i don't see the Celtics or Philly being contenders for another couple seaons at least... neither of those teams are under the cap next season, & their young kids will need another couple seasons to gel... even if 1 of them gets a Durant or an Oden, i think it'll still take them another year or 2 before you can legitimately count them as a contender in the Eastern Conference... as for the Nets, i think Vince is gone after this season, & J Kidd isn't getting any younger... if Krstic comes back healthy they can be a lower bracket contender, but not that much better than the Knicks IMO if at all... they'll have to sign a Rashard Lewis if Vince leaves to remain towards the top of the Atlantic division, & i don't think they have the cap space to do that.

of course, if there's a repeat of this season where a lot of teams pretty much underachieve, then anything's possible.

[Edited by - TMS on 03-12-2007 1:45 PM]

Posted by Elite:

the nets are done for a while, that ship has sunk.

Philly is gettin better, Boston will get better if they land Durant or Oden. Toronto will be good, we will be good.. so yea , should be a decent division next year.. dont know about strong.. but decent.

Not atlantic but i still feel Orlando is one player away from being a top team

Rashard Lewis anyone? (for Orlandough)

Baleeted.

[Edited by - Solace on Mar 12 2007 3:16 PM]

Watch out for the Atlantic Div. next yr depending if Oden and Durant comes out in the draft and boston and philly ends up with each player.. If that's the case, the A.D will be much better and not so much of a laughing stock.

Toronto looks really good with the young players led by Chris Bosh
NY Knicks ?
NJ ?

There's no doubt that the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference will be better next year. This year was an anomaly with the conference being as bad as it was.

And the Knicks will continue to treat water as other teams get better.

People underestimate how hard it is for a young player to make an impact. You have the rare player that is just so good, that they have an imediate impact, but those guys are the elite.

The Atlantic will be better IMO. The teams will get some help and mature a bit and should be a bit better to start next year.

I disagree with islesfan, that the Knicks will tread water. That's just silly. Why would we not improve off of this season? Most teams in our situation get a little better if simply due to not starting from scratch at the start of next year. Then you add in more natural chemistry, player development and any additions or changes isiah will make. I expect that the Knicks will improve a good deal next year.

Posted by nixluva:

People underestimate how hard it is for a young player to make an impact. You have the rare player that is just so good, that they have an imediate impact, but those guys are the elite.\

in the past 2 decades of highly touted rookies, only C-Webb, Duncan, Yao, Carmelo & Wade have basically singlehandedly been able to elevate their teams from a bottom dweller to a better than .500 record... am i missing anyone here?

Amare Stoudamire helped his team to a better than .500 record his rookie season, but he was more of a supporting player that season & that Suns team had a good amount of experienced veterans on the squad that had won 50 games a year before he ever got there... Kobe Bryant joined a Lakers team that was already a good team before he ever got there... & Andrea Bargnani is still playing a supplementary role on the Raptors this year as well... the maturation of Bosh & acquisition of TJ Ford are the main reasons for that team's success so far this season.

here's a list of all the #1 overall picks the past 20 years & their team's records during their rookie season:

* 1987 - David Robinson; San Antonio Spurs (31W-51L)
* 1988 - Danny Manning; Los Angeles Clippers (21W-61L)
* 1989 - Pervis Ellison; Sacramento Kings (23W-59L)
* 1990 - Derrick Coleman; New Jersey Nets (26W-56L)
* 1991 - Larry Johnson; Charlotte Hornets (31W-51L)
* 1992 - Shaquille O'Neal; Orlando Magic (41W-41L)
* 1993 - Chris Webber; Golden State Warriors (50W-32L)
* 1994 - Glenn Robinson; Milwaukee Bucks (34W-48L)
* 1995 - Joe Smith; Golden State Warriors (36W-46L)
* 1996 - Allen Iverson; Philadelphia 76ers (22W-60L)
* 1997 - Tim Duncan; San Antonio Spurs (56W-26L)
* 1998 - Michael Olowokandi; Los Angeles Clippers (9W-41L)
* 1999 - Elton Brand; Chicago Bulls (17W-65L)
* 2000 - Kenyon Martin; New Jersey Nets (26W-56L)
* 2001 - Kwame Brown; Washington Wizards (37W-45L)
* 2002 - Yao Ming; Houston Rockets (43W-39L)
* 2003 - LeBron James; Cleveland Cavaliers (35W-47L)
* 2004 - Dwight Howard; Orlando Magic (36W-46L)
* 2005 - Andrew Bogut; Milwaukee Bucks (40W-42L)
* 2006 - Andrea Bargnani; Toronto Raptors (34W-29L)


there is a lot of elite level talented players in that list that haven't been able to get it done their rookie seasons, & that's not even including non-#1 overall picks like Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O'Neal, Chris Bosh, Steve Nash, Paul Pierce, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Pau Gasol & Emeka Okafor, who all couldn't get it done for their teams either... why is it so unreasonable to think it would take Oden or Durant over a full season to do it? is it possible that Oden or Durant will vault their teams to above .500 records their 1st season? possible, but not likely... the facts i just cited above will tell u that it's a rarity for a rookie player to come in & vault his team to instant contention... hell, it took the greatest player to ever play the game, Michael Jordan, his 4th season in the league before he could bring the Bulls to an above .500 record.

Good posts. I heard Tim Legler or some other talking head talking about how Durant at 190lbs will be pushed around in the NBA til he gains some weight and respect from the refs.

Posted by kam77:

Good posts. I heard Tim Legler or some other talking head talking about how Durant at 190lbs will be pushed around in the NBA til he gains some weight and respect from the refs.

i can easily see that... he needs to put on some weight... i think he may grow another inch or 2, so i don't expect him to fill out until he's done growing, which will probably take a couple years.