Serious Addiction 2008-09 NBA

[seriousaddiction]

Looking into the season already and will have season long props up in no time

Already keying my first game...Milwaukee vs Chicago Under the total...I'm guessing it will be in the low 180's...should be an easy hit..will have early analysis upon request. Games set for October 28th are Cleveland @ Boston, Mil @ Chicago and Portland @ LA Lakers...

Will probably release team reports day-by-day...might miss a day here and there but I will begin today with the Atlanta Hawks and work my way down...I will have every team in depth and previewed by October 28th...be back soon with an Atlanta write-up and early season prediction

 

[seriousaddiction]

ATLANTA HAWKS TEAM PREVIEW



Projected Starting Lineup

C-Al Horford
PF-Marvin Williams
SF-Josh Smith
SG-Joe Johnson
PG-Mike Bibby


Key Reserves

Mo Evans
Acie Law
Speedy Claxton
Zaza Pachulia
Ronald Murray
Solomon Jones


Finished last season with a 37-45 mark and made it into the East playoffs as an 8 seed and gave the world champion Boston Celtics all they could handle and more. I look for the Hawks to improve on last years mark of 37-45 but still be on the outside looking in. They will be fighting for that final spot come the end of the year but the East is going to be a little bit stronger this year as opposed to last. Teams ahead of them include Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando, Toronto, Philadelphia, Washington (if healthy) and IMO Miami has a bounce back year with Wade being healthy and the addition of Beasley. I put the Hawks in the 9 spot in the east but they do have a chance. They have one of the better top to bottom starting fives in the east but the problem with the Hawks is their depth. They have little to no bench help and are one of the few teams that actually got worse in the off-season. Losing Childress to Greece will hurt this team and it astonishes me that Atlanta fans think that this is not a huge loss. The Hawks added Mo Williams , Flip Murray and Randolph Morris for some help but I don't know how much production you are going to get out of those 3. Not having a draft pick for the Hawks did not help either. Horford was a 10-10 guy last year and he WILL be a 15-10 guy this year. Joe Johnson is your go to guy. The Hawks matched the Grizzlies offer sheet for Josh Smith so he is happy. Bibby will have the full season to mesh with his new team and Marvin Williams will only get better as time goes on. But again like I said, my problem isn't with their starting five it is with their depth. I look for this team to start hot and wear down as the season gets into full swing. One simple injury to this team will devastate them. (Especially at Power Forward as Marvin Williams backup is Solomon Jones hno: )


Season Prediction 39-43

9th place in the East and looking from the outside in...They are one player away from being a playoff team year in and year out. There is hope for this team


NEXT TEAM PREVIEW : BOSTON CELTICS

 

[seriousaddiction]

Mo Evans*

wrote Mo Williams at one point in there

 

[homedawg]

spot on analysis. one of the more exciting teams IMO (love Josh Smith, and Joe Johnson). I was hoping they would add some depth, but what can you expect from Atlanta. I see the eastern conference as much improved so it will be tough to make the playoffs again with the lack of depth they have. However this is on of the best starting 5's you will find.

 

[seriousaddiction]

BOSTON CELTICS TEAM PREVIEW



Projected Starting Lineup

C-Kendrick Perkins
PF-Kevin Garnett
SF-Paul Pierce
SG-Ray Allen
PG-Rajon Rondo


Key Reserves

Eddie House
Tony Allen
Darius Miles
Leon Powe
Glen Davis
Brian Scalabrene
Bill Walker


What can I say about the Boston Celtics. They are defending champions, return pretty much everyone (James Posey to Hornets) and have added even more weapons with Darius Miles, Bill Walker and JR Giddens. Let's start with the Big 3. You have more pros than cons. Yes they are all a year older but more importantly they have a whole year together and a NBA title under their belts. Barring any injuries they should provide nothing less than they did a year ago. Boston won the title IMO because of the outstanding play of their role players. They would not be defending champions if it wasn't for Leon Powe, Big Baby, Kendrick Perkins and most importantly the very surprising point gaurd Rajon Rondo. They won the title and will compete again this year because of how well this team plays together. I feel they made a mistake by bringing in a thug like Darius Miles. He's a decent player but this team is as good as they are because they are the most cohesive unit in the NBA. I am just confused as to why you would want to mess that up. Case and point with his one game suspension for violating the drug policy before the season has already started. Way to get the respect of your teammates Darius. Boston fans see Posey depart and as much as fans think this isn't a big blow, I feel it is a HUGE loss. Posey was the most versatile defender on the Celts team a year ago and usually D'd up the oppositions best wing man. Not to mention he gave guys like Allen and Pierce a break and a lot of help on defense. With these guys getting a year older , trust me, they will miss the help from Posey. Overall I see the Celtics competing again this year and they will most likely make another push deep into the playoffs again. They have amazing chemistry, a phenomenal starting 5 and a great bench. What's not to like? Boston fans can remain excited for at least one more year.


