Re: May on the Best Teams in The East

["Dan Forant" <dforant1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Doesn't offend me a bit. I'm not one of the delusional ones who think we are
better than we really are. At present unless future evidence provides some
promise, we belong anywhere between 5-8 in the playoff picture. We'll see
what May has to say in 2-3 years.

DanF

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Way Of The Ray" <wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <celtics@xxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2003 9:14 AM
Subject: May on the Best Teams in The East


> Strangely enough, the Celtics don't seem to make the list.....
> Good point by May on McGrady. He is the best player in the conference.
> But will he be usurped by James in the coming years?
>
> And I'm sure this article will offend the usual cheerleaderish types....
>
> The cream of East's not-so-vintage crop
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> By Peter May
> Special to ESPN.com
>
>
> Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to identify the top
> five teams in the Eastern Conference. Good luck. You'll need it.
>
> Sure, we can always make a list of the top five teams in the Eastern
> Conference. Just try getting to No. 3. I'm already at the Carolina
> Bobcats -- and they don't even play next season. Identifying the top
> five teams in the East is akin to identifying the top five wines by
> Boone's Farm.
>
>
> The Nets will be better only if Alonzo Mourning is feeling better.
> The widening gap between East and West is even greater now, given what
> has transpired in the last few weeks. The East's only saving grace --
> Jason Kidd decided to stay in New Jersey. Sure, he brought Alonzo
> Mourning with him. But Zo was already in the conference. And Jermaine
> O'Neal remained in Indiana. That's about it.
>
> Otherwise, Latrell Sprewell, Brad Miller and Gary Payton went west. Karl
> Malone, Rasho Nesterovic and Michael Olowokandi stayed out west, as did
> Andre Miller. Elton Brand and Corey Maggette stayed out west, as did
> Eric Piatkowski and, of course, Mark Madsen.
>
> So what does that leave the East looking like? How does Mogadishu sound?
>
> We all can identify the top five teams in the Western Conference. In
> some order, they are the Spurs, Lakers, Mavericks, Kings and
> Timberwolves. They also happen to be one though five in the league right
> now, no matter what they might say in East Rutherford.
>
> But the Nets have this going for them: They are, as we speak, the
> indisputable kingpins, the Boone's Farm Strawberry, of the Eastern
> Conference.
>
>
> 1
> New Jersey Nets: Say this for Rod Thorn; he did what he had to do. How
> Kidd decided to stay in New Jersey, where he's never going to win a
> title, and diss San Antonio, where he could have won a title, remains
> the big mystery. But he did it. And he got Zo to come along in a $22
> million sidecar. The Nets are stronger, but only, really, if Mourning
> gives them anything. And we all know that the last time Zo played, he
> wasn't the menacing Zo of yore. But he is an upgrade, and you have to
> think Thorn might have one more move up his sleeve, dealing one of his
> surplus bigs. The Nets have ruled the conference the last two years --
> remember, they won 10 straight playoff games heading into the NBA
> Finals. Kidd is the difference maker, and they have him. There are two
> potential sore spots, however, both involving contracts. Kenyon Martin's
> agent went to Thorn on Aug. 1 and asked for a maximum extension. The
> response: not so quick. Let's see K-Mart make an All-Star team in the
> power forward-bereft East first and then, well, maybe. The other is
> Byron Scott. Not many organizations that want their coach to stick
> around allow him to go into the final year of a contract. But that's
> where Scott is right now. Maybe there are shaky relationships and sour
> grapes, but how do you let this happen? Especially with
> power-behind-the-throne Eddie Jordan off to Washington.
>
> 2. Detroit Pistons: We'll give the Pistons their due, even though the
> status of Darko Milicic is anything but clear. But, really, is there any
> way you don't expect to see him in a Detroit uniform next fall? The
> Pistons have insurance up the middle with the addition of Elden Campbell
> to back up Cliff Robinson and Ben Wallace. That's plenty in the East.
> Detroit basically has the same crew back from last year, but with Larry
> Brown at the helm instead of Rick Carlisle and with valuable reserve Jon
> Barry still out there. All we know is that Carlisle's Pistons took care
> of Brown's 76ers in the playoffs last spring. And the Pistons aren't the
> type of team Brown traditionally chooses. Usually, he gets a team on the
> bottom and then takes it upwards. These guys were regular-season
> conference champs last year. How much more can they grow? Well, they
> have Milicic, Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton, all youngsters with a
