76ers Place in the Eastern Conference Pt 2

Part one of my series focused on the Atlantic division, home of your 76ers. I shortly assessed every teams' (besides the Sixers) roster and what I think the near future, within the next five years, will bring to that franchise. Next will be the Southeast Division, which includes the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and Washington Wizards. Let's get it at after the jump.

Atlanta Hawks:

This is basically the same team as last year, the team that got the beatdown put on them by the Orlando Magic, being swept out of the playoffs in the second round. Had Andrew Bogut been healthy for their first round match-up with the Bucks, I seriously doubt the Hawks would have even made it to face the Magic.  As I'm sure you all know, ATL decidde to sign Joe Johnson to an absolutely horrible deal in the off-season. Just how bad of a contract is it though? While16.3mil in 2010 is bad enough for a guy who handles the ball more than Perez Hilton, at the start of the 2015/16 season this dude is going to be making almost 25mil in cash money. Who says the Elton Brand contract is the worst in the NBA? This is a playoff team for the next 2 years no doubt with Josh Smith and the ever-improving Al Horford in the front court, but if they are unable to resign Al Horford after the 2011/12 season, look out for the blowup with Josh Smith's contract up the very next year. The Joe Johnson signing really cripples this franchise, and if I was an ATL fan I would bury my head in the sand right now ALA South Park.

Charlotte Bobcats:

What can I say? Did this team NOT impress anyone last year? Larry Brown does it again. The Bobcats had been on the turnaround the year before, but adding a player like Stephen Jackson, who can really fill it up from three and is a tough SOB finally put them into the playoffs. They have a few already solid NBA players in the aforementioned Jackson, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, Erick Dampier, and Tyrus Thomas, but lack that superstar that is needed in the NBA in order to win a title. DJ Augustin will no doubt continue to improve, but I really doubt it's going to be enough to get them past the second round in the East. They have almost 23mil in expiring contracts this upcoming season and some young players to sweeten the deal, but I really doubt they'll be able to land a player like Mello just because of the team's location. This team could potentially pull off a huge signing and be in contention in the East after this year, or could end up in the same boat as the ATL Hawks: Good, but not good enough.

Miami Heat:

Let's get past LeBron, Bosh, and DWade. Personally I think they're going to work great together, and I think LeBron made the right decision to leave Cleveland I just think he went to the wrong team (Chicago Bulls). The real issue for this team is going to be depth, so let's take a look at who else they inked so far in the off-season and who they have left. They signed Mike Miller, Eddie House, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, along with drafting Da'Sean Butler from West Virginia. The lone remaining player on the Heat's roster (besides DWade) from last year is their PG Mario Chalmers. Look at what they've done to this roster. Every single big they have can shoot, which stretches the paint for LeBron and DWade to cut through freely at almost any point in the game. Eddy House hits more big 3's than he misses, and has finals experience to boot. The only issue I personally have with this team is the lack of athleticism on the front line minus Chris Bosh. The Celtics are going to be the big test for this team's interior players, matching up against Jermaine O'Neal and the Big Ticket KG. I really don't see that going well for the Heat, which means that the have to win a majority of their games against the better teams in the NBA with perimeter play. I guess that's why they have 2/3 of the best perimeter players in the game right?  There's no doubt in my mind that the Heat will win at least one title in the next five years. I'm going to go ahead and give them three.

Orlando Magic:

This team made it to the NBA Finals just two years ago, and quite frankly I think they played soft. I just don't see any way that with Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis both on the roster that this team wins an NBA title. Frankly, I think Lewis is a soft 4. Very soft. He stands on the perimeter and shoots when Dwight Howard, or anyone else on the roster, passes him the ball. He's a black hole. If I'm the GM of the Magic, I'm openly shopping Lewis. Gortat needs to start along side Dwight Howard, with Brandon Bass (remember him?) being the first big off the bench in order for the Magic to be successful against the Celtics or the Heat. The Magic just don't shoot the three well enough to play stand-around-Dwight-and-pull-the-trigger anymore. If they could somehow get a deal done with NO in order to get Chris Paul, that would propel them to the front of the East IMO. I can't tell you how many times I saw Jameer Nelson missing an open Dwight Howard for the oop last year. He's a bad passing PG, period. They subtracted an enraged Matt Barnes from their roster and added a lazy Quentin Richardson. Unless they trade him during the next two seasons, say goodbye to Vinceanity after 2011/12. Mickael Pietrus's contract is also up after 2011/12, but I believe that he's too valuable off the bench to let go. My prediction for this team is that they underachieve for the next few seasons and unless Dwight Howard is loyal, they lose him after the 2012/13 season to some other super-team.

Washington Wizards:

Mission WTF was a gigantic success in Washington, and they landed the first pick in the draft. Problem is they have the big gun Agent 0, who might not be willing to play nice. If Gilbert excepts the shift to SG or is traded (HA!), then this team may be headed towards success in the distant future. They added Kirk Hinrich and Yi JianLian (who I think is showing promise) among others through trades and free agency. The future of this team mainly lies in three factors: Will John Wall be the next great player in the NBA? Will John Wall and Agent 0 be able to coexist? What current players and future draft picks will be able to step up and play along side John Wall for years to come? If Wall and Arenas can play nice, they develop two decent or one above average big, and can John Wall develops into the superstar we're all expecting him to be, this team can be looking at title contention in as little as 4 years. After the 2013/14 season, whoever wants to come and play with John Wall will have their wish.

My take on the Southeast: This is the best division in the East, and could possibly be the best division in the NBA. If the Magic can make a roster change and get rid of Lewis, I think they have have a shot to beat the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics to get to the NBA Finals. If not, I think they're too soft in the front court to contend.

All criticism/suggestions are welcome. Look for Part 3 in the near future.