Southeast Shaping Up

Since their birth in 2004, the Southeast division hasn’t had a collective winning record. They’re a relatively young division; the average player is about 26 years old. After the draft, recent trades, and young players beginning to embrace their potential, the division is finally looking up.




Let’s start out by looking at the Atlanta Hawks. Last year, Atlanta shocked America with their play against the future champions, taking the number one seed Celtics to seven games. Al Horford had an astounding rookie season, and looks to improve his numbers as well as the Hawk’s record this year. Also, look for Mike Bibby to step up this year; he joined an unfamiliar offense last year when he was traded from the Kings. Bibby also was battling thumb, ankle, and quad injuries, but he’s healing up well and hopes to have a much better season. Joe Johnson remains a reliable scorer, and with Childress gone and the Hawks short on guards, watch for second-year player Acie Law to get in more playing time. Law has potential to be a good point guard, and this is his chance to break out and earn a starting job.

Projected 08-09 record: 44-38


The Charlotte Bobcats have never made the playoffs, and it’s likely they won’t this year either. In the scheme of things, however, they will improve their record. Rookie center Alexis Ajinca is the first step to improving the Bobcat frontcourt. It still needs work, but they won’t be as embarrassing to watch. Emeka Okafor will continue rebounding and blocking shots, however if he could improve his inside scoring ability they would have another option besides Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace. Beware of Jared Dudley this year; he will likely see more playing time. The “sophomore” out of Boston College is a great shooter, and his court vision is top-notch. Expect him to sneak in more minutes as the season progresses.

Projected 08-09 record: 37-45

Although Rose would have been a better fit, Beasley will produce big things for the Miami Heat. Don’t forget about the other rookie, Mario Chalmers, who shut down Rose in the summer league match-up. The Heat may finally be seeing the light at the end of a very dark tunnel they’ve been in. With a healthy D-Wade in the starting line-up, and a consistent forward in Shawn Marion, the Heat have much better chances at making the playoffs this year. The one thing I’m concerned with is the mix-up at the point guard position. At first, it was Chris Quinn, who is way below average for a starting NBA point guard. Some say Marcus Banks will start, and others have generated the idea that Wade might take over at the 1 spot even though he doesn’t want to. If the Heat can trade for, or sign, a solid point guard, expect an immense improvement in their record.

Projected 08-09 record: 50-32


With strictly three point shooters in the starting line-up like Rashard Lewis and Keith Bogans, the Orlando Magic are thankful they have the best rebounder in the NBA, Dwight Howard. Averaging over 14 rebounds per game and finishing with thunderous dunks, Howard is a highlight reel waiting to happen. Howard, too, is thankful that Lewis and Bogans actually make their threes; Lewis finished 3rd last year in threes made, and Bogans 22nd. Let’s not forget about last year’s Most Improved Player-Hedo Turkoglu. Turkoglu averaged over 19 points a game and helped the Magic win the division for the first time. Orlando recently signed Mickael Pietrus, adding depth to the small forward position.

Projected 08-09 record: 48-34

When you talk about a team plagued by injuries, the Washington Wizards are always in that conversation. Antawn Jamison was the only consistent scorer on the team who didn’t miss more than ten games. Added together, stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler played a total of 71 games, not even a full season. Well, Gilbert seems to be healthy and serious about winning, and Butler is also healed up and ready to go. Andray Blatche is a young player with good potential, and Washington needs help at the center position. With the big three finally re-united, and a center with potential on the roster, the Wizards are a playoff contending team, and also help the Southeast become one of the top divisions in the NBA.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Division_%28NBA%29
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3081737
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4245;_ylt=AsYF9nBeaLzIcC6RK0Os_fKkvLYF
http://www.nba.com/draft2008/profiles/AlexisAjinca.html
http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/jareddudley.html
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-flspheat04sbjul04,0,7176887.story
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/07_23-15/SPO

Chris Paul v.s Deron Williams

If you have trouble deciding who's a better player, imagine how the Utah Jazz felt in the 2005 NBA Draft.

