08/09 NBA Preview: Southeast Division

(Here's the Atlantic Division Preview)

Southeast Division

Charlotte Bobcats, 5th



Now in their fifth year as a franchise, it's really time for the Bobcats to shed the expansion team label. Five years is a good amount of time in pro sports. The Marlins had already won two World Series or something by their fifth year. The Bobcats need to have some kind of run eventually to establish themselves as an actual professional franchise. Sadly, for the fans of this team, assuming they're out there, 08/09 won't be the year that they do that. Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson are both All-Stars but they also both play the same position. It's really pushing it, putting Wallace at the 4 and it just increases the already almost certain possiblity that he'll get some crazy injury at some point of the season. Really, though, the problem lies at the top. Michael Jordan, Nelly and Bob Johnson just have other priorities.



This team needs some kind of leadership to shake things up, in the boardroom and on the court.

Miami Heat, 4th



I know all about Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion. And, yes, Michael Beasely will probably put up some nice numbers and blaze out steamed-up hotel bathrooms with Mario Chalmers, but have you looked at the rest of this roster? Seriously? They could sneak into the playoffs if all the breaks go their way, but you just can't bet on a squad this thin, no matter how amazing Wade looked in China or how matricized Shawn Marion will always be. Pat Riley still has a ton of bad karma headed his way for, at the very least, the Stan Van Gundy fiasco. This team needs a couple more years in purgatory.

Washington Wizards, 3rd



They're probably the most overlooked team in the league, but that's probably to their advantage. Last year, they showed that without Arenas, they could still compete . Which is good, because they'll be in a similar situation this year, at least until December. Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are two really tough ballers who know all the little tricks to win games against mediocre teams. And the East has quite a few of those. Andray Blatche keeps getting better, Haywood is definitely servicable and Antonio Daniels is a nice replacement for Agent Zero. There won't be any fireworks in D.C. this year, but they'll be respectable and they'll have some pieces to make the playoffs, get ready for next year and, possibly, the start of the post-Arenas era.

Orlando Magic, 2nd



I didn't really buy into the Magic last year, and, though I have them at second, I'm not sure I do this year, either. Sure, Dwight Howard is an absolute monster, Rashard Lewis can put the ball in the basket, Hedo Turkoglu looks funny, but like I mentioned about the Raptors yesterday, they still don't have that dominant two-guard that NBA teams really need to compete. The door is wide-open for Mickael Pietrus to become that guy, but, I guess the door's been wide-open for a couple years for him. Don Nelson, his former coach at Golden State, hasn't been known to close too many doors on super-athletic wing players. Still, Howard's nastiness will make up for a lot of their shortcoming during the regular season, Jameer Nelson will probably bounce back without Carlos Arroyo breathing down his neck and Lewis and Turkoglu will do some nice things. In a fairly non-competitive division, the Magic should ease into the second spot.

Atlanta Hawks, 1st



That's right. I got Atlanta as number one. The Hawks could really do some things this year. Their seven-game series against the Celtics was no fluke. These dudes can ball it up. Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Al Horford are a pretty imposing group, offensively and defensively, to have on the floor at the same time. With Mike Bibby, they got a proven big game point guard and role players like Flip Murray, Mo Evans, Zaza Pachulia and Speedy Claxton fill out the squad nicely. Their only weakness is their relative lack of experience, but freakish athleticism and tough defense can make up for that. Once this group learns how to play together, and I think they can do that this year, there won't be too many teams that can match up.