Post by New York on Nov 1, 2015 21:51:54 GMT
So this is my first article in Ultimate ABCA as I haven't had the same amount of time as I did in Legends to be putting out articles at the pace that I was. I didn't want to take on too big of a task and end up not finishing so we'll be looking at the East Division in the American Conference and my thoughts on their off-season, players, and coming season in this article. I am possibly going to do some other divisions (I've already got the depth charts put together) but again i'd rather not promise there will be five more of these coming before the regular season starts on Wednesday.
So with that out of the way, lets take a look at the division that some called one of the weaker division's in the league last season, the East.
So with that out of the way, lets take a look at the division that some called one of the weaker division's in the league last season, the East.
American East Division
Boston Celtics
Last Season’s Record: 24-58
Last Season's Result: Lottery
Key Off-Season Additions: Chris Paul, Don Buse, Fran Vasquez, Eddie Lee Wilkins
Key Off-Season Losses: Dante Exum
Did they improve this off-season? Yes
Biggest Need: Time to allow their youth to develop & a legitimate center prospect
Best Case Scenario: Mid-Late Lotto Team*
Worst Case Scenario: Top 5 Lotto Team*
Potential Breakout Player: Jeff Green
Overall Record Range: 25-30
Division Position: 5th
Bold Prediction: Jeff Green or Thaddeus Young will be traded as they both are probably long term PFs
*Flip the Best/Worst Case Scenarios depending on who you are talking to
Chicago Bulls
Last Season’s Record: 60-22
Last Season's Result: Post Season Round One
Key Off-Season Additions: Martell Webster
Key Off-Season Losses: None
Did they improve this off-season? No but they also didn't get worse
Biggest Need: Starting Center and Shooting Guard
Best Case Scenario: Championship Run
Worst Case Scenario: Falls out of the playoffs due to Barkley dropping in TC or getting injured
Potential Breakout Player: Mike Conley
Overall Record Range: 60-65
Division Position: 1st Overalll
Bold Prediction: The Bulls will make a splashy trade before the deadline to pair Barkley with another star.
Harlem Globetrotters
Last Season’s Record: 48-34
Last Season's Result: Post Season Round One
Key Off-Season Additions: Chick Reiser, Eddy Curry
Key Off-Season Losses: Jalen Rose, Dave Twardzik
Did they improve this off-season? Yes
Biggest Need: Shooting Guard
Best Case Scenario: Conference Finals/2nd Round Team
Worst Case Scenario: Middle of the road lotto team if a few non-Dr. J players die in TC.
Potential Breakout Player: Joakim Noah
Overall Record Range: 50-55
Division Position: 3rd
Bold Prediction: They will not only scare a team in the first round, they will win their first round series.
Boston Celtics
Last Season’s Record: 24-58
Last Season's Result: Lottery
Key Off-Season Additions: Chris Paul, Don Buse, Fran Vasquez, Eddie Lee Wilkins
Key Off-Season Losses: Dante Exum
Did they improve this off-season? Yes
Biggest Need: Time to allow their youth to develop & a legitimate center prospect
Best Case Scenario: Mid-Late Lotto Team*
Worst Case Scenario: Top 5 Lotto Team*
Potential Breakout Player: Jeff Green
Overall Record Range: 25-30
Division Position: 5th
Bold Prediction: Jeff Green or Thaddeus Young will be traded as they both are probably long term PFs
*Flip the Best/Worst Case Scenarios depending on who you are talking to
Final Thoughts: The Boston Celtics are coming off a season where they were one of the 4 worst teams in basketball and come out of the off-season with one of their young prospects (Dante Exum) gone. However in place of Exum they have brought in a much better guard prospect in the #1 overall pick Chris Paul along with some future assets and a few solid players. More than likely this team will win more games this season so fans looking for progress have that to look forward to. But it won't come at the cost of sacrificing what's truly important and that's making sure they have the best draft position possible. I see an improvement here for this team of about 5-6 more games potentially which will be attributed to Chris Paul averaging around 15 PPG | 8 APG | 4 RPG and upwards of 2 SPG as well as improvement from Thad Young and Jeff Green who I don't think will see a big increase in raw numbers but both will be more efficient. The main one in that group to keep an eye on is probably Jeff Green because we know that Thad Young can provide consistent offense but the Celtics likely look for Jeff Green to establish himself more as a young up and coming guy in year 2. Patience will be the key for this group as I think with another mid to high lotto pick this team will start making the journey up the standings.
Chicago Bulls
Last Season’s Record: 60-22
Last Season's Result: Post Season Round One
Key Off-Season Additions: Martell Webster
Key Off-Season Losses: None
Did they improve this off-season? No but they also didn't get worse
Biggest Need: Starting Center and Shooting Guard
Best Case Scenario: Championship Run
Worst Case Scenario: Falls out of the playoffs due to Barkley dropping in TC or getting injured
Potential Breakout Player: Mike Conley
Overall Record Range: 60-65
Division Position: 1st Overalll
Bold Prediction: The Bulls will make a splashy trade before the deadline to pair Barkley with another star.
