Post by Rommie on Jul 31, 2007 20:39:30 GMT -5
A lot of big trades have gone down recently and it will shake up the way the Eastern Conference playoff seedings turn out.
Right now at the 7th-10th spots you have:
7. Indiana Pacers - 23-23
8. Cleveland Cavaliers - 26-26
9. Orlando Magic - 22-25
10. Boston Celtics 22-27
The Pacers have made some huge deals recently. They are in re building mode but haven't fallen out of the playoff picture. However one of their deals was sending Baron Davis to the Indiana Pacers for youth and Michael Reed and could that push the Magic into the playoffs and send the Pacers out? Possibly.
The Pacers still have some good teams to play. However they have a pretty decent team themselves. They still have veterans Chris Webber and Michael Finley, not to mention Michael Reed. Lamarcus Aldrige may not have reached his potential yet but he is a good big already nearly averaging a double double. They can get solid play from the point from veterans Terrell Brandon or Nick Van Exel but they could always choose the young and talented Raymond Felton.
The Cavs have good players across the board. Ben Gordon is their explosive scorer and he gets help in the back court from Brazilian Leandro Barbosa and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway.
They have a solid front line with David West, Kenyon Martin and Raef Lafrentz that can get the job done.
The Cavs have struggled recently losing 3 in a row but they can turn it around and stay in the playoffs. An interesting side note is they play the Orlando Magic twice their last three games with the last game being against the Magic. Might this be the deciding game as to who gets the 8th seed? I guess we'll just have to watch to find out.
The Magic made a huge trade with the Pacers sending out Michael Reed and youth for one of the best players in the league in Baron Davis. The Magic also went out and acqiured Dahntay Jones, a solid 2 guard who gives them timely shooting and good defense.
Up front is Travis Outlaw. Outlaw is in the final year of his current contract and is averaging 17 points per game. At the other forward spot is Zach Randolph. Randolph can be a load down low scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. They also have a couple solid bigs in Jamie Feick and Vitaly Potapenko who play defense and grab rebounds.
The Pacers and Cavs have gone 4-6 in their last 10 games. The Magic seem to be a team on the rise with Baron Davis leading the way. I like the Magic's chances of making the playoffs.
Then there is the Boston Celtics. A big question mark this season.
They went out and acquired Shaqiule O'Neal for their young stud Andrew Bynum. Alongside Shaq is another young stud in Dwight Howard. O'Neal and Howard are both averaging double doubles for the Celtics giving teams lots of trouble down low, I guess not enough trouble.
Then also have two very good wing players in Josh Howard, scoring 11 points per game and playing super defense, and Jamal Mashburn who is averaging nearly 20 points per game. Theo Papaloukas does a fine job as the point guard averaging 14 points and dishing 9 assists per game.
I don't get why the Celtics are not in the playoffs right now. However they are not out of it yet. One thing that is in their favor is the end of their schedule is pretty easy. They face the 76ers, the Hornets, and the Nets twice. All 4 games should be wins for them which would give them a big boost in the standings.
I really think all 4 teams are good enough for the playoffs. However I feel that the Magic will sneak in the playoffs with Baron Davis on the team. The Cavs might be the team left out besides the Celtics. The Magic and Cavs face each other 3 more times and those will be 3 big games to decide who gets in the playoffs and who doesn't. Good luck to all the teams.
Right now at the 7th-10th spots you have:
7. Indiana Pacers - 23-23
8. Cleveland Cavaliers - 26-26
9. Orlando Magic - 22-25
10. Boston Celtics 22-27
The Pacers have made some huge deals recently. They are in re building mode but haven't fallen out of the playoff picture. However one of their deals was sending Baron Davis to the Indiana Pacers for youth and Michael Reed and could that push the Magic into the playoffs and send the Pacers out? Possibly.
The Pacers still have some good teams to play. However they have a pretty decent team themselves. They still have veterans Chris Webber and Michael Finley, not to mention Michael Reed. Lamarcus Aldrige may not have reached his potential yet but he is a good big already nearly averaging a double double. They can get solid play from the point from veterans Terrell Brandon or Nick Van Exel but they could always choose the young and talented Raymond Felton.
The Cavs have good players across the board. Ben Gordon is their explosive scorer and he gets help in the back court from Brazilian Leandro Barbosa and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway.
They have a solid front line with David West, Kenyon Martin and Raef Lafrentz that can get the job done.
The Cavs have struggled recently losing 3 in a row but they can turn it around and stay in the playoffs. An interesting side note is they play the Orlando Magic twice their last three games with the last game being against the Magic. Might this be the deciding game as to who gets the 8th seed? I guess we'll just have to watch to find out.
The Magic made a huge trade with the Pacers sending out Michael Reed and youth for one of the best players in the league in Baron Davis. The Magic also went out and acqiured Dahntay Jones, a solid 2 guard who gives them timely shooting and good defense.
Up front is Travis Outlaw. Outlaw is in the final year of his current contract and is averaging 17 points per game. At the other forward spot is Zach Randolph. Randolph can be a load down low scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. They also have a couple solid bigs in Jamie Feick and Vitaly Potapenko who play defense and grab rebounds.
The Pacers and Cavs have gone 4-6 in their last 10 games. The Magic seem to be a team on the rise with Baron Davis leading the way. I like the Magic's chances of making the playoffs.
Then there is the Boston Celtics. A big question mark this season.
They went out and acquired Shaqiule O'Neal for their young stud Andrew Bynum. Alongside Shaq is another young stud in Dwight Howard. O'Neal and Howard are both averaging double doubles for the Celtics giving teams lots of trouble down low, I guess not enough trouble.
Then also have two very good wing players in Josh Howard, scoring 11 points per game and playing super defense, and Jamal Mashburn who is averaging nearly 20 points per game. Theo Papaloukas does a fine job as the point guard averaging 14 points and dishing 9 assists per game.
I don't get why the Celtics are not in the playoffs right now. However they are not out of it yet. One thing that is in their favor is the end of their schedule is pretty easy. They face the 76ers, the Hornets, and the Nets twice. All 4 games should be wins for them which would give them a big boost in the standings.
I really think all 4 teams are good enough for the playoffs. However I feel that the Magic will sneak in the playoffs with Baron Davis on the team. The Cavs might be the team left out besides the Celtics. The Magic and Cavs face each other 3 more times and those will be 3 big games to decide who gets in the playoffs and who doesn't. Good luck to all the teams.