NBA Preview: Atlantic Division

(Teams listed in order of projected finish)

Boston Celtics: It was a tough season to be a Celtics fan last year. Many thought this would be the year the Celtics' young players broke though and made the team competitive again. This occurred in the case of Al Jefferson, who emerged as one of league's better low-post scorers, but the rest of the team struggled. Paul Pierce was often injured and only played in 47 games and as a result the Celtics finished with the worst record in the East. Frustration increased when the draft lottery left Boston with the fifth overall pick, putting an end to the dreams of Greg Oden or Kevin Durant in Celtics green.

In contrast, Celtics fans could not be more optimistic about this season thanks to the additions of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Garnett is a future Hall of Famer and is one of the best all-around players in the game. Allen can shoot the lights out and should get a lot of open looks with Pierce and Garnett drawing double teams. Boston's new Big Three will be incredibly difficult to defend and they should make the Celtics one of the East's top teams. The one downside to the trade is the resulting lack of depth. The starting lineup will be rounded out by Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins. Perkins shouldn't have to do much except play solid defense and rebound. Rondo's poor shooting could be a liability, as it will allow defenses to sag off him and double team Pierce, Allen, or Garnett, but he may be able to make up for it with his defense and passing. Other significant additions were James Posey and Eddie House. Posey is valuable as a fourth scoring option and as a lock-down defender, plus his playoff experience could prove useful, as he is the only current Celtic with a ring. House is listed as a point guard, but he is really a shooter. He should be able to knock down some open threes and keep defenses honest.

The Celtics should be one of the top teams in the East, but it's hard to see them finishing with the best record because of the lack of depth. This will likely cost them several games throughout the year and it's unrealistic to predict much more than 50 wins. That said, 50 wins should be enough to win the Atlantic. While this team should be fearsome in the playoffs, one has to wonder if the Big Three will be worn down from the regular season. There are also major questions about Doc Rivers ability to effectively run this team. Talent should prevail in the regular season, but in the playoffs, coaching has a much bigger impact. Meanwhile, there will be a lot of pressure on Boston to produce this year. The Big Three are all over 30 and it's hard to know how much they have left in the tank. They'll all be good this year, but if the Celtics are going to win a title with this group, it's going to have to be in the next 2-3 years.

Toronto Raptors: After securing the first overall pick and using it on Andrea Bargnani, the Raptors surprised many by winning the Atlantic. Despite getting ousted in the first round by New Jersey, it was a very successful season. Chris Bosh improved and made the All-Star team for the first time, T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon were a potent tandem at point guard, and Jorge Garbajosa and Anthony Parker proved effective in their limited roles. Sam Mitchell won Coach of the Year, though there were questions about his job security in the off-season.

The Raptors return with most of last year's team intact. The biggest moves were the departure of Morris Peterson and the subsequent addition of Jason Kapono. Mitchell had clearly lost faith in Peterson, who had career lows in games started (12) and minutes per game (21.4), but replacing him with Kapono is very questionable. Kapono is coming off an excellent season in Miami, where he shot above 50% from downtown, but it's hard to see him maintaining that percentage in Toronto. He was able to shoot so well because of the open looks he got that come with playing alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade. It's unlikely that Bosh can find him as many good shots, plus we've seen this from Miami shooters before (see: Jones, Damon). Kapono can still stretch the defense, as he is a fine shooter, but Toronto almost certainly overpaid for him.

Despite Boston's improvement, Toronto has a real shot at winning the Atlantic. While they didn't make any big moves, their best chance at improvement comes from within. Bosh is still young and getting better and he could take a big step forward this year. Bargnani has a lot of room to improve and he should benefit from more consistent playing time. The Atlantic will not come as easily as it did last year, but moderate improvement from their young players should be enough for Toronto to put up a fight for the division.

New Jersey Nets: Despite high expectations, the Nets barely made the playoffs last year, thanks to a late-season hot streak. Injuries played a large role, as Richard Jefferson only played in only 55 games and Nenad Krstic managed only 26 before he required knee surgery. The Krstic injury left New Jersey with Jason Collins, Clifford Robinson, Mikkie Moore, and Josh Boone as their big men. Collins played excellent defense, but did nothing else, while Robinson and Boone did little of note. Moore played fairly well and became the latest big man to get a substantial contract purely because of Jason Kidd. In the backcourt, Kidd and Vince Carter had strong seasons, but the lack of depth and a weak frontcourt left the Nets a .500 team.

There was a great deal of talk about blowing this team up when the Nets were struggling, but making the playoffs seems to have convinced them that the Kidd-Carter-Jefferson trio can get them past the second round. As a result, Vince Carter was re-signed and the team made a few other minor additions. Jamaal Magloire was added to shore up the frontcourt, which sounds good on paper, but "on paper" is the only place Magloire has been good in the last several years. The team also drafted Sean Williams, who should give the Nets good shot-blocking and defense and ought to catch some lobs from Kidd for alley-oops. Moore left for Sacramento in the off-season, but he shouldn't be missed too much. Eddie House also departed and the Nets will likely miss his offense.

