June 18, 2013

2009-10 NBA Blogger Previews – Atlantic Division

October 6, 2009 by 27 Comments

The month of October means three things: 1) all hope and optimism for the Browns has dissipated, 2)  NBA preseason basketball is here, and 3) CelticsBlog is once again hosting their annual NBA Blogger Previews. We will be doing the Cavaliers preview next Monday, but this week the Atlantic Division was on the clock and you can read all the previews below.  

We encourage any NBA fans to please click through the links below and read some of the previews. This is one of the finest collections of NBA bloggers and there’s a lot of good stuff in these previews.

Here’s the full list of Atlantic Division Previews.

Boston Celtics

CelticsBlog | LOY’s Place | Celtics17 | Red’s Army | Hoops Addict | Celtics Central | Celtics Hub | Gino’s Jungle

New Jersey Nets

Slippery When Nets | Barkley’s Mouth

New York Knicks

Posting and Toasting | Bandwagon Knick

Philadelphia 76ers

Liberty Ballers

Toronto Raptors

RaptorsHQ.com | Hoops Addict

Bonus Links

See full schedule here | Also see SBNation preview storystream

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  • Chris M

    People from New York truly think they’re getting someone great next summer. So sad.

  • biff

    Celticsblog preview of the Celtics:

    2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

    Lets see here: Defense, talent, intensity, cohesion, experience, hunger, focus, (and for lack of a more sophisticated term) all around awesomeness… the list goes on. Excuse me while I gush, but this team is stacked. The Big 3 is still here and assuming good health, they will once again set the pace. Rondo, Perkins, and Big Baby all stepped up into larger roles last year. Add Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels to the mix and sprinkle in Eddie House’s shooting and you’ve got one potent rotation.

    …..

    You heard it here first kids, the Celtics won’t make the Eastern Conference Finals. I can’t wait to watch them get destroyed at the Q in a few weeks.

  • Chris M

    You got it Biff. I almost spit my drink all over the keyboard when i read “all around awesomeness“.

    Not sure I understand the Weaknesses:

    Mortality. Nobody can stop KG but his knee ( He’s still hobbling ). Nobody can check Paul Pierce when he’s full speed ( Lebron disagrees ). Nobody is more clutch than Ray Allen when he’s healthy ( he’s old ). Nobody is getting an easy bucket when Perkins’ shoulder is in its socket ( I’m sure he’ll match up against Shaq just fine ). The problem is that nobody knows when any of these guys is going to hit the other side of the hill ( Newsflash: They’re already there ). All great players see their careers come to an end. Some burn out and some fade away. All you can do is hope that the magic lasts long enough for this group to get another title or two ( Wouldn’t concern myself with that ). Anything is possible when the Celtics are healthy ( Not likely to happen ).

    Anyhow, We need to compare this to the post written on 10/28.

  • Boomhauer

    Knicks fans are putting a lot of their eggs in the Gallinari basket. Do you think him and a bunch of garbage will entice LeBron to leave the Cavs?

  • Rob

    Two things:

    1) Chris M, I’m feeling your parenthetical commentary but have to disagree with you and Bron on that one thing. There really isn’t a defender who slows Paul Pierce when he’s at full speed – not even Bron. We saw that in the 40+/40+ duel. I don’t know why. He doesn’t even elevate on his step-back J. I just don’t get it. Regardless, that’s the way it goes. Good for us though, Paul Pierce can only play with that kind of energy for about 2 games a series when he is checking a guy that is probably even more difficult to face up with at full speed.

    2) I wouldn’t worry about the Knicks anymore. I would worry about the potential of the Brooklyn “Luxury Tax? Pfff, I down luxury tax like Vodka and Goulash All-Stars” (aka the New Jersey Nets). That guy scares me more than Drago. But hey, if any owner is Rocky, it’s Dan Gilbert…right? Undersized, greasy black mop, unexpected accent…

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com RockKing

    The amount of money an owner has shouldn’t concern you in the least. He can be the richest man on earth and he still couldn’t pay LeBron as much as Dan Gilbert can.

  • Chris M

    I understand Rob. My point is that this year he’ll be another year older, and Lebron will be another year better.

