AJ's LEASTern conference rankings

OK, so the Eastern conference isn't AS bad as last year, especially since the champs live there, and conference will be competitive this year, so let's see how they stack up...

1: 61 - 21 Boston Celtics

Usually after a team wins a title, it comes back a little fatter and less hungry. It's hard to imagine that will be the case the Celtics. With General Garnett in charge, it's hard to see any drop-off in intensity. They lose Posey and PJ Brown, which may play a factor in the playoffs, but for the regular season, it opens up playing time for developing young talent like Leon Powe and Rondo. We will likely see the injury bug hit one of the big 3 at some point (cough cough, ray allen), but the depth and cohesiveness of this team will lead them to another 60+ win season.

2: 52 - 30 Cleveland Cavaliers

After watching 'Bron during the Olympics and the pre-season, it appears he'll be a lock for MVP this year if he can get his team over 50 wins and stay healthy. King James has already claimed that anything less than a championship would be a failure this year, though it is hard to judge whether this is a fair expectation. You gotta love the defensive intensity from team, especially Sideshow Bob Verajao, but even with Mo Williams, you still only have one guy who can create his own shot (tho Mo is a definitely a knock-down open shooter). Wild card: Wally's contract...there are lots of players on their contract year and the Cavs can get creative to get the extra trade for the extra help they need.

3: 50 - 32 Detroit Pistons

The Pistons, or Spurs-East, are the constant team you can always count on to be in the mix. Not too much new here except for the emergence of Rodney Stuckey -- which could be huge for a team that struggles to manufacture points. 2 Wild Cards: watch out for a breakout year from Tayshaun Prince -- with the new coaching philosophy, it will be interesting to see if they can get him to contribute more offensively and exploit mismatches as he did when he was a roookie. Second, if things don't go to smoothly, look for Detroit to dangle around 'Sheed...contending teams will love to add Sheed's savvy and toughness, especially if he is willing to come off the bench for a championship (sheed' for odom?)...

4: 48 - 34 Philadelphia Sixers

The NBA, where trades happen -- and morphing mediocre teams into contenders over night. OK OK, maybe the Sixers aren't contenders yet, but they are definitely a more balanced team than the Cavs right now with a lot of young talent that can get better soon. Elton Brand is great, and will anchor the rebounding in the paint, but the Sixers will be defined by the growth of Andre Igoudala. If he can make that leap as an all-star player and a go-to offensive player during close games, this team will meet the Celtics in the eastern conference finals. Although most of the players are young, the window won't be open for as long as most think, given Andre Miller's conditioning habits, this may be a 2-year window for this nucleus.

5: 47 - 35 Toronto Raptors

This team can score with anyone, as it sports probably the best jump-shooting squad in the league. With Ford gone, the stage is clear for Calderon to go nuts and challenge CP3 for league leader in assists. The only thing this team was missing was toughness...so they went out and traded for J'Oneal. If the trade works out and O'neal returns to his dominant defensive self and plays 60+ games, the Raptors could be in the top 3 of the conference. However, I'm not drinking the J'Oneal Kool-Aid, so i'm going to be skeptic until proven otherwise....either way, it was a great gamble on Toronto's part (much different than last season's shaq trade, cuz the raptors were not championship contenders before the trade AND tj ford is nowhere near shawn marion, in terms of importance to the team)

6: 42 - 40 Orlando Magic

Love Dwight Howard's muscles and athleticism, but you watch him some times and wonder that shouldn't he be so much better? Sure big men are going to have low FT% (except Bosh) and turnover the ball often with so many touches, but if you're going to do all that, shouldn't you at least be dominating the defensive end of the floor every night. That's the funny thing about the Magic last year, they were a defensively challenged unit, with arguably the most intimidating athlete in the league (just barely over 'Bron). Expect Turkoglu to come back to earth this year, but Rashard to pick up the slack, so the the Magic should be a wash in terms of play from their swingmen. Their season will soley be determined by the nightly effort of Superman.

7: 41 - 41 Miam Heat

I know I should not put so much stock into Olympics basketball, but my god, did you see Dwyane Wade this summer?! I am on the record as a notorious Wade-hater, claiming that he needs to get a jumpshot or he will suffer the fate of eddie jones and get too injured in the prime of his career with his slashing style...but it looks like Wade is back, and with vengeance....not only that, he is armed with a contract-year Shawn Marion (a man who plays to get paid), and the ROY-favorite Beasely...but dont forget that Shawn Livingston is quietly contributing early on... this team is primed to no longer be the joke of the eastern conference...

8: 40 - 42 Altanta Hawks

I'm not sure how it's going to work out to motivate a 'bad-attitude' player who had trouble being motivated the previous year BEFORE he got his contract, so good luck to the hawks in getting Josh Smith to play team defense (tho the guy is a physical freak). The Hawks should thank their lucky stars that injuries to Gilbert, Haywood, Jamison (to a lesser degree) will likely squeeze the Wiz out of playoff contention. Combine this with a contract year for Mike Bibby, perhaps Joe Johnson will actually get to be only double-teamed whenever he has the ball. I like Al Horford a lot, look for him to be a mentioned in the conversation of this year's snubbed all-stars