Final Thoughts: Last season I don't think there was a more interesting team than the Chicago Bulls. They league was shocked when Charles Barkley emerged as far and away the best player to come out of the creation draft. He'd dominate throughout the year finishing off with 33.9 PPG | 9.7 RPG | 2.8 APG | 1.6 SPG on nearly 60% shooting and an MVP award. Behind his play this team was able to pull in 60 wins and a top 3 seed in the playoffs. They were able to surround him with a solid cast including Mike Conley, Jack Nichols (both of which i'll touch on later), Vern Fleming, and Ed Pickney so many had this team as a potential finals team in America. However things continued to be surprising and interesting for this group as they weere knocked out in the first round by Rio de Janero who they admitted was one of the toughest matchups for them throughout the season. So now heading into the season this team has a lot to prove as they want to show that their 60 win regular season wasn't a fluke and their early playoff exit was. Outside of picking up Martell Webster who should be a bench rotation player for them this season, which is a trend most of the top teams followed. Their main focus was bringing back their up and coming point guard Mike Conley on a long term deal. Speaking of which, you'll see above that I mentioned Conley as a potential breakout player for this team for the upcoming season. He was pretty solid last year with basically 14 PPG | 5 RPG | 7 APG | 2 SPG through last season. However I believe the Bulls will be expecting him to become a bit more and solidify himself as the robin to Barkley's batman. If he can get up to about 18 PPG | 6 RPG | 8 APG | 2 SPG this season then he becomes this team's 2nd best player which will be important if they want to continue their run atop this division. I know some would argue that he was already their 2nd best player (and he probably was in the post season), the Bulls 2nd best player last year was Jack Nichols was brings up a few interesting points. Nichols was a good acquisition for this team last year but you have to wonder if this team was hurt by having their 1st and 2nd best players play the same position. He still got his minutes but after getting traded to Chicago in early March he only had 7 games of over 30 minutes for the rest of the season. Obviously I think you want your 2nd best player on the court for upwards of 30 MPG. For example, if Mike Conley was the 2nd best player on the team they would've had their #2 guy on the court for over 35 minutes a night. The second point I want to bring up about Nichols is that he's 31 years old and because of that you have to worry about him taking a bit of a step back. Don't get me wrong, the guy is still going to be a contributor but he was only averaging about 16.8 PPG after the trade so if he takes a step back can you pencil him in for more than 15-16 PPG a night? So basically to sum things up here with the Bulls (because this is way longer than any of the other writeups i've done so far), Conley needs to improve to offset a slight decline from Jack Nichols and if that's the case I suspect this team to be better than last season otherwise they'll be around the same level (which was pretty good) as last year.
Harlem Globetrotters
Last Season’s Record: 48-34
Last Season's Result: Post Season Round One
Key Off-Season Additions: Chick Reiser, Eddy Curry
Key Off-Season Losses: Jalen Rose, Dave Twardzik
Did they improve this off-season? Yes
Biggest Need: Shooting Guard
Best Case Scenario: Conference Finals/2nd Round Team
Worst Case Scenario: Middle of the road lotto team if a few non-Dr. J players die in TC.
Potential Breakout Player: Joakim Noah
Overall Record Range: 50-55
Division Position: 3rd
Bold Prediction: They will not only scare a team in the first round, they will win their first round series.
Final Thoughts: So this may not be a top seeded team but I really like what Harlem is doing and truly believe this is a team to watch this season. They have a star in place with Julius Erving, they just acquired a guy that averaged 17 PPG | 6 RPG albeit on a bad team in Eddy Curry, as well as Chick Reiser who gives them a better point guard than who they had last year, and have guys like Joakim Noah who will hopefully continue to develop after a strong first season. They obviously lost some solid pieces in Rose and Twardzik but even last year those two were only their 4th and 7th most important players respectively. Now they have a much stronger starting lineup and even though they lost their 6th man in Rose they are able to move Alan Henderson to the bench who was their 3rd best player behind Erving and Noah. This team probably lacks that 2nd star to compete with the top guns of the American Conference but as they showed last year, they were capable of at least giving the top teams a scare as they pushed who I still think is the best American Conference team when healthy, Mexico City Titans to 7 games in round one before being eliminated. The thing that they have to probably check into iin attempt to take the next step is upgrading the shooting guard position. Don't get my wrong, Starks is a fine 5th starter but I think this team needs a 2nd star (unless Noah or Curry have a monster TC) and the spot where they'd' fit in easiest would be the 2 guard spot. If they upgrade that position then I think we have to start talking about this team as a legit threat.
New York Knicks
Last Season’s Record: 56-26
Last Season's Result: Post Season Second Round
Last Season's Result: Post Season Second Round
Key Off-Season Additions: None
Key Off-Season Losses: None
Did they improve this off-season? Not by adding new players they didn't. This team will be hoping for internal improvement like a number of other teams.
