in the draft. He's good, don't get me wrong, but I would have went with Ibaka instead at that pick for a number of reasons. I like Seraphin though and I think given how this team's cap is shaping up, they may be able to add value in the later rounds when people look to avoid those larger contracts.
Overall - Wasn't a huge fan of this roster at the last update but that's changed. Kirilenko and Bledsoe really were good picks. AK47 may not be the same player he was so that's not ideal but he brings great size, versatility and of course defense. Bledsoe is a guy you can't help but like. Big issue is who plays point guard and that's going to hurt because Bledsoe isn't really a starting PG quality player. He just won't run the offense well enough. That will hold this team back.
Overall - Wasn't a huge fan of this roster at the last update but that's changed. Kirilenko and Bledsoe really were good picks. AK47 may not be the same player he was so that's not ideal but he brings great size, versatility and of course defense. Bledsoe is a guy you can't help but like. Big issue is who plays point guard and that's going to hurt because Bledsoe isn't really a starting PG quality player. He just won't run the offense well enough. That will hold this team back.
Toronto Raptors
PG Chris Paul
SG Bradley Beal
SF Nic Batum
PF
C Nikola Vucevic
Other Terrence Ross
Other Terrence Ross
This team looks the opposite of Boston. They've gone with filling the backcourt and there's no better player in the league to do that with than Chris Paul. He could be the best player in the league in the right system and given that PG is such a diffuclt position to fill, having the best one in the league makes you real good. Beal gives them a cheap stud that should become one of the star shooting guards in the league in time. It may take a season or two but this will be the best backcourt in the league if they stick together. Batum is not a player I particularly like and I think they may regret not picking a big man at that spot. Their next pick is a long way away and really at the rate big men are going off the board they are going to be really weak inside. That could really hurt their defense and rebounding.
Overall - Interestingly this team has started to go down the youth road and it makes sense. After taking Beal, this team probably moved from contender status to potential contedner one or two years down the line. CP3 may leave next summer so that also probably helped the Raptors decide to go young. They are still incredibly weak inside and they are going to get ripped to shreds in there unless they find some solid veterans.
Overall - Interestingly this team has started to go down the youth road and it makes sense. After taking Beal, this team probably moved from contender status to potential contedner one or two years down the line. CP3 may leave next summer so that also probably helped the Raptors decide to go young. They are still incredibly weak inside and they are going to get ripped to shreds in there unless they find some solid veterans.