Weve only got a couple of weeks until the season starts now, so its time for a preview of the NBA itself. A big thanks to Steve, GM of Stevos Nuggets, for putting this (and next weeks) preview together! First we are starting with the mighty Bulls and the rest of the East, and then next week we will preview the West side. I was planning to do a preview of the league before the season started, however I would have just copied (and referenced) something from the net, so I am very happy that Steve put up his hand to do them - thanks heaps mate.

Before we get to that, our first two trades (involving players) were completed today. Firstly between myself and Heaver!; I sent KLove, Azubuike & Maxiell packing, in return for 2 frenchman and a rook, Diaw, Pietrus and Turner. The second trade was between Walesy and the co-owned Do Something Knicks, involving 8 players; Walesy received Bargnani, Landry, Teague & Greene in exchange for Odom, Kleiza, Udrih & Milicic. I personally think I may have been jibbed (but I keep going back and forth on it) haha, although ive got a better spread of players now, with more MPP, which I was after; and I think Chris and Steve may have done slightly better out of the other trade, however Walesy got the big centre that he was chasing. So all in all, both trades were fairly even and fair IMO.

Weve also had a poll going on our league homepage for the last week and a half, and 15 of us voted in it. The question was "Who do you think was the best value pick in the draft?   James Hird esque..." and it was a tie between two players: Andrei Kirilenko, who was taken at 114 by JASMINES MOB, and Linus Kleiza who was taken at 155 by TOO SERIOUSESES (and then traded to DSK), both with 20% of the votes each. FWIW, I was one that voted for AK47, and I was happy to see that someone voted for my bloke, Anderson Varejao.

Ive just set up a new poll about this weeks topic: Who do you think will be this seasons Eastern Champ? Click <a title="HERE" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/leagueoffice?leagueId=23530" target="_blank">HERE[/url] to go and vote!

Over the break are Steves reviews::::

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[span style="text-decoration: underline">NBA Eastern Conference Team Preview (courtesy of Steve)[span style="text-decoration: underline">


These thoughts are my opinions only, so please feel free to disagree or compliment me. Today, I will start with the Eastern Conference.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks have made the playoffs the last few seasons but have not been able to take their regular season form into the playoffs. The Hawks have a very even squad headed by All Star Joe Johnson but their biggest problem is in the backcourt where no one has been able to take over from Mike Bibby . Josh Smith and Jamal Crawford will need to be at their very best to keep the Hawks in playoff contention. They will be in the mix for one of the lower seeds in the Eastern Conference.

Orlando Magic

The Magic have taken great strides over the last few years and are one of the dominant teams in the East. Still rely heavily on Dwight Howard too much and they need more output from their other big men. Plus Vince Carter is not getting any younger. They have a batch of guards who can also light up the scoreboard from 3 pt land (Reddick, Williams, Nelson and co). However, I think they will drop a few rungs on the Eastern Conference ladder this year and will finish somewhere around 4-6.

Miami Heat

As we all know the Heat have been the big player during the off season in picking up Lebron and Chris Bosh to join D-Wade. It will be interesting to see how they perform together but the biggest concern is the supporting cast they will have around them. Due to salary cap restraints, it will be a combination of rookies and veterans to fill up the bench spots. Obviously they are the number one team in the East and everyone will be gunning for them.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Poor old Cleveland. The only good thing about Cleveland is that Lebron was there. But now that he is gone, they have nothing to look forward to. Their football team (Browns) is shit and now their basketball team is going to stink up the Eastern conference. Lebron carried this team on his shoulders and I don’t’ think they can rise to the challenge of playing without him. The biggest highlight of the year will be when the Heat play the Cavs in Cleveland but I think the Heat will take the piss and rest Lebron for those games so that there are no crowd troubles.

Washington Wizards

After all the turmoil with the Wizards last year, you would hope things would improve greatly this year. Agent 00 – Gilbert Arenas was the cause of all trouble (bringing guns into the locker room), the Wizards tried to trade him without success (who would have thought?). They do have some promising younger players like Andray Blatche who played well last year and they have also drafted John Wall who has looked very promising in the pre season games so far. This will be a rebuilding year for the Wizards and they will not be making the playoffs.