    “Paul Pierce can only play with that kind of energy for about 2 games a series when he is checking a guy that is probably even more difficult to face up with at full speed.”

    Precisely. The amount of abuse he takes guarding Lebron will empty the tank awfully quickly. He wouldn’t last 7. Hell, this is the same team that barely took down Chicago in 7 last year. Plus Sheed and Sheldon Williams? Child, please.

  • biff

    -Nobody can stop KG but his knee (and the fact that his odometer is sitting at about 200,000 miles . . . and by “nobody can stop,” you mean KG can still be a very good defender and a solid contributor on the offensive end . . . how intimidating)

    -Nobody can check Paul Pierce when he’s full speed (to his credit, he shoved it up Cleveland’s arse 2 years ago but that was two years ago. Did you see him trying to create space against the Bulls in the playoffs?? His legs are so finished that it looks like he’s taking every first step in a foot of mud)

    - Nobody is more clutch than Ray Allen (Except Kobe and Lebron)

    - Nobody is getting an easy bucket when Perkins’ shoulder is in its socket (Except Lebron who will get as many easy buckets as he needs)

    -The problem is that nobody knows when any of these guys is going to hit the other side of the hill (I do, and I’ll give you a hint. It begins with a 20 and ends with an 09-10)

    -Anything is possible when the Celtics are healthy (Including winning 57 games and losing to the Cavs in 5)

  • MacNip

    We have yet to beat the Celtics in the playoffs yet. Lets quiet our smack talk until we do. I have confidence it will happen this year, but I’m not going to talk trash when it hasn’t happened

  • Chris M

    I’m not really saying anything about that Mac, but to have a bunch of over the hill future hall of famers and claim 60 wins when they might ( and I’m speaking generiously ) be the 3rd best team in the league seems silly to me.

    Especially since KG looks like he really should be walking with a cane.

  • biff

    Grow a sac MacNip. The only reason we haven’t beaten them in the playoffs yet is because they didn’t make the Eastern Finals last year. To say that we should keep quiet because of that is absurd. Seriously, when are people going to realize that with this team, it’s ok to act like normal fans and lose the inferiority complex.

  • MacNip

    I fully expect the Cavs to win the East this year and I think Boston fans have a rude awakening coming. But, I just let them think what they want while I watch and wait for the a$$ kicking to begin

  • Rob

    I know that LBJ stands to make the most with Cleveland, but that Russian guy, who has an alleged reputation for jet-setting around the world with his players and taking them to the most exclusive places in the world and having all the richest and most powerful friends and flying in gorgeous women from every corner of the globe, can definitely offer opportunities that Sr. Global Icon would salivate at…not to mention he can create an All-Star team.

    My one concern – Lebron leaves because he, like I do in my nightmares, imagines the never-ending line of free-agent talent waiting with bated breath at the chance to play with Lebron in NYC.

    This guy makes Gilbert look like a lower-middle class millionaire.

    Does anyone think LA can be beaten? Do they have a weakness? Perimeter shooting?

    Counting down the days ’til we play the Magic only to have Lebron checking Jameer Nelson and not Rashard Lewis…

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com RockKing

    Amenities such as what, exactly? There are rules against that sort of thing.

  • Rob

    Well that’s what I’m wondering. How often do they circumvent said rules/standards? What exactly do they bar players from doing? Can you not borrow the owner’s jet in the off-season? Can you not travel with the owner to private getaways in the summer. Can this owner not offer you the coolest new arena ever built for basketball in the largest market in America (a palace fir for a King)? What about dinner meetings with eager investment comrades? I mean, Lebron could encounter opportunities at dinner meetings in Manhattan that he might never playing for the Cavs. Maybe I’m being paranoid…but as I stated above, the biggest amenity on the table is the ability to pay every single player who wants to join the Brooklyn Bron-Brons, whatever the cost.

  • Chris M

    Calm down, Rob.

    “…is the ability to pay every single player who wants to join the Brooklyn Bron-Brons, whatever the cost.”

    New Jersey has the same cap Cleveland does, and you’re fooling yourself if you think Lebron’s Manhattan business proposals are invalid in Cleveland.

