Free Agent Summit

LeBron James, left, starts a highlight reel dunk on Amare Stoudemire. Photo courtesy YouGotDunkedOn.com.

Last week, Dwyane Wade made noise by announcing he'd talk to fellow NBA free agents LeBron James and Joe Johnson before deciding where he wants to play ball next season. He forgot Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire, and STAT is making sure it's known he wants an invitation. Should all five meet up for the so-called "free agent summit", it could shift the balance of power in the NBA. It's a given the New York area teams, the Nets and Knicks, will want to sign at least one of these five players. Doing so would start to bring the NY teams back towards contention again. Likewise, should any of these five players leave their respective franchises (Wade - Miami, James - Cleveland, Johnson - Atlanta, Bosh - Toronto, Stoudemire - Phoenix), these franchises would slide way down the contender scale.

From ESPN:
Last week, the NBA said Wade did not break any league tampering rules with his comments. Under league rules, players cannot tamper with other players, though it's a given that players talking among themselves not only happens, but is impossible to regulate. The NBA metes out discipline only in what it said are "the most egregious" cases, and said Wade's comments "do not meet that standard."

Predictable East and a Wild, Wild West

The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James. Photo courtesy The Telegraph (UK).

The NBA Playoffs have gotten underway and the East is showing how weak the conference is while the West is an all-out slugfest. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics punched their tickets to the second round last night and the Orlando Magic did the same the night before. Of the four Eastern Conference series, only one has gone past five games (Milwaukee Bucks vs. Atlanta Hawks). The East has been very predictable and while most NBA pundits salivate over the thought of a Cavs-Celtics second round playoff series, the Magic get to sit back and rest up while Atlanta and Milwaukee duke it out. While I do think the Hawks will eventually pull it out, it won't be until game 7, then Orlando will blast them in the second round.

The Phoenix Suns' Jason Richardson and Portland's Brandon Roy. Photo courtesy Associated Press.

Then there's the Western Conference, where the 1 seed has been given a strong challenge, the 2 seed is almost eliminated, and the 5 seed is almost done knocking out the 4 seed. The LA Lakers have been given all they could handle with the Oklahoma City Thunder and it wasn't until Game 5 when they were in the friendly confines of Staples Center that they put on a dominating performance worthy of defending champions. I think the Lakers will advance, but it won't be until the final Game 7. The 2 seed Dallas Mavericks are on the verge of getting knocked out by their hated rivals, the 7 seed San Antonio Spurs. I think the Spurs will complete the upset tomorrow in Game 6 in San Antone. Considering the Mavs came into the playoffs hot, they'll be scrutinized by many in Dallas should they lose. The 3 seed Phoenix Suns are in a dogfight with 6 seed Portland Trail Blazers, who are banged up beyond belief and still giving PHX a run for their money. Portland star Brandon Roy has made a huge gamble in coming back early from surgery on a torn meniscus in his knee. Should he have complications from rushing back so soon, it could damage his career permanently. Finally, the 5 seed Utah Jazz are on the verge of beating the 4 seed Denver Nuggets, but this upset was widely predicted especially after Nuggets coach George Karl had to take a leave of absence to undergo cancer treatment. In essence, the Nuggets were going into this series down and without their rudder.

The Lakers' Kobe Bryant. Photo courtesy TheLakersNation.com.

So by the time the smoke clears in the West, I think it'll look like this:

Eastern Conference
1 Cleveland vs. 4 Boston (Cleveland beat Chicago in 5, Boston def. Miami in 5)
2 Orlando vs. 3 Atlanta (Orlando def. Charlotte in 4, ATL beats Milwaukee in 7)

Western Conference
1 LA Lakers vs. 5 Utah (Utah def. Denver in 6, Lakers beat OKC in 7)
3 Phoenix vs. 7 San Antonio (PHX beats Portland in 7, Spurs def. Dallas in 6)

NBA East: Quick Dropoff

Photo courtesy ESPN.

On Wednesday, I covered the NBA Western Conference playoff teams here. Today it's the Eastern Conference teams.

The unfortunate reality of the Eastern Conference the last few seasons has been the shallow pool of legitimate playoff contenders compared to the Western Conference. In the last few seasons, the sixth through eighth seeds of the East were .500 or below, meaning only half their games were won...or worse. By comparison, for a Western team to make the playoffs, a record over .600 is effectively required.

Photo courtesy the Orlando Sentinel.

The top dogs in the East continue to be the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, and the Boston Celtics. The Cavs have little room for error this postseason, given the pending contract expiration of superstar LeBron James, the overall expectations in Cleveland, and the level of talent around LeBron. Simply put, anything less than a championship for Cleveland is a disappointment. The Magic went to the Finals last year and may be even better this year. They've beaten some impressive teams recently, including Denver and Dallas. Ditto with the Hawks, who smashed the Lakers on Wednesday and beat Orlando last week. The Celtics have hobbled along recently, with critical losses to San Antonio, Utah, and Oklahoma City. The C's flat out look terrible right now, especially after getting booed off their home floor against the Spurs. The age of the Celtics, one of the oldest teams in the league, is catching up to them at the worst possible time.

But after these four teams, there's a significant dropoff in caliber of playoff teams. The Milwaukee Bucks are inconsistent, beating the likes of Boston, Utah, and Denver recently, but losing to Cleveland and squeaking out a win against Atlanta. Right behind the Bucks are the Miami Heat and Charlotte Bobcats, other inconsistent clubs. All of these teams play terribly on the road, which will be a huge factor come playoff time when they don't have home-court advantage. Of these clubs, expect the Heat to make a run for Milwaukee's hold on the fifth seed, since they have the easiest schedule remaining of the three and have the best road record of the three.

Photo courtesy the Toronto Star.

And then there's the Toronto Raptors, the very definition this season of mediocre. A .500 record, 5-5 in their last ten games, and a terrible road record to top it off. The scary part for the Raptors is that they have some tough games ahead and they have the Chicago Bulls hot on their heels. The same Bulls who in early March had a 10-game losing streak and have a losing record. An ugly sight at the bottom of the Eastern playoff picture.

So what makes the Eastern Conference so much weaker than the West? For starters, marquee teams like the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, and the Philadelphia 76ers are all having down years. (Or in NY's case, a down decade). Second, much of the player movement has been within the East (teams feeding off each other) or moved out West. Many of the Eastern teams have young talent, but are missing a few pieces to be legitimate title contenders. This summer's free agent class is unusually strong and a lot of the rumors involve East superstars swapping teams, so it could lead to more of the same. For example, should Dwyane Wade leave Miami for Chicago or some other East city, it'll help the Bulls or whoever gets Wade while hurting the Heat, effectively swapping fortunes.