Boston Celtics

Well the pensioners from Boston have added to their squad this year by signing some “new kid on the block” called Shaq. I suspect this will be Boston’s last attempt at another title shot as Garnett, Allen, Pierce and co are not getting any younger. The Celtics do have one of the finest young players in the league in Rajon Rondo who will win a MVP award before his career is finished. They will be the biggest threat to the Heat in the Eastern Conference. It just depends if they can stay healthy before the playoffs start.

New Jersey Nets

Lets face it, the Nets could not get any worse than last year where they almost set the record for the most amount of games lost in a regular NBA season. The Nets do have one of the most promising big men in the game in Brook Lopez. They need more out of Devin Harris who had a very ordinary year last year compared to 2008-09 when he was on fire. Things can improve for the Nets but this year will not be the year they return to the playoffs.

New York Knicks

You have to love teams coached by Mike D’Antoni, they play no defence at all and want to get in a shoot out. The biggest acquisition for the Knicks over the off season is the signing of Amare Stoudemire who played under D’Antoni when he was coaching the Suns. Amare is a beast and will be suited to the run and gun style of the Knicks. They have also have picked up Felton from the Bobcats who should be able to direct traffic and give plenty of open looks to Gallinari, Chandler and co. I think they will sneak into the playoffs this year.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls have landed Carlos Boozer from the Bulls who will provide a strong frontcourt with Joakim Noah. Both players are very physical and like to bang bodies inside the paint. The Bulls also have one of the most promising young players in the league in Derrick Rose who is set for a huge season. Rose has it all, speed, good decision making and excellent shooting. I like the look of the Bulls this year and I think they can do some damage in the playoffs and challenge Miami, Boston and the Magic.

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers are a young team who are led by Danny Grainger who can light it up from anywhere. The Pacers will be hoping that Tyler Hansborough steps up in the absence of Troy Murphy who has gone to the Nets. The biggest problem with the Pacers is their inconsistency, one day they will take the challenge to the higher teams and then the next day they will lose to the scrubber teams. If everything goes right for the Pacers they could be challenging for one of the lower spots in the playoffs.

Charlotte Bobcats

The Bobcats are renowned for being one of the stingiest teams in the league with their suffocating defence. However, their biggest problem is trying to score points at the other end. The trade of Stephen Jackson from the Warriors last year helped picked up the scoring production but they need others to help him and All Star Gerard Wallace. If only they could get their owner (Michael Jordan) to suit up and play? I suspect the Bobcats will be challenging for one of the lower playoff spots in the East.

Philadelphia 76er’s

I would have to say Philly is one of the most frustrating teams to watch. They have so much ability in their team but they never show their true potential. Hopefully Elton Brand can play a full year and some of the younger players like Jrue Holiday can step up and help out. I rate Andre Iguodala very highly and he is a very good pick up for fantasy teams as he will score lots of double-doubles. If every thing goes right for Philly they could sneak into the playoffs.

Detroit Pistons

Detroit are going through a rebuilding stage at the moment. The Pistons currently don’t have the front court to compete with the stronger teams in the NBA. They will need Prince, Stuckey and Hamilton to score the vast majority of their points to give them a shot of winning. The Pistons have also picked T-Mac (Tracy McGrady) but he will struggle to play out the full season with his persistent knee injury. Detroit is one of the more defensive teams in the league and they very rarely reach the 100 pt mark in a game. I don’t think they will be making the playoffs this year.

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors are in for a difficult year after losing their All Star Chris Bosh to the Heat. They have also lost Hedo Turkoglu to the Suns as well and have not picked up much else in return. Last year the Raptors were one of worst defensive teams in the league and regularly let their opponents score more than 100 pts a game. By the end of the season I think most Raptors fans will be ready to jump off Niagara Falls which is just a short drive from Toronto (PS if you ever get the chance to go to the States, you must go and see Niagara Falls it is amazing)

Milwaukee Bucks

The fortunes of the Bucks for this season will rely heavily on how Andrew Bogut recovers from his horrific wrist injury. The Bucks are also struggling to get Michael Redd on the court because of a persistent knee injury. They will be hoping that Brandon Jennings kicks on from where he left off last year. Coach Scott Skiles did an excellent job last year moulding this team together and I think they will sneak into the playoffs again.

So here we go with my selections for the Eastern playoffs in order:

1. Miami Heat

2. Boston Celtics

3. Chicago Bulls

4. Orlando Magic

5. Atlanta Hawks

6. Indiana Pacers

7. New York Knicks

8. Milwaukee Bucks

Tell me what you think? Do you agree or disagree?