Cavs Set To Blow Up With Mo?
by Michael DeLuca
A couple recent moves have mixed up my rankings just a bit so I’ve incorporated them into version 2.0 of my offseason rankings. I’ve provided my projected records for the coming season along with last year’s overall records. Please feel free to comment with your opinions.
1) Los Angeles Lakers – Projection (60 -22) – Last Season (57-25) – A healthy Andrew Bynum along with a younger corps than the Celtics make them the team to beat in the coming season.
2) Boston Celtics – Projection (58-24) – Last Season (66-16) – Defending champs have an aging but spectacular corps. Expect another step back from Ray Allen. The loss of Posey and potentially PJ Brown won’t be as significant as many media heads are making them out to be.
3) New Orleans Hornets – Projection (58-24) – Last Season (56-26) – Chris Paul, David West, and Tyson Chandler are three young studs that will keep the Hornets relevant for years to come.
4) Houston Rockets – Projection (57-25) – Last Season (55-27) – Louis Scola got into gear as the year went on and should make significant strides in his sophomore season. Artest will be a great fit.
5) Philadelphia 76ers – Projection (55-27) – Last Season (40-42) – The Sixers made the most significant offseason acquisition in Elton Brand. They also managed to add some nice role players in Kareem Rush and Royal Ivey. Add that to a solid and extremely young nucleus and you’ve got this year’s breakthrough team.
6) Utah Jazz – Projection [54-28] – Last Season [54-28] - Deron Williams leads a solid Jazz supporting cast. Carlos Boozer is a beast on the boards and Mehmut Okur is still one of the most underrated players in the game.
7) Orlando Magic Projection (53-29) – Last Season (52-30) – Dwight Howard’s continued improvement is enough to vault the Magic to the #7 spot in the rankings.
8] Washington Wizards Projection (49-33) – Last Season (43-39) – Caron Butler continues to improve. Gilber Arenas signed a huge contract, subsequently began construction on a huge pool, and better have a huge season.
9) Portland Trail Blazers – Projection (46-36) – Last Season (41-41) – Excelled early last season but flamed out as the year went on. Roy is a stud in the making and Jerryd Bayless should be a nice point guard to compliment him in the backcourt. Greg Oden, last year’s #1 overall selection, comes in with big expectations after sitting out his rookie year due to injury.
10) Cleveland Cavaliers – Projection (45-37) – Last Season (45-37) – Lebron James continues to improve his game, unfortunately not much to compliment him. Up until their recent trade, retaining Daniel Gibson was Cleveland’s biggest move of the offseason and at just 4.2 million a year, he’s a steal. Netting themselves Mo Williams in a three way with the Bucks and Thunder was a brilliant maneuver and he should be a nice compliment to Lebron. Mo’s primary problem in Milwaukee was turnovers. In Cleveland, Lebron is the primary ballhandler and Williams will be the secondary scoring option the Cav’s have so sorely needed.
11) San Antonio Spurs – Projection [45-37] – Last Season (56-26) – The dynasty is over. Don’t expect another every-other-year championship out of this aging crew.
12) Detroit Pistons – Projection [44-38] – Last Season (59-23) – They were supposed to shake up the roster this offseason…then did nothing. Still a solid cast that can get the job done, but their act seems stale and really could have used some new faces.
13) Toronto Raptors – Projection [44-38] – Last Season (41-41) – Jermaine O’Neal acquistion could potentailly be huge for the Raptors. TJ Ford was shipped out and Calderon gets full time pg duty. Bargnani should improve.
14) Los Angeles Clippers – Projection (43-39) – Last Season (23-59) – Elton Brand didn’t play last year so you can’t really call that a loss. Adding Baron Davis in free agency and Marcus Camby via trade salvaged what was looking to be a disastrous offseason. Chris Kaman came on strong before getting injured last year, Al Thornton should improve in his sophomore season, and rookie Eric Gordon can be a special player.
15) Dallas Mavericks – Projection (41-41) – Last Season (51-31) – Dumb trade costs good team 10 wins this year. After some early season struggles expect Cuban to begin dealing.
16) Golden State Warriors – Projection (41-41) – Last Season (48-34) – Losing Baron Davis will hurt. Maggette’s a decent addition. The Warriors season will hinge on the continued development of recently resigned Andris Biedrins.
17) Phoenix Suns – Projection (41-41) – Last Season (55-27) – Fat Cactus and company are in for a long season. After trading Marion this team lost their identity. Now their coach is gone as well. Nash can still play and Stoudamire’s a stud, but this team’s just going in a hundred different directions.
