2012-13 NBA Preview: Eastern Conference

After a shortened, yet very eventful NBA season last year which saw the "big 3" in Miami win their first title over a talented young OKC team, this offseason saw some big moves change the landscape of the league. There are also many teams loaded with young talent waiting to break out. This should make for an extremely competitive and entertaining season (and it better if we're not going to have any hockey to watch!). Here's how I see things playing out.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Miami Heat
It will be very interesting to see how LeBron plays this year without the constant questions of "Is he clutch?" or "Will he ever win one?" hanging over his head. I can see him having a phenomenal season without all of that pressure, but he needs to be careful not to take his foot off the pedal at all without that as motivation. Aside from that, the addition of Ray Allen should take a bit of the load off of Dwayne Wade after a sub par season. However, the Heat are by no means invincible, as they will continue to get out-rebounded due to their undersized frontcourt. They will continue to rely on their extreme talent to overcome that.

2. Boston Celtics
The departure of Ray Allen would seem to indicate a rebuilding stage for Boston, but that could not be further from the truth. The C's brought in Courtney Lee and Jason Terry to fill his role, and as much as I love Ray, these two will fully make up for his departure and then some. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce continue to defy age by continuing to play at very high levels. Although they may not be All-Star caliber players for much longer, this will only lead them to push the rest of the team to give this season everything they have. Rajon Rondo is probably the best passer in the league at this point, and seemed to develop new facets of his game as the season and playoffs progressed, solidifying his spot among the best PGs in the league. Barring setback, Avery Bradley should be back early in the year to further bolster the backcourt, and Brandon Bass will accompany Pierce and Garnett in the frontcourt after a breakout year. Jeff Green, a forgotten factor after being out all of last year, will return to be a key contributor offensively. When all is said and done, the Celtics will definitely have enough to give the champs a run for their money.

3. New York Knicks
The Knicks are a very talented team, will this be the year that they finally mesh? Tyson Chandler may very well be the best defensive big man in the league, but he can't be the only one to contribute at that end of the floor. Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony are two of the most talented offensive players in the league, but still haven't really been able to coexist since joining the Knicks. Even with the departure of Linsanity, the team has a lot of depth at the guard spots with JR Smith and Ronnie Brewer holding down the shooting guard spot until Iman Shumpert returns, while Raymond Felton takes over the point with Jason Kidd sharing time. Felton adds another dimension offensively, while Kidd may very well be the key to this team. Will his veteran leadership finally allow this team to work together? Time will tell.

4. Brooklyn Nets
New City, new look. The Nets haven't had this much promise since Jason Kidd was on their own team. Though they failed to land Dwight Howard, they still have a loaded lineup entering the season. Deron Williams continues to quietly be one of the best PGs in the game, and Kris Humphries is pretty much a guaranteed double double down low. Gerald Wallace will start at SF, and is a top tier defensive player in the NBA. Brook Lopez is a very good young player coming back from being injured most of last year to complement Humphries down low. But the big offseason addition was Joe Johnson. Johnson definitely needed a change of scenery from Atlanta, and Brooklyn seems to be just that place, where he will have a much better PG than he's ever had to get the ball to him. When all is said and done, the Nets will definitely challenge to be the best team in the big city, and one of the best in the East.

5. Indiana Pacers (Would get the 4 seed in the playoffs from winning their division)
The Pacers surprised everyone by the stellar season that they had last year, and showed that it was no fluke by putting up a fight against the Heat in the playoffs. This young team will continue to grow together this year and will be even better come playoff time. The Pacers are the definition of a team. They don't really have a superstar (uhh Danny Granger?), but just have many key contributers to the team. Roy Hibbert leads a group of bangers down low, and George Hill looks to run the team from the point. This team will continue to be a force in the East, but may run into problems later on in the playoffs if they run into teams that simply have better players.