The Jazz ended up selecting Deron at number 3, and the Hornets jumped on the oppourtunity to draft Chris Paul at pick number 4.

Since then, both have put up solid numbers, but who is the better point guard all around?

Lets start off looking at Chris Paul's strengths.

Paul has great court vision, which is a neccessity in today's NBA. Not only can he pass, but he goes into the lane without fear of bigger defenders, he can make floaters and pull up jump shots consistently. Has quick hands and feet, which results in the ability to get steals. Paul is a good ball handler, he can shake almost any defender in the Leauge.

Weaknesses:

Although he has quick hands, Paul doesn't seem to anticipate where the ball is going to be, and while he gets 2 or 3 steals he can also let the guy he's guarding score 40. He also seems to get a bit out of control, in college he developed a reputation as a guy who is willing to throw a cheap shot, even before the incident in the last game of the regular season where he punched Juilus Hodge below the belt. *

Overall, he is a great guy with amazing talent, but needs improvement on defense and attitude.

On to Deron Williams:

First of all, he may not look like it, but Williams is strong as an ox. This strength enables him to knock down deep threes, go into the lane and finish with contact, and fire passes to other teammates that defenders can't get to. He shoots fundamentally and consistently, and has fantastic playmaker skills. He has a good basketball IQ, he makes smart decisions and handles the ball well.

Weaknesses:

Although he shoots well, he could have a quicker release on the ball, this way he won't get blocked as much. He isn't very quick, so defense becomes a major concern. He lets guys like Wade and Parker score on him pretty easily, but if he could improve his lateral quickness he would be a force to reckon with.

Overall, he is a smart point guard with good all around skills, but he needs to get faster and improve on the defensive side.


My take on who's better:

Right now, Chris Paul is the better point guard. He doesn't have a very good team but took them to the playoffs with a good record. He basically did everything himself, he played a lot of minutes but didn't seem to tire out. He is very competitive and has a winning attitude. Williams could get to Paul's level if he could just win in the playoffs and improve on defense. Paul would burn Williams in one-on-one, but Williams' passing and shooting skills are better. If i were to build a franchise around one of these players, it'd have to be Chris Paul because of his abilities, and leadership.

*http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Deron-Williams-72/

https://www.nbrpa.com/news/featurearchive/Spencer_Haywood_Blog_Archive1.aspx(photo)

Knickpicking

First of all I have to give credit to the New York Knicks for drafting a virtual nobody in front of all the crazy New York fans in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Unfortunatley, I can't really agree with the pick, as they took Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari isn't a bad player, but for the oppourtunity that the Knicks had to draft an established ballplayer I can't see why they took the 6"9 forward. On the board when the Knicks were on the clock: Eric Gordon, Brandon Rush, D.J Augustin, Jerryd Bayless, and Brook Lopez- all impact players who could help turn around the once-legendary franchise. Gallinari is a consistent shooter and solid passer who has a good basketball IQ, but one has to question if he is quite ready for the NBA. He is the antisthesis of quick, and for his size he isn't very strong. He also tends to gamble on defense and overall is a risk to put on the floor in crunch minutes because of his lack of defensive awareness.

A better fit: The Knicks are an interesting franchise right now, they have a lot of average players so its hard to decide what position they need most. In the end, i believe the best pick for them would be Jerryd Bayless. Bayless has tremendous potential, he is extremly quick, strong, and is a nightmare for opponents on defense. He plays better than his 1 steal per game average, he forces turnovers on defense and is a great leader on the court. Averaging 4 assists per game, he is a good point guard, although he could improve his court vision. He shot 40% from three, which is average but he found ways to get the ball in the basket which shows in his 19.7 points per game.

The Knicks need a solid defender on the court, their defense last year was subpar. Gallinari can help them offensively, but the Knicks already have decent scorers(Marbury, Randolph, Curry) and the defense needs a lot of improvement.