With their off-season moves, the Nets have more options in their frontcourt, but it's hard to say how much better it makes them. Krstic was looking like a very good talent before he went down last season, but none of the other big men offer much. Magloire is very slow and doesn't seem to fit the Nets' offense, and Collins, Boone, and Williams are all defensive-minded players who are liabilities on offense. For this team to make the playoffs again, it will rely on Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson to all stay healthy and carry the scoring load. Another key could be Marcus Williams, who will need to fill in at times for an aging Kidd. If they all stay healthy, the Nets could have a shot at the division, but they are likely looking at another .500 season.

New York Knicks: Last season's Knicks had a great deal of talent on paper, but was unable to produce. Oh wait, that could describe any Knicks team under Isiah Thomas. While they stayed competitive for a while, apparently enough so for Thomas to receive an extension, injuries led the Knicks to a terrible stretch run and they finished with only 33 wins. One of the few bright spots was David Lee, who averaged a double-double in points and rebounds despite primarily coming off the bench. The rest of the team struggled to mesh on offense and staggered on defense.

Arguably the biggest move on draft day was the Knicks' acquisition of Zach Randolph from Portland for Channing Frye and Steve Francis. Based on talent, this appears to be a coup for the Knicks, but then what Isiah Thomas trade didn't seem to favor them on paper? Frye and Francis is very little to give up for a young low-post scorer who averaged 23.6 PPG and 10.1 RPG last season, but it does very little to improve the Knicks' season outlook (and one has to wonder why Portland was willing to make the deal without getting back more talent). This would be a great move, were it not for the fact that the Knicks already have a great low-post scorer in Eddy Curry. If both play to their strengths, they will get in each other's way, and neither has the mid-range game or the passing ability to complement the other. Both are liabilities defensively, which will lead to easy points for opposing big men, as well as foul trouble for the Knicks. It's very hard to call this a bad deal because the Knicks gave up so little, but unless they turn around and trade Curry for someone who's a better fit, it's hard to see this trade making the Knicks any better.

Like last year's Knicks, this year's version will lack a pure point guard, play poor defense, and take painfully bad shots. There is enough talent there that they will be capable of getting hot and beating almost anyone on a given night, but most of the team, their best bet will be to outgun teams, which is difficult when every guard on the roster would rather hoist a contested 40-foot jumper than pound the ball inside to one of the Knicks' big men. This team's only chance is for Isiah instill some kind of brilliant gameplan which utilizes all their talent (unlikely) and get all his players to buy into it (extremely unlikely). Sound realistic? Didn't think so.

Philadelphia 76ers: Coming into last season, the Sixers were determined to make a return to the playoffs with Allen Iverson and Chris Webber. It quickly became clear that this wasn't meant to be and the team decided to bail on the season. GM Billy King has been unable to figure out how to build a successful team around Iverson, despite the fact that they had that blueprint laid out for them in 2001, when Iverson was surrounded with good defenders and rebounders, who let Iverson do the bulk of the scoring and did all the dirty work for him. Instead the team tried to add scorers, such as Keith Van Horn, Glenn Robinson, and Webber. As a result, the Sixers were left with a frustrated Iverson, an overpaid and immobile Webber, several overpaid role players, and a few young players with upside. Trading Iverson was the only way to salvage the franchise, and so Iverson was dealt to Denver for Andre Miller, Joe Smith, and two first round draft picks. Miller, Smith, and the breakout performance of Andre Iguodala helped the Sixers to a strong finish...maybe too strong. The Sixers finished with 35 wins and the 12th overall draft pick, instead of the high lottery pick Sixers fans had hoped for.

The off-season was very quiet for the Sixers. King intended to trade some of his draft picks, but nothing ever materialized and the Sixers wound up keeping them all. The draft netted them Thaddeus Young, Jason Smith, Derrick Byars, and Herbert Hill. Young is extremely athletic, a capable shooter, and has a ton of upside, though he seems awfully similar to last year's first round pick, Rodney Carney, who had a very poor rookie season. Smith has the chance to be a good scoring power forward down the road, but he would not crack the rotation of most teams as a rookie. Byars and Hill have the chance to be solid role players, and Hill should be particularly interesting to watch, as he had a very strong senior season at Providence. Other than the draft, the only significant move was the trade that sent Steven Hunter and Bobby Jones to Denver for Reggie Evans and Ricky Sanchez. Evans is an elite rebounder, but does nothing else. He'll compliment Samuel Dalembert well and shore up the Sixers' rebounding woes, but he has no business starting on an NBA team.

The Sixers are in rebuilding mode and could well make a run for the worst record in the league, but they could at least be fun to watch. Miller does a very good job running the fastbreak and the Sixers have great athletes to put around him, in Iguodala, Carney, and Young. Iguodala's development will be key, as he will try to prove he can be the team's primary scorer. Another player to watch is Louis Williams, a lightning-quick, Iverson wannabe who showed some signs last year and dominated Summer League play. For the Sixers to succeed this year, it would take a monster season from Iguodala and just about every Sixers prospect taking a major step forward. Don't count on it.