Ahead of next Wednesday's start to the 2015/16 NBA season, Kevin Jeffers (Eastern Conference) and Jonathan Raymond (Western Conference) will preview each team in the league. Here, a look at the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards in the Southeast Division.
Atlanta Hawks
What's Good: Balanced scoring, tons of shooters, versatile big men and, for the first time in a long time, depth.
Most of the team that shocked the league by winning 60 games last season return. Only missing is small forward DeMarre Carroll, who left for Toronto (fun fact: Carroll was the only Hawks starter not to make last year’s all-star team, but he’ll still be missed). He’ll be replaced by a committee of Kent Bazemore, Thabo Sefolosha and Justin Holiday, but the Hawks could also go big by playing Paul Millsap at the 3, Al Horford at power forward and newly acquired centre Tiago Splitter at the same time. Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer has earned the trust of fans at this point that he can capably replace Carroll, a journeyman before Budenholzer developed him into a prized free agent.
Horford will be a closely watched player all over the league. The team’s undisputed leader and longest-tenured player (the Hawks haven’t missed the play-offs since he entered the league in 2007) is about to cash in. After Kevin Durant, he might be next off-season’s second highest free-agent prize, so he’ll have even more motivation. It’s been reported he’s improved his three-point shot over the off-season, which could be unfair for other teams match-up-wise. He’s already the best midrange-shooting big man in the league not named LaMarcus Aldridge. Any improvement is gravy for Atlanta.
And their point guard situation is one of the best in the league. Jeff Teague is an all-star starter and backup Dennis Schroder from Germany is a budding star who could push Teague for playing time.
What's Bad: LeBron James didn't return to his home planet, so the path to the Finals still goes through him.
Also, this team looked exhausted at the end of their Eastern Conference finals run last season, as injuries and fatigue became too much to overcome. Kyle Korver, Sefalosha and backup guard Shelvin Mack are all coming off injuries, and Horford doesn’t have the most stellar reputation for playing a full slate of games himself. It was as though the campaign to regular-season success cost them in the play-offs. Budenholzer would be wise to adjust his priorities this season, because No 1 seeds ultimately mean nothing without Finals appearances.
Best-case scenario: LeBron James returns to his home planet and the Eastern Conference champion Hawks are swept by the Spurs in the Finals.
Worst-case scenario: Injuries mount up, shots don't fall, and the disappointing Hawks bow out in the first round.
Charlotte Hornets
What's Good: Man, they nailed those uniforms. Also Al Jefferson is good, I guess. They at least showed they have intentions of playing to win by trading for Nicolas Batum and signing Jeremy Lin, but this roster needed a lot more than that. They had a solid defensive team last season, but ...
What's Bad: ... their best young player, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, is out for the season. He's not much of a scorer, but he plays elite defence at probably the most important defensive position. With him out, this team lack a real identity.
I mean, what is there to really look forward to here? Jefferson, their best player, is past his prime and in a contract year, and there’s no one outside of Kidd-Gilchrist to really build around. They probably over-drafted Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky, and he could make for a very awkward front-court contingent with Jefferson and Cody Zeller. And if Kemba Walker is your best perimeter scorer, you aren’t winning a lot of games. This team is a long way from contending.
Best-case scenario: A No 8 seed isn't out of the question if everything falls into place and Jefferson regains his form from two years ago, but that's just not saying much in the East. If that's your goal, you're doing the NBA wrong.
Worst-case scenario: Actually, failing forward to a play-off spot is worse than playing for the future and nabbing a high draft pick. These uniforms deserve better.
Miami Heat
What's Good: After losing the world's best player last season, Miami should be credited for taking the path most teams wouldn't have and avoided completely tearing it apart and rebuilding. They kept ever-underrated forward Chris Bosh and team mascot Dwyane Wade (however expensively) and pulled a huge coup by trading for point guard Goran Dragic. Hassan Whiteside unexpectedly became a more-than-capable centre, and Luol Deng was a solid signing, leaving the team a true wing player short of having (on paper) a sterling 6-man rotation. Then Justise Winslow inexplicably fell to them in the draft, and it became easy to envision title parades returning to Miami.