Season Prediction: 59-23

Will battle for the #1 seed in the East I believe. Don't think they will run away with it this year because the East is much improved but I see Boston as 2 or 3 at absolute worst come seasons end.


Next Team Preview: Charlotte Bobcats

 

[homedawg]

i don't think bringing Miles in is all that bad. With KG, Allen, and Pierce policing the locker room I don't see Miles having big enough balls to act up. Losing Posey on the other hand is a different story. He is as solid of a role player as your going to get. Look what he did for the Heat and now the Celts last year. His leadership, and defensive presence will be missed, but not something the Celtics can't overcome. The one thing i'm worried about, and has held true in the past is the complacency that may reveal itself. As you said the big 3 is getting up there in age, and now having a title under their belt may take away from the hunger they had last year. Not saying they won't be a solid team, but I don't expect the dominance they had last yr. Defensive intensity is what won them the title last season. Good defense usually comes from hard work and hungriness if that is lacking you can count on some of the much improved eastern conference teams to make some ground on them. Young, hungry, athletic teams such as the 76ers, Magic, Hawks could cause them so problems.

Nice write up

 

[ICC]

Couple Things:

The Hawks will not use Soloman Jones much at all. They will go to a bigger line-up with Pachulia and move Hoford to the 4 when Marvin needs a blow. The Hawks will use Zaza much more than they will use Jones. In the instance that they might use Jones, he is a much more valuable asset than you are leading him on to be. You have made this guy look like a joke, but if you have watched him at all in Summer Leagues in the past, you would know he is a long defender than gets off the floor extremely well and can also play defense. This team doesnt need any sort of offense with him considering that they have more of that than they need. I am suprised that you didnt mention the loss of Salim also. He hit a bunch of big shots off this team, and they could be without any threat for 3 point considering that Bibby, Claxton, and Johnson dont have that sort of range. The issue with the Hawks in my opinon this season will be that teams can clog the lane and force them to shoot from the perimeter. With having one of the worst coaches in the league, I dont trust their ability to make adjustments. The Hawks will remain a good bet when getting points at home, but other than that they have very little to offer the gambler.

I agree with you on the Celtics with pretty much everything. I think Miles will contribute much more if he remains helathy because he will not have the option of jacking up 20 jumpers a game like he did with that mess up in Portland. Miles was a vitcim of having a large ego on a bad team, and he took a bunch of bad shots to bail his team out in tough situations. I think he will do a great job while splitting time with Giddens off the bench. This team only gets stronger IMO, but Ray Allen played about 130 games last year and the combination of that plus the circus the NBA will put this team through regarding pormotional work could take its tole on this team. Doc Rivers is still a huge question mark as a coach on this team. I know he outcoached Phil, but lots of that had to do with his players playing well when it mattered most. I think he is very over-rated as a coach still.

I really have enjoyed reading both of these and I look forward to reading the ones in the future. Thanks for putting in the time to do this and I look forward to working together this season.

 

[seriousaddiction]

thanks ICC for the input...everyones input is welcome. Im simply going over what I know...I dont know it all...not even close...everyones input will help us win money. Gotta work at 3 and Im there til close so I'll get at least Charlotte done and maybe another team or two

 

[seriousaddiction]

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS TEAM PREVIEW




Projected Starting Lineup

C-Nazr Mohammed
PF-Emeka Okafor
SF-Gerald Wallace
SG-Jason Richardson
PG-Raymond Felton


