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The Miami cHeat turned the basketball world on its head with their cavorting public appearance prior to last season, after signing Bosh and LeBron James in the off-season to add to their current superstar, Dwayne Wade.
Here's a nauseating reminder of the goings on:
Now, with the acquisitions - in order - of STAT, Melo and Tyson Chandler, the Knicks have adhered to Miami's blueprint for success: hedging their bets on 3 individuals, and paying top dollar to do so.
The Heat have already been voted on RealGm.com, as heavy favorites to take home Larry O'brien this year, and no doubt are touted by many in the know as the team to beat this season. Before they attempt to garner the NBA's one common goal, they'll have to take care of their Eastern conference counterparts.
The Chicago Bulls can lay claim to Eastern supremacy, as well. After an amazing season behind MVP, Derrick Rose, and an ECF loss to Miami, the Bulls will be ready. They are one or two good trades away from being a powerhouse in every sense of the word.
Here's a look back at the season that was, and the anticipation for the season to be for the Chicago Bulls.
The Orlando Magic
After losing in an upset in 6 games to the Hawks last season, the Magic seem poised to do, well, not a lot. After using amnesty on Arenas and re-signing J-Rich and trading Bass for Big Baby Davis, the Magic still are in need of system tweaks.
Regardless of this blaring fact, they still have D12, and will remain in the East's elite because of it. Looks very much like they'll be keeping him on board at least for this season, too.
Having the league's best center and 3 times and counting DPOY is a big +, but Orlando, after a myriad of poor signings and bad contracts, have little to trade for, and not a lot of room to add to their mediocre supporting cast.
Boston Celdics.
They're old, haggard and irritating beyond recall, but the Celts with their veteran big 3 and Rondo will still be lingering around spots 4 and 5. I have nothing else to say about them except this: Rondo is their glue. They dangled him in front of the league for CP3, but, as is the standard with the NBA, they declined on post CBA principal. Will that rattle Rondo's cage? If it does, look for an implosion in Boston.
I ****ing HATE the Celtics. A plague on them all.
Atlanta Hawks
Perennial contenders for a second round exit, the Hawks have seen better days: Crawford is out, Josh Smith still voicing his desire to be traded, Joe Johnson's ridiculous contract. They have signed T Mac, though, and will again be amongst the top 8.
I really don't expect much from Atlanta this year. Bar the influence of an outbreak by Al Horford, the Hawks will begin their descent in to the lower end of the top 9 teams this year, IMO.
SO LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS, GENTS.
I would love to know what people on here are thinking about the East, as the distance between seeds 1-4 and 5-8 are so immense, what will become of the Knicks?
Let's keep our counterparts under UAV surveillance: trades, trends, stats, injuries, news and so forth - bring it here and we'll keep a watchful eye on opponent teams in the scramble for best seeding come playoff time. This hectic schedule will be jam packed with highs and lows for every team, and will make for interesting analysis.
☆ If it's alright with everyone, I'd like to keep an eye on our Eastern rivals in this thread, and keep up to date with the conference as so many games this year will be against conference foes.