Atlantic Division Standings 1/27/09
1. Boston Celtics 37-9
2. Philadelphia 76ers 21-22
3. New Jersey Nets 20-25
4. New York Knicks 19-25
5. Toronto Raptors 18-28
Boston Celtics
The defending NBA Champions entered the season with their core still intact. They lost James Posey to New Orleans and P.J. Brown to retirement, but the Big 3 is still there and the young guys lead by Rajon Rondo get better every game. The Cel! tics started out red hot showing no signs of a championship hangover. They hit a rough patch where they lost 7 of 9 and everyone began to write them off. Analysts started saying the Cavaliers and Magic were better in the Eastern Conference. Those guys are once again singing a different tune right now as Boston has won their last 8 games, including a blowout win against Orlando. Expect the Celtics to continue rolling throughout the season, with a few setbacks mainly on west coast trips. The Celtics would like to find some length for the front line and I think they will add someone like a Joe Smith. Stephon Marbury seems headed to Boston if the Knicks ever release him, but I would expect him to take the Sam Cassell role from last season. Especially considering how Eddie House has been playing as of late. The Celtics still look like the NBA's best team and the favorite to win it all again.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers had high expectations entering this season after adding PF Elton Brand this past offseason. Things did not work out very well early on resulting in head coach Maurice Cheeks losing his job. I didn't like this move because Cheeks is a great coach and I thought his firing was premature. Success does not just happen overnight and I believe Cheeks would have gotten his team together by this point. I do not think they are better off without him whatsoever. Andre Miller runs the show and when he is off his game this team struggles. The Sixers are hot right now winning 8 of their last 10 and ! should be playing in the postseason. If not, it will be a huge disappointment.
New Jersey Nets
The Nets began to clean house at the trade deadline dealing PG Jason Kidd to Dallas. This offseason NJ then dealt SF Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee. SG Vince Carter remains, but trade rumors have swirled around him as well. The story of the Nets is the development of PG Devin Harris and rookie C Brook Lopez. Harris is averaging over 21 points per game and dishing out assists left and r! ight. Harris has great speed and has really stepped up into a ! leadersh ip role on this club. Lopez is becoming a great rebounder and has the looks of a top-tier center down the line. The Nets core is young and they are overachieving and are in playoff contention. Expect this team to continue to improve down the stretch, but I wouldn't say they are a playoff team unless they add firepower before the trade deadline.
New York Knicks
The Knicks are not in last place, that is an accomplishment for this franchise. Especially considering they dealt leading scorers Jamal C! rawford and Zach Randolph. The Knicks got a great coach in Mike D-Antoni and he has made the best of the little he has. Donnie Walsh helped shake up the roster with those two big trades and bringing in a versatile player in Al Harrington. Trading Crawford allowed G Wilson Chandler to develop into a solid scorer. The Knicks have some nice pieces, but not enough to make the playoffs. They need to continue to build and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw another trade or two out of Donnie Walsh.
Toronto Raptors
Disaster. The one word summary for the ! Raptors season. An offseason trade of G T.J. Ford for C Jermaine O'Neal has not made Toronto the contender they were supposed to become. O'Neal continues to battle injuries and has not complemented Bosh as well as expected when he has played. Chris Bosh has played like one of the NBA's best players, but he has done it mostly alone. Former #1 overall pick Andrea Bargnani has become a much better player, but it has not been enough. G Anthony Parker has struggled and PG Jose Calderon has battled injury. The Raptors fired head coach Sam Mitchell very early in the season and I think that move killed this team's chances. I think it is always a bonehead move to fire a coach before the halfway point of a season. In fact, I do not like the firing of a coach during the season unless he is affecting chemistry negatively. That was not the case, Toronto just needed a scapegoat. Ownership took the cowardly way out. Toronto is cooked, you will not see them this postseason.