What's Bad: Not so fast. Bosh is coming off a blood clot ailment that cut his season short last year (he thankfully seems OK now), Wade is creaky and only good for 50 regular-season games a year, and it remains to be seen how he fits with Dragic's style of playmaking. Whiteside showed brilliant flashes last season, but it could amount to only that. And Winslow will be heavily relied upon as a rookie on a win-now team, never an easy proposition in the NBA.
This is the biggest boom-or-bust team in the league, and there are more reasons it could go wrong than there are reasons to think it’ll end with a title. No team can really afford injuries, but Miami are especially dependent on all of their stars staying healthy and becoming the special unit Pat Riley envisions. The depth is a huge issue (how Mario Chalmers is still cashing Florida paychecks is beyond me), but that can theoretically be addressed midseason. This team is heavy on stars, but far from a finished product.
Best-case scenario: I just don't see the Heat as the title contenders others think they can be. They're in that second tier of Eastern teams with Toronto and Washington that are good, just not good enough.
Worst-case scenario: Dragic and Wade prove so disastrous defensively that they fail to win a play-off round and Wade chooses to chase a title next year and leaves Miami. No fanbase outside of LA or Cleveland loves its legend more than Miami does Wade, but for the first time it's not hard to see him leaving if things don't go perfectly.
Orlando Magic
What's Good: They're the Minnesota of the East just for the amount of intriguing talent they've drafted the past few years. A starting backcourt of third-year guard Victor Oladipo and second-year point guard Elfrid Payton is really intriguing if they can manage to expand their scoring range. That might take some time, but they're already a good defencive pairing.
In the frontcourt, Nikola Vucevic could be an offensive star-in-hiding at centre, and they’ll have another shot at seeing if athletic forward Aaron Gordon has real NBA chops. They were reportedly close to signing Paul Millsap away from Atlanta, so there’s intent here to sign a veteran difference-maker. For a franchise most known for losing its biggest stars, that’s a promising sign.
And every basketball fan should get to know Mario Hezonja, the No 5 overall pick from Croatia (via Barcelona) who will probably come off the bench in his rookie year. He might be the long-term answer to Orlando’s scoring woes, and has major star potential if only for his enigmatic attitude and highlight-reel ability.
What's Bad: I'm bearish on the Scott Skiles hiring. The coach has a reputation as a great defensive mind, but has never had efficient offences. That seemed to be Orlando's biggest deficiency with this collection of young players, so I don't know that Skiles is the right man to turn this team from intriguing to great.
Best-case scenario: They become this year's Milwaukee by nudging into the middle tier a year ahead of schedule and nab a low play-off spot.
Worst-case scenario: Skiles and Hezonja literally fight on the court en route to a 25-win season.
Washington Wizards
What's Good: John Wall is so, criminally under-appreciated. I can't think of a point guard I'd rather build around (if only because of Chris Paul's advancing age and Stephen Curry's reliance on others to defend), and Washington has him long-term. That's a big piece of the puzzle, and it's made even better that his backcourt running mate Bradley Beal is a star in the making. This is the best backcourt in the East, and would be the best in the whole league if not for Golden State's existence. They gave Atlanta fits in the second round last year, and were a few of bounces away from going to the conference finals.
Otto Porter Jr proved to be a capable 3 last season and is only improving. He’ll get even more of a chance to shine now that Paul Pierce is off to the Clippers. That’s three quality, young NBA starters that any team would take. There’s decent depth here, too, especially with the additions of Jared Dudley and Alan Anderson.
What's Bad: They seem to be saving their money for next year when hometown star Kevin Durant is a free agent. That's smart, but it leaves them short of the necessary components this season, especially as their starting frontcourt includes Nene, who is bad and not good. They aren't in danger of missing the play-offs, but there are just a few teams better than them in the East. A deep run and a passionate showing from the town's sometimes-fickle fans would go a long way in enticing Durant to join them.
Best-case scenario: Nobody wants to face Wall and Beal in the play-offs. They could play their way to a conference finals appearance.
Worst-case scenario: A first-round exit could devastate a young team with higher aspirations.
