Re: Celtics=Playoff's???????

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

It's going to be hard to make the playoffs, but how significant is it if you
back in with, say 36 wins in a weak conference?

Barring injury, I see Philly, Toronto, Milwaukee, Orlando, Miami, NY and
Charlotte as locks. Everyone wants to write off NY and Miami, but why? Miami
won 50 games last year and didn't get Mourning back until the end of the
season. With 'Zo, the best big man in the East, along with Brian Grant,
Eddie Jones and whatever they get for Anthony Mason, I don't see them losing
10 games in the standings. Not to mention Riley. NY still has Sprewell,
Houston and Camby, and a good collection of role players. Plus, if the
rumored deal goes down, they add Howard Eisley and Adonal Foyle while only
surrendering Charlie Ward and Glen Rice (who was redundant there). They
still have Mark Jackson, Kurt Thomas, Othella Harrington... and Sprewell,
Houston and Camby are pretty darn good. Plus Van Gundy. Veteran teams always
decline more slowly than you'd think-look at the Jazz.

So that leaves the eighth spot up for grabs. Indiana had it last year and
there are a lot of reasons to think they'll be better-starting with Jermaine
O'Neal. He just seems to be exploding. But if Reggie Miller gets old
overnight (which happens sometimes), who knows? Jonathan Bender is a real
X-factor.

I think Atlanta is at least on a par with the Celts. They added Shareef
Abdur-Rahim to a team that will bring back Theo Ratliff (remember-he was
injured when he joined Atlanta), Toni Kukoc, Jason Terry (20 ppg) and Nazr
Mohammed, who became a real force. They're legitimate. The question you have
is how soon will all the new faces come together. And Joe questioned Lon
Kruger, but I thought he did an excellent job in the second half of last
season.

I take New Jersey seriously because I think Jason Kidd is one of the six or
seven best players in the NBA (Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, McGrady, Garnett, Kidd).
He's one of the few guys who makes everyone better, and I expect good
seasons from Van Horn and Kenyon Martin because of Kidd's presence. They
also get Kerry Kittles back. We'll see, but I expect to see them in the mix.

Detroit I see as maybe a tick below Atlanta, Boston and Jersey. Stackhouse
is a great scorer, and they added Cliff Robinson and Rodney White, but they
still aren't strong up front or at PG (sound familiar?). They'll have their
moments, but not enough.

Could the Celts get that eighth spot? Sure, but I'd say the Pacers are the
favorites, followed by Atlanta and the Celts, then Jersey, then Detroit. And
who knows how injuries will shake things up? Should be interesting.

Mark