Key Reserves

Adam Morrison
Sean May
DJ Augustin
Matt Carroll
Jared Dudley


Ohhhh the Charlotte Bobcats. Where to start? Finished last season a dreadful 30-52 but had some injuries and a team that didn't like their coach. That will change this year as they are getting healthy (especially and most importantly Okafor) and they have a new hall of fame coach in Larry Brown. Theres so much to say about this young Charlotte team. I feel they have one of the best one-two punches in the east and not many people respect it or even see it (Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson) and they also have IMO the most underrated PG in the entire NBA. Felton is overshadowed because he came out of that draft class with Paul and Williams. Anyways Felton averaged almost 8 assists a game last year and more importantly had better than a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio. This is a number that many people don't look at and they should. You are not going to win games if your PG turns the ball over. Okafor is getting healthy and although he doesn't score much he is still one of the better centers in the east. He defends the ball as good as any center in the east and can body just about anyone up. No need for him to score when you have Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson anyways. My only question mark in their starting lineup is Nazr but I'm guessing after a few weeks that they shake this lineup around and move Okafor to Center and place Sean May in there or go with a smaller lineup with Augustin, Okafor, Felton, Richardson, Wallace. Augustin will be a huge part of this teams success off the bench. He will NOT replace Felton like Bobcat fans think he will because IMO he is more of a scorer and not a typical point gaurd. Case and point in the NBA summer league where he averaged 18 pts a game and only 1.5 assists. So let's see what we got...a good starting lineup, a hall of fame coach and great unproven bench components. Emphasis on unproven. If Morrison can produce and Augustin can continue to play like he did all summer and Dudley and May can get better this IS a playoff team. I still think they are a year away but they are going to be better this year than last (thats the case for a lot of teams in the east)... The Key to their success will be how they respond to Coach Larry Brown. One thing this team has lacked is a true LEADER. I think they have 3 potential leaders on the team with Felton, Richardson and Wallace but who will take the role???? Only time will tell.


Season Prediction: 40-42 and battling for that 8th spot

Like I said above I think this team is about a year away from competing in the playoffs and the much improving EAST. They have all of the parts and the team on paper but it's going to take them at least a half season to respond to Larry Brown

 

[ICC]

The Key to their success will be how they respond to Coach Larry Brown.

:aktion033

Lets put a side "key" as their ability to stay healthy.

 

[SaltyVeteran]

There is absolutely no way the Celtics come out with the same fire and steamrolling attitude that they approached last season with. I also don't see the Big 3 logging 40 minutes a game this year. Another deep run means they need to be fresh in April. They must have a more reserved approach heading into this season.

I will be fading the Celtics early and often..

 

[ICC]

Good thoughts Salty.

 

[seriousaddiction]

Celts still have the most talent in the east. They will ware down though. This I agree with...I say Orlando, Cle or dare I say Philly come out of the east

 

[SaltyVeteran]

Yeah, I'm not saying they won't win the East again. I'm just saying they will have some heavily inflated lines with the way they bulldozed the competition last year. With the goal accomplished already I gotta believe there will be many opportunities to cash against them..

 

[seriousaddiction]

I agree 100%....they wont have that hunger they had last year...they already proved the their point...now they are just playing

 

[ICC]

Celts still have the most talent in the east. They will ware down though. This I agree with...I say Orlando, Cle or dare I say Philly come out of the east

Agree with Philly 100%. I think they will be fantastic. Im excited to see what you think about Milwaukee and Denver. I feel Milwaukee will max out with Skiles for a couple seasons and the Nuggets will quit on George Karl just like every other team he has ever coached did. This is great stuff Addicition. Salty and I do a thing called the "Barbershop" each morning during the season where we all toss around ideas about thats night games. We have a buddy named Miz that will be here too. Its be really succesful the last couple seasons, and I hope you participate.

 

[seriousaddiction]

ya I'll def be part of it...Mil and Den write-ups coming soon...Denver first because of the alphabetical order haha....I say denver gets killed this year without Camby...most underrated big man in all NBA IMO....Mil is tough...They will be floating around that 8 spot in the east ...last year they would have been a shoe in but the east is as strong as its been since the Jordan/Ewing Bulls/Knicks era in the 90s.

 

[ICC]

Dragic is officially a Sun. He will compete for the back up PG spot. The issue with Dragic has been whether or not he can hit the deep jumper, but results have suprised people after working with Thunder Dan. The Suns fully expect him to be a major piece of the puzzle this year. Read this in the Arizona Republic this morning. Salty, we got our guy.

 

[SaltyVeteran]

 

[ICC]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjghrBgCxAU

They looked happy. Dragic is a lefty and he looks slick.