Biggest Need: Perimeter Depth
Best Case Scenario: Championship Run
Worst Case Scenario: 8 to 11 range in America due to a rough Training Camp
Potential Breakout Player: Greg Oden
Overall Record Range: 55-60 Wins
Division Position: 2nd Overall
Bold Prediction: The Knicks will either find a top tier 4th man or will trade one of their top 3 before the deadline
Bold Prediction: The Knicks will either find a top tier 4th man or will trade one of their top 3 before the deadline
Final Thoughts: The New York Knicks as I mentioned didn't have a splashy off-season like they might have hoped so now this team looks towards their current roster to improve through player development in training camp. Greg Oden was one of the league's biggest surprises last season with some GMs predicting as low as under 10 PPG for him in his debut season. He obviously surpassed any and all expectations by coming up in year one as one of the top young players in the league already. However this season he'll need to do more if this team will move into the elite. But that won't be the only thing this team will hope for this season as they will be looking to have either Wilson Chandler or a player via trade step up and help with their perimeter troubles. Their perimeter play was probably their biggest issue last year even going as far as to start Fritz Nagy and Leo Katkaveck in an attempt to shake things up. All in all, I see this team once again in the thick of things if they can have a normal training camp but whether they are able to compete with the Chicago's, Timberwolves', Grizzlies, and Titans of this conference will depend on if they make the necessary moves to compete.
Last Season’s Record: 29-53
Last Season's Result: Lottery
Key Off-Season Additions: Andrew Gaze, Dave Twardzik, Charles Oakley
Key Off-Season Losses: Eddy Curry
Did they improve this off-season? Yes but I wasn't a fan of how they did it
Biggest Need: A legitimate star prospect
Best Case Scenario: Low lottery team*
Worst Case Scenario: Bottom 5 team*
Potential Breakout Player: Elfrid Payton
Overall Record Range: 30-35
Division Position: 4th
Bold Prediction: They will realize the need to add a star & will either pay for one via trade or will bottom out & try and land one in the draft.
*Flip the Best/Worst Case Scenario depending on who you are asking
Final Thoughts: So this team had an "interesting" off-season for sure. They had a rough year and ended up with the 9th overall pick in the draft which they used to select a favorite of mines, KC Jones. However that marriage didn't last long as they would trade their 2nd best player Eddy Curry + #9 in exchange for Dave Twarzarik, Charles Oakley, and Andrew Gaze. I did understand the concern from the Raptors that Payton and Jones were similar in style but if that was the case i'm likely trading Payton or at least trying to get a better package for the pick. Now saying that I don't mind any of the three guys but the way I look at it they traded two starters for two starters that I like less + a 6th man. If I was ranking the players in order of preference it'd be KC Jones, Eddy Curry (as much as it pains me to say it), Andrew Gaze, Charles Oakley, Dave Twarzik. I may have Gaze over Curry but basically I like the pieces given up more than the pieces received. But now enough with the off-season, lets look at the actual upcoming season for them. I could see this team being better because I think just in terms of what they had last year they have better talent (since you can't factor in KC Jones). They will need some guys to step up though in training camp like Payton and Oakley though to guarantee it. However i'm not sure getting better is really what best for this team because like I mentioned above they desperately need a star. I think right now they have a lot of pieces that will be excellent in supporting roles like Chandler, Payton, Gaze, and Wallace but they need that one go to 20 PPG guy. With Boston and Washington adding CP3 and Hondo respectively, this team runs the risk of falling behind the pack long term. Most likely scenario for this team right now is they fall somewhere close to the .500 mark (mid 30s) and miss the playoffs as the American conference becomes tougher.
Last Season’s Record: 6-76
Last Season's Result: Lottery
Key Off-Season Additions: John Havlicek, Andrew Bogut, Leroy Ellis
Key Off-Season Losses: None
Did they improve this off-season? Yes
Biggest Need: Patience along with a SF & PG
Best Case Scenario: Bottom 5 Team*
Worst Case Scenario: Worst Team in the League*
Potential Breakout Player: No one since i'm not including rookies for obvious reasons
Overall Record Range: 20-25
Division Position: 6th
Bold Prediction: Rather than wait out the entire year, they will move a pick (or 2) for another young impact guy for their core.
*Just like Toronto, flip the best/worst case depending on who you are talking to.
Final Thoughts: So the Washington Generals will not be good this season and that is still very much by design. Even their own GM said that they are 100% likely to miss the playoff this year in their mind and that's okay. They are still armed with 7 first round picks over the next 3 seasons and have arguably the best long term piece in the division not named Charles Barkley with John Havlicek. That's why I made a point to mention that this teams biggest need is going to be patience this season. Unlike last season they will have some entertainment because they will be able to follow the seasons of their 3 rookies but it is important for them to avoid trying to get into the thick of things for at least another season. Now I did mention that this team needs a SF (since I think long term while Hondo can play the 3, he has his biggest advantage at the 2) & a PG and that they could trade one or two of their seven first for players but what I mean there is that they add more young talent via trade, not 27-28 year olds because it's not needed. Another long season ahead for the Generals but a much more enjoyable one this time around.
