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Peter May: C's 6th in the East
Well, at least he has them ahead of Orlando....
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
PRO BASKETBALL NOTES
A lot of burning questions
Can anyone in the flawed Atlantic Division
withstand the Heat?
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 10/31/99
How fitting to be discussing the
Atlantic Division on Halloween.
But this is the anti-goblin division: No
one here really scares anyone.
The defending champion, Miami, is still
reeling from a first-round KO by the
Knicks last year. The Heat are back almost
intact - Terry Porter left - and while Pat
Riley has had to change a few of his
street-mugging drills to comply with the
new rules, he still has the most available
talent, which is crucial. Everyone else,
with pretensions, expectations, or pipe
dreams, is flawed.
The Knicks? No Patrick. The Nets? No
Jayson. The Sixers? No big men. The Magic?
No Penny, Nick, Ike, or Horace. The
Wizards? No Rod, on some nights. The
Celtics? No Danny.
The conventional wisdom not too long ago
was that this was the deepest of the
league's four divisions. With the
injuries, that is no longer the case. It's
hard to make a rock-solid playoff case for
any of these teams, other than Miami,
unless key people are ready. Larry Brown,
the Sixers' major-domo, sounded downright
funereal (as is his wont) on a conference
call the other day as he talked about all
of his wounded lads. Jeff Van Gundy
already has told his Knicks that there's a
fine line between the playoffs and the
lottery. He should know. He came awfully
close to crossing it last season.
The biggest change has been in Orlando,
which ripped apart its team and is
starting over with a new coach, draft
picks, and money for free agents next
summer (read: Tim Duncan). The Magic have
played well in the exhibition season,
which means absolutely nothing, of course.
They are more than willing to take a hit
this season and have things (no state
taxes, nice weather, no Michael legacy)
that Chicago simply can't compete with in
the open market.
The Celtics? We will offer an unbiased,
objective assessment of their chances.
We're still looking for one preview that
has them any higher than fifth - a few
have them dead last - and even Sports
Illustrated for Kids picked them to finish
in the basement, noting nonetheless that
they do play hard.
Here is a preview of the division, with
teams listed in projected order of finish:
1. MIAMI HEAT
" Last season: 33-17, first place (tie).
Lost to New York in first round of
playoffs.
" Key additions: Otis Thorpe, Harold
Jamison, Anthony Carter.
" Key losses: Terry Porter, Terry Mills.
" Team song: ''It's So Hard to Wait.''
" Comment: Gee, how much time do you think
Riley has spent altering his practice
drills? It was reported that the Heat are
even playing the entire floor in workouts.
One thing hasn't changed: They've already
been involved in one ''incident'' leading
to one-game suspensions for Penny Hardaway
and Rex Chapman. (Miami miscreant Rex
Walters was the victim.) All that aside,
these guys will adjust and still defend as
tenaciously as ever. They were among the
top three teams last year in points
allowed and defensive field goal
percentage. It's hard to see that focus
changing. Alonzo Mourning is coming off a
breakthrough, MVP-caliber season. Tim
Hardaway is still around, as is everyone
else of import from that lovable group.
They just need to find a way to score.
2. NEW JERSEY NETS
" Last season: 16-34, seventh place. Did
not make playoffs.
" Key additions: Johnny Newman, Sherman
Douglas, Michael Cage.
" Key losses: Rony Seikaly, Eric Murdock.
" Key maybe: Jayson Williams.
" Team song: ''Good Vibrations.''
" Comment: This may be a bit of a reach,
especially with Williams's iffy situation.
But coach Don Casey reports that Williams
is working out and hoping to be back in
December. That doesn't jibe with rumors
that Williams may be out until February.
It's probably somewhere in between. But if
the Nets can somehow stock the middle with
mediocrity until/if Williams returns, that
should be enough. Stephon Marbury is ready
for an All-Star season, as is Keith Van
Horn. They still could use a healthy Kerry
Kittles. Casey is the anti-Cal, of course,
and will be on the spot in his first head
job since 1990. The players lobbied for
him, and it's up to everyone to make it
work. If the pieces are in place, there's
plenty with which to work.
3. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
" Last season: 28-22, third place. Lost to
Indiana in second round.
" Key additions: Billy Owens, Bruce Bowen,
Rodrick Rhodes, Jumaine Jones, Todd
MacCulloch.
" Key losses: Rick Mahorn, Harvey Grant,
Anthony Parker.
" Team song: ''Learn to Be Still.''
" Comment: Looking for a reason why
Orlando blew it all up? You need to go no
farther than the videotape, as Warner Wolf
might say, of last year's first-round
series with the 76ers. Philadelphia
dominated the high-payroll, low-achieving
Magic, and Orlando had to see it wasn't
going to work. But enough of that. The
Sixers should be even better this season,
now that they've had a sniff of success.
