The NBA East at the Halfway Point

Published: 29th Feb 12 1:59 pm
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by Derek Kessinger
Colorado Blogger
The NBA East at the Halfway Point
Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

The NBA All-Star break gave everyone a chance to catch their breath. The unofficial halfway point of the season does not seem like a quality benchmark for what is to come in this NBA season. The interesting thing will be to see which teams put weight in this NBA season. How can you judge your players on the mayhem of the first two months? Is trying to win a championship this year worth mortgaging the future? Here’s a look at the Eastern Conference according to rank.

15. Charlotte Bobcats (4-28)
The Bobcats have only won four games: against Toronto, New York, Milwaukee and Golden State. Those teams must all be really embarrassed, but none of them are over .500 teams. If Michael Jordan keeps his job as GM, he better hope they get the first overall pick.

14. Washington Wizards (7-27)
You never hear anything about his basketball game, but sophomore John Wall is averaging 16.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 7.8 assists. Those aren’t bad numbers for a point guard, the hardest position to adjust to at the NBA level. Now he just needs skilled players to play in D.C.

13. Toronto Raptors (10-24)
Toronto does not miss Chris Bosh at all because DeMar DeRozan is leading the team with almost 16 points a night. Their top draft pick, Jonas Valanciunas, a 7 foot Lithuanian center, is tearing up Europe. Now he just needs to head over to Canada…

12. New Jersey Nets (11-25)
While their owner is running for President of Russia, New Jersey is running their star out of town. Derron Williams cannot be happy playing on this team, especially as Jeremy Lin is now overshadowing his play, on top of everyone else on the Knicks.

11. Detroit Pistons (11-25)
The Detroit Pistons only retain Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace from their championship team and just cannot find the pieces to start over right now. Center Greg Monroe might be a good start. He’s almost averaging a double-double in his second year.

10. Cleveland Cavaliers (13-19)
I don’t think anyone expected Cleveland to be only three games out of a playoff spot, but they also play in the east. Kyrie Irving’s great start to his NBA career means that good basketball could still be played in Ohio.

9. Milwaukee Bucks (14-20)
Brandon Jennings is still leading the Fear the Deer charge, but Andrew Bogut is going to need to have a strong second half if the Bucks are going to catch the Celtics and the Knicks and make the playoffs.

8. Boston Celtics (16-17)
Everyone in Boston desperately wants a trade. In a town with a baseball and football team that can find quick fixes, they do not want to fade back into NBA irrelevancy. The Oklahoma City trade, where Boston lost Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson, took away the team’s best trade pieces.

7. New York Knicks (17-18)
Can Lin-sanity continue in New York? If not, than Carmelo may become the most hated man in New York. It’s hard to say that it’s his fault if Lin returns to the mean. For the moment Lin saved Mike D’Antoni’s job.

6. Atlanta Hawks (20-14)
How quickly Joe Johnson returns from injury will determine the Hawk’s fate this season. They would love to challenge for a first round home court. They are only two games behind Indiana for third in the East.

5. Orlando Magic (22-13)
All anyone in Orlando is thinking is how to keep Dwight Howard in Orlando. The latest proposal is acquiring Steve Nash. That might allow them to try and compete this year, but Nash is not a long-term option anymore.

4. Philadelphia 76ers (21-14)
Philadelphia is four games ahead in the Atlantic Division and cruising along. Did anyone think that Louis Williams’ 15.6 points per game would make him the team’s leading scorer? They have six players who are averaging double figures.

3. Indiana Pacers (22-12)
The Pacers are relevant again for the first time since Ron (Meta World Peace) Artest took on Detroit’s fans. Danny Granger does not get enough credit for leading the Pacers back onto the NBA’s main stage. It will be interesting to see if they can keep up the pace.

2. Chicago Bulls (28-8)
With the most wins in the league, Chicago looks to challenge Miami for the Eastern Conference Championship. Can they stay healthy enough for the playoffs? Carlos Boozer and Richard Hamilton will have to step up their game if they are going to take down the Big Three.

1. Miami Heat (27-7)
Before a recent game they showed Chris Bosh on camera with the caption, Miami’s third leading scorer. The Heat seem more determined this year, but they did kind of ruin the All-star game. Lebron James had the key turnover and Dwayne Wade elbowed Kobe Bryant in the face.

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