18] Denver Nuggets – Projection (39-43) – Last Season (50-32) – I’m still baffled at Denver giving away Marcus Camby and getting nothing in return. “Ball Hogs” isn’t really a good team identity but that’s what the Nuggets have decided to go with…so they shipped away the only player who was willing to pass.
19) Miami Heat – Projection (38-44) – Last Season (15-67) – Dwayne Wade should return to form. Shawn Marion, who’s still an elite player, has somehow been overlooked after getting an unfair wrap in Phoenix. Michael Beasley should be able to help contribute in his rookie season.
20) Atlanta Hawks – Projection (37-45) – Last Season (37-45) – Losing Josh Childress is going to hurt. Josh Smith will be re-signed and should continue to improve.
21) Chicago Bulls – Projection (36-46) – Last Season (33-49) – I don’t know what happened last year, but they lucked out and got the number one pick in the draft (Derrick Rose) and that should help.
22) Milwaukee Bucks – Projection (34-48) – Last Season (26-56) – Richard Jefferson was a nice addition and when you add him to a roster with Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut, and Charlie Villanueva some good things can happen. Mo Williams loss will hurt a bit, but was a good move for the future.
23) New York Knicks – Projection (31-51) – Last Season (23-59) – They suck, but Mike D’Antoni doesn’t. There is talent on this roster, let’s see what D’Antoni can get out of it.
24) Charlotte Bobcats – Projection (30-52) – Last Season (32-50) – Combine Michael Jordan and Larry Brown and you’ve got two of the worst talent evaluators in league history. Luckily, Brown can coach.
25) New Jersey Nets – Projection (30-52) – Last Season [34-48] – No Jason Kidd. No Richard Jefferson. I like Devin Harris, but Vince Carter is the only guy he’s got to pass the ball to.
26) Indiana Pacers – Projection (29-53) – Last Season (36-46) – Rebuilding year, nothing much to be excited about. Danny Granger is a nice player who should continue to improve.
27) Minnesota Timberwolves – Projection (29-53) – Last Season (22-60) – On paper, this team looks good. Unfortunately, they don’t play that way. Have a healthy Foye should help.
28) Sacramento Kings – Projection (22-60) – Last Season (38-44) – No Artest, no team identity, no hope. Kevin Martin is a nice player, the rest of this roster shouts BLAH.
29) Oklahoma City Thunder - Projection (22-60) – Last Season (20-62) – The relocated SuperSonics can expect to see Kevin Durant improve on a nice rookie season. Through a three way trade with the Cavs and Bucks the Thunder paved the way for Russell Westbrook to be handed the reigns of this raw young squad and some major growing pains can be expected.
30) Memphis Grizzlies – Projection (19-63) – Last Season (22-60) – Yeah, I think it’ll get worse. Rudy Gay’s the only bright spot. Marc Gasol could be interesting. OJ Mayo is years away from contributing.
At the expense of having to bore myself back through V1.0, what changed on this updated version ?
@Dan S.
Bucks lost two games for moving Mo Williams, Bulls moved ahead of them into #21st place. Pheonix and San Antonio improved one game a piece in the overall projections.
Bulls will be a playoff team.
@Gill
I still have the Bulls in a bit of limbo, since Ben Gordon says he will not play with this team ever again. A sign and trade is the most likely scenario and until I see what they get in return I can’t move them up too much farther.
Is Josh Smith still a Hawk? I thought Memphis signed him? Did Hotlanta match the offer? If so, you have to like Miami ahead of them. D-Wade has looked great this summer in China.
The Hawks matched. Without Smith and Childress, the Hawks would have really sunk in the rankings.
Good rankingks. Washington might be a little too high and Chicago a little bit low. Hornets may end up the best team overall. Chris Paul’s insane!
Fools. The Jazz will win more than 54 games, unless some injury stands in their way.
Okur is underrated, all right, but not as underrated as the Jazz as a whole.
Wow, I certainly didn’t expect to be called a fool for saying the Jazz would go 54-28. I thought the #6 overall ranking was a good thing.
Sheesh, with that kind of reaction, I’d hate to hear what Suns and Spurs fans are calling me right now. :-)
I am unwilling to concede Lebron letting the Cav’s win less than 50 with his new guard coming off a Gold Medal. The Clippers 14, they are a sure bet for little success this season and none long term. Terrible ownership and there a third team in a city with only 2 options.