13/14 Season Preview East
@hobbers &
@Skizzo -
Boston Celtics (72-10, Conference Finals)
The Celtics are worse than last year, let's get that straight.
hobbers,
Skizzo and most of the best players got a little bit worse. Well, let's be clear again: both
hobbers and
Skizzo got
quite a bit worse, particularly athletically. They're still on the best team in the league, though, and their depth did get a little bit better. There's definitely still a chance for them to get their ring.
@reelworld -
Milwaukee Bucks (37-45)
reelworld II is having the season that everyone has had so far, where they've improved the previous seasons and suddenly get a little bit worse. If he was 35 I'd be worried for him, but at 20 he'll almost certainly get better still. The youngest peak so far has been at 22, so our man should easily be pushing the 70s in overall rating.
@sebsheep -
Miami Heat (34-48)
SebJr has yet to take that leap forward that we've been waiting for, though he's still actually playing quite well. He's also got plenty of time to improve. His team seems better than in a while, at least on papers. The Heat have built a
very deep team, even if they don't quite have a superstar to lead them.
@weetee -
Atlanta Hawks (39-43, 1st Round)
weetee scraped into the playoffs last season with the Hawks, and I guess there's no reason he couldn't do the same this time. It would probably be another scrape job, however.
weetee himself declined a bit over the summer, but only physically (and also dunking, which I reckon he wasn't doing too much of anyway).
@V.O. -
Brooklyn Nets (58-24, 2nd Round)
It's an epidemic.
V.O. is another example of the looming specter of infirmity as players approach their mid 30s.
Most of that is still in physicality, though, and those have never been the most important parts of his game. As long as he's an elite dribbler, shooter and passer, with high offensive IQ, he's going to be able to find assists and points. The Nets did get worse, but it's not like they were "the best" when they won their ring anyway.
@oneniltothearsenal -
Toronto Raptors (37-45)
Two Nil is doing the same thing as reelworld II, namely taking a break in improvement. In his case it's more like he hasn't started it yet, as he's only 18. He's got all the time in the world, essentially. He's found a spot on the Raptors, and it's not like they'll need him to be great right away, so that's... good?
@BenitoSTARR &
@Stobzilla -
New York Knicks (55-27, 1st Round)
BenitoSTARR is into his
15th year with the New York Knicks now. It's been a while since he was winning MVPs and challenging for (and winning) championships, but you get the impression it could suddenly happen. He got a little bit worse over the summer, but he's still good. His teammate
Stobzilla II seems to have settled as a very good - but not superstar - Center. Although I've noticed that particularly Centers can have quite the impact without ridiculous overall ratings.
@Samid -
Charlotte Bobcats (19-63)
Samid has been part of some truly awful teams so far this experiment. I mean
really, truly horrible teams. And last season was no exception, as his Bobcats finished with a dismal 19-63 record. They didn't even have their own pick to profit off it. They've seem to have done some work over the summer, though, as most of the team got better. Even old man
Samid improved his skills somewhat.