We start with the Southeast division because the champs reside there. Miami will be the favorite and will almost certainly steamroll their divisional competition. With Charlotte and Washington on the rebuild, and big departures in Atlanta and Orlando, Miami is primed to dominate this season. Teams are ranked in order of their projected divisional finish.
1. Miami Heat
The rich got richer in South Beach this summer. The champs added two key free agents in Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. This will only build on their winning formula of 2012. LeBron James is coming off as good a year as one can have on a basketball court. He is the centerpiece of everything the Heat do. The most athletic and unstoppable player on Earth is also playing his most confident basketball yet. Uh-oh. Of course, the dominant slasher Dwyane Wade can never be forgotten. He and center Chris Bosh will be well rested after skipping the Olympics. Bosh will begin the year as the full-time center. His improved defense and rebounding will make the Heat more formidable. Look for the Heat starting lineup to be Mario Chalmers, Wade, James, Lewis, and Bosh. Ray Allen and Shane Battier will be the two main contributors off the bench. There's no secret in Miami. They will use LeBron to set up open threes with Wade and Bosh also getting many good scoring looks. Everyone is out to beat the Heat.
2. Atlanta Hawks
The huge drop off in the Southeast leaves the Hawks at number two. They will be fighting for a playoff spot in the East after trading star Joe Johnson. The Hawks did get two nice players in Lou Williams and Kyle Korver. They will get Al Horford back for the full season after he missed most of last year with a torn pectoral. The Hawks will need continued improvement in Josh Smith to make the playoffs. He was close to an All-Star last season. Better mid-range shooting will be the answer for Smith. Atlanta will have rookie guard John Jenkins coming off the bench. He is a great shooter who can be an explosive scorer when hot. If Atlanta can beat up on lesser divisional opponents, they should sneak into the playoffs in the East.
3. Washington Wizards
The third year of the John Wall era is one of promise. However, injuries to Wall and Nene have given the Wizards an inauspicious start. Rookie Bradley Beal will step in as shooting guard. He and Wall form one of the good young backcourts in the league. Trevor Ariza will be the small forward. He will get open looks from the penetration of Wall. Kevin Seraphin and Emeka Okafor join Nene in the frontcourt. The spotlight will be on Beal for the first few weeks, and rightly so. He was the third overall pick in the most talented draft since 2008. But once Wall returns, he will be under pressure. The top player taken in 2010 needs to step his game up big time. His shooting must improve, especially from three. Everyone knows Wall has All-Star talent, it's up to him to show it consistently.
4. Orlando Magic
After losing Dwight Howard for Aaron Afflalo and some cap relief, the Magic are absolutely in rebuilding mode. It will be a long year for the Magic. Afflalo will be their best player, with Glen Davis and Jameer Nelson helping carry the load. With many new faces after losing Howard, Ryan Anderson and Jason Richardson, little is known about the Magic besides an 0-4 preseason record. The Magic enter this season without their bad karma (Howard), their bad GM (Otis Smith) and their good coach (Stan Van Gundy) who they panic-fired. We all know this: Orlando will have a rough year and are firmly a lottery team. Silver lining: The last two teams to lose a superstar (Cavs and Hornets) both received the number one pick the following year. There's your hope Magic fans.
5. Charlotte Bobcats
While I think the Bobcats will finish better than the Magic. Don't you have to project a team last after having the worst season in NBA history? The MJ era in Charlotte has been miserable, and losing the lottery doesn't help. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was the right pick, but he's not the game changer that Anthony Davis is. Kidd-Gilchrist will be asked to do a lot as a 19-year-old rookie. He will be the best player in a lineup that features Kemba Walker, Gerald Henderson, Byron Mullens, and of course Bismack Biyombo. Every team shoots for improvement after a legendarily bad season. The Bobcats will be improved, even if it is by default.
Stay tuned for the Atlantic preview within the next few days.
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