“However, they’re not a good playoff team because a) nobody is scared of them anymore, and b) their defense against good teams hasn’t been nearly as good since Ben Wallace left.”

The Pistons didn’t reach the Finals the past few seasons because they lacked a dynamic scorer. They had all of the right parts except for that one guy who, on one possession, could take the ball and score. Believe it or not, Stuckey is now that guy. He is incredibly dynamic, even Wade-like at times. Let us not forget he broke his leg early on and had to rehab back from that. In April, when he got the minutes, he averaged 14 points and 4 assists in 27 minutes per game over nine games. In two starts, he averaged 18 points in 29 minutes. He can flat-out score, Phoenix. You’ll see. He is a really good player.

The Pistons have won 50 games or more seven straight seasons in a row. They’ve lost three straight times in the Eastern Conference Finals. What did Dumars do? Got rid of Flip Saunders, an idiot whom nobody liked, and inserted a no-nonsense guy the players respect. The Pistons have a good mix of young and old, and unlike in years past where they’ve neglected their youth, they finally understand they need to combine veteran guile and young talent/energy in order to get over the hump. You’ll see this season, more burn for Johnson, Stuckey, Maxiell, and Walter Hermann.

But hey, we’ll see, right?

Bucks starting five: Bogut, Villanueva, Jefferson, Redd and Ridnour. You’re right they won’t defend dirt, but this team will score.

Sorry I missed your note… if we’re going with sleeper picks, then yeah, I agree.

Look forward to Raptors write…

I won’t say too much about the Raptors since my preview of them should be posted today and I’ll leave it to that.

The Wizards are the only team of the top 7 that I can see missing the playoffs. However, the rest of the East’s teams are a complete crapshoot. The Wiz were a 40 win team (by point differential) last year, and that was without Gilbert and with Butler missing 24 games. The development of Nick Young and Andray Blatche should help offset the loss of Mason. There’s certainly a chance they fall apart, but I think that chance is much smaller than all the other teams who could possibly go in this spot.

Quick run through the rest of them. I like the Pacers. Bucks don’t play defense (no, Scott Skiles cannot magically change that). Heat have 4 players, and the rest are terrible. The Hawks barely squeaked into the playoffs last year, and they lost their third best player (Childress). Horford got 31 minutes a game last year, is the extra 4 minutes going to make that big a difference?

For the rooks, I’m not pointing out high-profile guys, as I noted in the post.

“These are guys who may not be high profile, but could surprise you with their effectiveness.”

See?

I do like the Cavs pick because (a) James will be better, (b) they added Mo, (c) added Hickson (read:beast), and (d) will make a move sometime during the season. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve got a ton of holes, but after failing in the playoffs two years in a row, I think this is a make-or-break year for LeBron’s ego. The Cavs management needs to show the team is going to be a force for years to come, and they need to take a big step in proving that this year. So, unpopular pick for number? But crazy? No. If you’re going to stick your neck out, this is the choice.

As for the rest, I cannot DISAGREE more. I think you’re crazy.

The Pistons sixth? Man… Michael Curry is a hard-ass whom the players respect. Stuckey is a TREMENDOUS player and will get 30+ minutes per game off the bench (6th Man of the Year winner, hands-down). They’re starting Amir Johnson, who is also tough. They picked up a body in Kwame Brown (expect best season from him, with all of the positive team-oriented vets around him). Prince just played in the Olympics–expect him to be more confident this year. The Pistons have all of the ingredients to run away with the East.

And you peg them sixth? Sixth? Insanity. Top three, for sure. For sure.

The Raptors suck. They were a .500 team last year and now they’ve lost TJ Ford and added Jermaine O’Neal. Oooh, scary. The truth is both Bosh and O’Neal will miss at least 15 games each. Calderon is going to make up for that? I’m sorry but this team really isn’t very good. I say 38 wins and they miss the playoffs.

The Wizards are garbage, and with the injuries, forget it. I think losing Roger Mason was a huge blow–he was big for them last year. Arenas doesn’t come back until after December–he looked fat and terrible after coming back last year, Jamison is aching, Butler is aching, etc. This team will also disappoint. I say 38 wins and they miss the playoffs.

I think the top five round out like this (order can vary):

1. Pistons
2. Sixers
3. Celtics
4. Cavaliers
5. Magic

The last three? I’m going with the Bucks, Pacers, Hawks and Heat. Ok, that’s four (pick three of the four). The Bucks starting five might be the most underrated in the league. Granger is going to break out and TJ Ford is going to do wonders running a team full of shooters (Pacers will score a lot). The Heat have Wade, who when healthy, is a top five NBA player. He was the best player in the Olympics. They added Beasley to go alongside Marion. They have holes, true, but they have the trade chips and money to make big moves. And the Hawks, man, let us not forget Al Horford will get 35 minutes per night this season. The Hawks can be tough.

Beasley is the rook to look for…same with Rose (forget about those guys?). CDR and Ukic are garbage. Hickson can be big for the Cavs this year though.

DJ Augustin is good.

Nice X – I look forward to reading your individual team summaries.