> lot to learn. Brown will have an impact on them. (If you're Darko, is
> there a better situation for you than to have Larry Brown as your first
> head coach?) Is this team ready to take the proverbial next step? That's
> why Brown is there.
>
>
> Tim Floyd finally has some talent to work with, something he didn't have
> in Chicago.
> 3. New Orleans Hornets: Now, it gets dicey. The only reason the Hornets
> aren't higher -- on paper, they may have the best lineup -- is because
> we're still not sure why, with all the possibilities out there, they
> hired Tim Floyd. There is still a sizeable contingent of reputable
> basketball people who think Floyd is a top-notch coach who never had
> anything close to a full deck in Chicago. There are others who will tell
> you he was simply over his head in Chicago no matter who he coached,
> evidenced by the rebellion of some veterans as well as the fact that the
> team got better once he left. Floyd inherits a pretty good team whose
> main trouble the last two years has been injuries to its two best
> players. If Jamal Mashburn and Baron Davis can somehow stay healthy,
> these guys have most of the bases covered. They re-signed P.J. Brown and
> then got a veteran presence in the backcourt in Darrell Armstrong. They
> just re-upped good guy George Lynch. There's really no reason why Floyd
> can't get a lot of Ws out of this group. But until it happens, there is
> always going to be that question. No one has lost like he has lost in
> the annals of the NBA. In fact, he might win more games in one year here
> than he did in three-plus years in Chicago. Really, only he can mess
> this thing up.
>
> 4. Indiana Pacers: The Pacers were the No. 3 team in the East at the end
> of last season (after being No. 1 for much of the first half) and then
> flamed out big-time in the playoffs. Isiah Thomas' coaching was brutal,
> no one made shots except for O'Neal, and Indy was lucky to win two games
> against the Celtics. But the Pacers' only real loss since then has been
> Brad Miller, although Scot Pollard seems to be a more than adequate
> replacement. As new hoops chief Larry Bird noted, "He's won everywhere
> he's been. He plays hard and he doesn't complain." Reggie Miller remains
> unsigned, but that shouldn't be seen as a crisis. Where else is he going
> to go? And despite Miller's reputation as a big-game performer, he was
> awful in the Boston series. The big unknown for Indy is the status of
> Thomas who, like Scott, is on the last year of his deal. The arrival of
> Bird cannot be construed as good news for Thomas; Bird recommended that
> Indy hire Carlisle to succeed him three years ago. Thomas has taken Indy
> into the playoffs the last three years. Each time, they've been bounced
> in the first round. The first two years could be written off to youth,
> or so the Pacers said. Last year was flat-out inexcusable. The big
> personnel questions remain the same as before: Who is going to be the
> point guard and when will some of the kids ever start to develop into
> consistent, solid NBA players? Al Harrington disappeared against the
> Celtics. Jonathan Bender barely played. O'Neal will take them a long
> way, and Ron Artest is coming off a breakout year of sorts. On paper,
> anyway, the Pacers still look reasonably solid. But isn't it time for
> them to go a little further?
>
> 5. Orlando Magic: The Magic have the best player in the conference. At
> long last, they also have some talent around him. That should help Tracy
> McGrady and maybe get Orlando into the second round of the playoffs.
> McGrady is the Kevin Garnett of the East. But the Magic finally got some
> help for him, starting with the acquisitions of Drew Gooden and Gordan
> Giricek last season and continuing over the summer with the drafting of
> Reece Gaines and the free-agent signings of Juwan Howard and Tyronn Lue.
> They still could use a big body -- is Steven Hunter going to be ready to
> play every day? -- but, then again, who couldn't in the East? Orlando
> also is going into this season without the distraction of Grant Hill,
> who is not going to play. As much as coach Doc Rivers might have said
> otherwise, it had to be tough with Hill being an unknown most of the
> time. Now, it's a known -- he's going to be like Bob Dylan at Woodstock.
> (He ain't here and he ain't coming.) Gooden and Giricek will have a full
> camp behind them when the bell rings, and Lue should help offset the
> loss of the popular Armstrong. Howard gives them an inside option they
> haven't had for a while, although it remains to be seen how he and
> Gooden will mesh. Gaines can score and distribute, and Rick Pitino
> generally has his guys ready for the NBA. But it still all hinges on
> T-Mac. If he stays healthy, the Magic could be a fun team to watch --
> and a not-so-fun team to play.
>
> Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular
> contributor to ESPN.com.