Tristan Thompson returns as a righthanded player and growth should be expected from Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller, both of whom had solid rookie seasons. And that doesn’t even include Andrew Bynum, whose health obviously is an issue. “He’s probably going to be the key,” Anthony said.
Maybe to securing a higher seed. But the key to getting into the party is Kyrie Irving, a control-the-game player who has missed 38 games through his first two seasons. Brown has a pretty solid strategy here: Keep it close with his defense, then let Kyrie take over. But Irving has to play 75 games.
VERDICT: In. Irving will probably drop dead of exhaustion in the first round, but at least they will get a taste.
DETROIT PISTONS: In Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings, they certainly added some big names to their big tandem of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. But there are legitimate questions about whether all the pieces fit.
To get his best five on the floor, new coach Maurice Cheeks has to play Josh Smith at small forward, his least effective frontcourt position. He also has a handful of ball-stoppers with games better suited for isolation than ball and player movement alongside a new shoot-first point guard in Jennings.
Perhaps the savvy, positive influences of Cheeks and Chauncey Billups will be the best thing that ever happened to Jennings, who should get a professional education of how to play the point. But from here, it seems like the Pistons may still be one year away from truly maximizing what they have.
VERDICT: Out, butting getting closer. And another lottery pick (they owe one to Charlotte, but it is protected 1-8) wouldn’t be so bad.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS: There was some offseason grumbling from the fan base on two fronts. One was that owner Herb
Kohl remains highly reluctant to blow it up and start over, instead insisting on putting a competitive product on the floor. The other was the Bucks overpaid for that product, and $40 million for three years of O.J. Mayo and Zaza Pachulia may seem like a bit much.
But how many teams can say they dumped their top two scorers and got better? Milwaukee now has two legitimate NBA players at each position. Furthermore, some of the pieces they have added – Caron Butler, Carlos Delfino, Gary Neal – have been around the NBA block a time or two and take their craft pretty seriously.
For the holdovers, new coach Larry Drew will be a welcome change from Scott Skiles. Drew will have to nurture erratic point guard Brandon Knight, and if Luke Ridnour is getting more of the minutes running the offense, that is a problem. There will be some nights where the ball doesn’t go in the hole, but overall the Bucks have more than all of the other East playoff hopefuls.
VERDICT: In, and maybe even with a higher seed than last season’s No. 8.
TORONTO RAPTORS: The starting five is Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas, who might end up winning Most Improved Player. It’s a solid unit that can score, even if it can’t shoot very well. But the group also has a combined 31 playoff games and has a bunch of “my-turn” guys.
The bench is D.J. Augustin, Terrence Ross, Steve Novak, Landry Fields, Tyler Hansbrough and Aaron Gray, devoid of offense (other than Novak’s shooting) and athleticism (other than Ross). And coach Dwane Casey is on a one-year contract, which makes it hard to hold the players accountable.
I know there’s some talk north of the border that the Raptors could sneak into the postseason. I don’t see how. From a starters-to-bench standpoint, they look an awful lot like last season’s Portland Trail Blazers.
VERDICT: Out. And Casey will be out of a job, too.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS: There are expectations in the nation’s capital this season, not the least of which is coming from owner Ted Leonsis, who has a GM and coach in the final year of their contracts and has said he is “tired of losing.” But can the players meet those expectations and make the playoffs for the first time since 2008? “It’s put up or shut up,” Webber said.
John Wall was terrific after returning from injury last season but now has to live up to an $80 million contract. Bradley Beal is certainly the real deal. But he spent good chunks of his rookie campaign sidelined by injury, and there is not much behind him. Rookie Otto Porter’s best position is small forward, where veterans Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster are in front of him.
Add the offseason neck injury to Emeka Okafor, who is out indefinitely, and the expectations start to look very unrealistic.
VERDICT: Out, in this order – coach Randy Wittman in December, playoff contention in April, GM Ernie Grunfeld in May.
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Chris Bernucca is a regular columnist and the managing editor of SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.