    As for circumventing rules about extracurricular activity, the CBA is specific about that kind of thing, and the punishment is quite severe if Stern catches on. I cannot tell you precisely what the punishment is, but it is not good.

    Besides, the Russian money is a drop in the bucket compared to what the Chinese have.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Denny

    To answer Rob, I don’t think the Lakers have any weaknesses at this point. We’re going to have to wait and see if RonRon blows that ship up from the inside. Otherwise I don’t know how they’re going to be anything but better.

  • biff

    Denny, I’m with you to a certain degree except that the Lakers don’t have much in the way of a point guard. And they were far better than the Cavs last season in much the way the Magic were better: They weren’t more talented per se, but given their size and its distribution, we couldn’t match up. That matchup issue still exists but it has been diminished significantly with the additions of Shaq, Moon, and Parker.

    And yes, Artest is an upgrade over Ariza. But you know as well as I do that anytime you remove a role guy and replace him with a guy who needs the ball, you’re running a serious risk.

  • saggy

    Call me crazy but haven’t we been over this before? The Nets will be lucky to be playing 2011-2012 in the BK. Forget about next year, there is so much red tape on these Atlantic Yards it’s not funny. And the site has had ZERO work done to it in as long as I can remember – and I go to Target all the time and look out the window into the pit of nothingness. Believe me when I tell you: nothing is happening for a while over there.

    Lastly, the Russian dude is a smart money making guy – he would do business with Lebron regardless of who he plays for, and vice-versa. Good business is good business…

  • biff

    Listen, this is a free country so please, discuss whatever is on you mind. That being said, it’s October, we’re at the threshold of what could be the the greatest Cavs season of all time, and here we are discussing endorsement opportunities in Manhatten, eminent domain suits in Brooklyn, and the business acumen of some Russian Oligarc. Do we really want to be helping the national media in their efforts to ruin the 09-10 Cavs season by focusing on what could happen a year from now?

    We don’t have winners too often around here fellas. I would encourage everyone to remember to enjoy it and talk a little basketball.

  • saggy

    Biff – MY MAN!!

  • bill

    this russian guy has cash and women, blah blah blah, but this is lebron james we’re talking about. the man has the entire world in the palm of his hand already. lbj doesnt need this russian guy (or anyone else for that matter) to go “jet-setting around the world, going to the most exclusive places in the world and having all the richest and most powerful friends …”

    lets also not forget that just because this russian guy has all this cash and could – in theory – go over the salary cap by double if he really wants to, doesnt mean he can. just because he has the available cash doesnt mean he can circumvent CBA rules to go over the cap. in other words, lets assume lebron, kobe, dwight howard, bosh and wade are all free agents. just because the guy has the cash to afford paying all of them max salaries doesnt mean he can. he still cant go over the cap to sign free agents. nobody can. you can only go over the cap by (1.) trading for a player, (2) signing your own free agent, or (3) via bi annual exception or MLE. and those last 2 are pretty limited. sign and trades can only go so far as well.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Denny

    Yes, but does he have women MADE of cash.

  • Rob

    Bill, yes. That’s what I was looking for. I always forget that rule. I don’t know why.

  • bill

    rob – we cant forget that the nba isnt like mlb. if that were the case we’d be screwed and ny (or the nets) WOULD sign every player they wanted. sign and trades are tricky. the MLE and bi-annuals are limited. if im not mistaken, you still have to be under the cap to do a sign and trade otherwise there is no or little incentive for the team holding bird rights to do the sign and trade. if there is no threat that the player in question can sign with team X since they are over the cap, then why should team Y who holds bird rights and can pay the player more cooperate in a trade? plus you cant do sign and trades forever since youll run out of tradeable players soon (ie, players who can be traded to make the salaries match up).

  • Anthony

    Boy, CelticsBlog sure sets the bar low for these NBA Blog Previews with that abomination on their site. You’d think the host site would make a better attempt than that fluff piece, but I guess not.

  • Andrew S

    Braylon is gone! Braylon is gone! Schefter from ESPN reporting hes been traded to the Jets