The early-season injury problems are
significant; Matt Geiger is out for a
month or more and Theo Ratliff is hobbled,
too. Larry Brown has resorted to bringing
in Stanley Roberts, of all people. The
coach also has a dilemma about where to
play Larry Hughes. He has been dazzling so
far, but he plays the same position as
Allen Iverson. Brown also has Bowen, who,
as we all know here, is a jump shot away
from being a great player. (Or was that
Andrew DeClercq?)
4. WASHINGTON WIZARDS
" Last season: 18-32, sixth place. Did not
make playoffs.
" Key additions: Ike Austin, Michael
Smith, Richard Hamilton, Aaron Williams,
Laron Profit.
" Key losses: Ben Wallace, Tim Legler,
Otis Thorpe, Calbert Cheaney.
" Team song: ''One Way or Another.''
" Comment: Quick, what was the Wizards'
main weakness last year? And what position
does Austin play? There, that's a quick
upgrade. There's also a favorable schedule
for the first month, which could enable
Austin and his mates to get out of the
blocks. That's assuming they're healthy,
which right now they're not. Smith is Ben
Wallace with a (marginally) better track
record at the line. But this team's
success should still hinge on how its Big
Three play. Rod Strickland, when he wants
to be, is one of the best point guards in
the league. He's been AWOL once already,
however; not a good sign for new coach Gar
Heard. Mitch Richmond has his contract and
needs to show he can take a team somewhere
other than the lottery. Juwan Howard? It's
time for him and his team.
5. NEW YORK KNICKS
" Last season: 27-23, fourth place. Lost
to San Antonio in NBA Finals.
" Key additions: John Wallace, Andrew
Lang.
" Key losses: None, unless you count Herb
Williams.
" Key maybe: Patrick Ewing.
" Team song: ''In the Hush Before the
Heartbreak.''
" Comment: Van Gundy said last week that
the Knicks have proven to be a .500 team
without Ewing the last two years. The good
side is that playing without Patrick is
getting to be no big deal for the Knicks.
The bad side is that they can't be deemed
a serious threat unless he does play,
especially with 10 of their first 13 games
on the road. The Knicks learned how to win
without Ewing but still were lucky to get
into the playoffs and through the first
round. They need Marcus Camby to continue
to develop and for someone (Lang?) to be a
presence inside until/if Ewing returns.
They still have two dynamic scorers in
Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston, but
their point guard position is one of the
worst in the division. The Knicks are in
transition, and the Ewing situation isn't
helping.
6. BOSTON CELTICS
" Last season: 19-31, fifth place. Did not
make playoffs.
" Key additions: Danny Fortson, Eric
Williams, Calbert Cheaney, Adrian Griffin,
Eric Washington, Wayne Turner.
" Key losses: Ron Mercer, Bruce Bowen.
" Team song: ''I Promise You a Happy
Ending.''
" Comment: You will have a hard time
finding anyone who picks the Celtics to
finish higher than this. And most picks
were submitted before Fortson went down
with a stress fracture. It's hard to see
how this team will, as the coach has
promised, leapfrog four clubs and make it
into the playoffs (not that that is any
great feat in and of itself). The Celtics
again have a number of new faces, and
most, if not all, will play. There's a
lack of size, unless Pervis Ellison
miraculously makes it through a season,
and too many guys who play the same
position. The loss of Fortson is huge
because he'll miss the early part of the
season, when the schedule favors the
Celtics. It'd also be nice to see Antoine
Walker improve somewhere other than at the
free throw line.
7. ORLANDO MAGIC
" Last season: 33-17, first place (tie).
Lost to Philadelphia in first round.
" Key additions: Tariq Abdul-Wahid, Ben
Wallace, Corey Maggette, Pat Garrity, and
a lot of veterans who will have to be cut.
" Key losses: Penny Hardaway, Ike Austin,
Nick Anderson, Horace Grant.
" Team song: ''Brilliant Disguise.''
" Comment: Unlike some other teams trying
to come out of a tailspin, these guys
appear to have a plan. They decided they
couldn't win with what they had, and
figured two (or three) steps backward was
the prudent way to go forward. If the
exhibition season is any gauge, there
won't be a lot of easy nights when this
team is on your schedule. (Sort of like
the Celtics.) There isn't much here, and
the Magic may have trouble getting 15-20
wins. But that's what they wanted and why
Doc Rivers has four years to turn it
around. He's got some pieces in place
already and may soon develop a reputation
as a coach you might want to play for.
He's also got the Florida intangibles and
the commitment of a deep-pockets owner.
This story ran on page F03 of the Boston
Globe on 10/31/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
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