6. Philadelphia 76ers
Much like the Pacers, the Sixers were a surprise team in the East last year. Also like the Pacers, they didn't really have stars, though one could argue for Andre Iguodala. This year, Iggy leaves along with starting PG Lou Williams, but they bring in some star power in Andrew Bynum. Though this has excited the fan base, the truth remains that without Iggy and Lou, there isn't all that much around him. The remaining pieces from last year along with the presence of Bynum down low should be enough to keep the Sixers as a playoff team, but fans expecting a deep run this year may be disappointed.

7. Chicago Bulls
People who thought that the Bulls would be able to be a high level team without Derrick Rose were proven dead wrong come playoff time. The team simply does not have enough firepower to consistently keep up with opponents with Rose down. Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, and Luol Deng will lead the team defensively and keep them in games, but who will score to win it for them? Hopefully Rose will come back mid season ready to go (though that will be difficult considering the severity of the injury), and be able to salvage a playoff spot by season's end.

8. Washington Wizards
Yes, I have them as a playoff team. Before anyone goes crazy, here's my reasoning. A few years down the road, this may be regarded as the best backcourt in the league. John Wall is a known entity, and just continues to develop his game, which is already very, very good. I also believe that Bradley Beal is the most talented player of this draft class. Since high school, he has received comparisons to Ray Allen, and watching him at Florida all of last year, I can see why. If these two develop some chemistry, they could take the league by storm. In addition, the trade for Nene wasn't talked about much last year because, well, this team was irrelevant. This year however, he will play a huge role down low along with recently acquired Emeka Okafor. With the combination of Trevor Ariza and Jan Vesely holding down the SF spot, this is a very solid starting 5, with a good 6 man in Jordan Crawford coming off of the bench.

Non Playoff teams

9. Atlanta Hawks
The Joe Johnson move was definitely needed, and will benefit the team in the long run, but for now, there simply might not be enough there to hold on to a playoff spot. Al Horford and Josh Smith will keep the team competitive, and having Devin Harris at the point will help, but at the end of the day I see this team having a ceiling of a very low playoff spot.

10. Toronto Raptors
Jonas Valanciunas. Get that name into your head, because this man is the key to the Raptors' season. Toronto has actually put together a very respectable lineup, with Kyle Lowry coming in at the point and young talent in Terrence Ross and Landry Fields at SG. They have proven scorers down low in DeMar DeRozan and Andrea Bargnani, but they will need Valanciunas, the first year player from overseas, to be able to dominate the boards. If that happens, a tenth place finish will be way too low, and they may be able to contend for a playoff spot.

11. Milwaukee Bucks
I understand that Andrew Bogut can't stay healthy, but trading him leaves the Bucks very thin down low. Their backcourt of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis will probably be enough to simply outscore a few teams themselves, but Milwaukee realistically doesn't have much to help them out.

12. Cleveland Cavaliers
Kyrie Irving will continue to wow people around the NBA, and will continue his growth toward being one of the best in the league, but he does not have much around him (sound familiar Cleveland?) Hopefully Dan Gilbert can surround one of the leagues bright young stars with some quality players in the future, but it's not happening this year.

13. Orlando Magic
Oh boy, life without Dwight will not be fun after the Magic failed to acquire much in the deal. Arron Afflalo is definitely a quality player, and along with Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu will provide Orlando with some passing and scoring threats. BUT, the Magic will not be able to do much down low this year, and will struggle because of it.

14. Detroit Pistons
The Pistons do have some promise on their roster, with Greg Monroe developing into a solid big man, and Brandon Knight looking to follow up a promising rookie season at the point. If Andre Drummond, this year's draft pick, can ever develop his skills to reach his athletic ability, this team may be able to contend. However, I don't see that happening this year, so the Pistons may continue to struggle.

15. Charlotte Bobcats
Let's be clear, I'm not a huge Anthony Davis fan, but the Bobcats definitely needed him. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is a respectable player, but not the franchise changer that Charlotte wanted in this draft. The Bobcats look to be in for another long season, but hopefully playing a full schedule will at least allow for a double digit win total. Hopefully.

Stay tuned, my Western Conference and playoff predictions are still to come!