Southeast Division Preview

November 2, 2007
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Source: DONBEST.com

1. Orlando Magic

The reason the Magic are slated atop the Southeast division is because they went out and got that pure scorer in the offseason in the form of Rashard Lewis (22.4 ppg).

Center Dwight Howard hosted a breakout party all season last year, averaging 17.6 ppg and 12.3 rpg, and is poised to officially take over the role as the most dominant big man in the Eastern Conference from Miami's Shaquille O'Neal. Howard was second in the NBA in field goal percentage (60.3) and third in the league in rebounds (12.3 rpg).

The Magic were one of the worst teams in basketball against the spread last season posting a 37-43-2 mark.

Currently Orlando is 30-1 to win the Eastern Conference, 55-1 to win the NBA Championship and 3-1 to win the Southeast Division. The Magic should be able to reach the designated win total of 46.5 considering they got to 41 last year without Rashard Lewis.

2. Washington Wizards

It's unfair to judge the Wizards by their four-game playoff exit at the hands of Cleveland last April considering the loss of leading scorer Gilbert Arenas earlier that month. The star guard claims he is fully healthy heading into 2007-08 after undergoing offseason knee surgery and the Wiz better hopes he's telling the truth.

Arenas averaged 28.4 points per game through the 74 he appeared in, leading Washington to a 39-34 record. But the Wizards went 2-7 without him to close out the regular season, finishing at 41-41 and capturing the No. 7 seed in the East. If they would have gone 6-3 over that period, the Wizards would have won the division and been the No. 4 seed.

Although Washington got swept by Cleveland, F Antawn Jamison was certainly not at fault. The veteran averaged 32 points in the series in Arenas' absence, almost 13 points more than his regular season average, and also pulled down 9.8 rebounds per game.

The Wiz were also without second leading scorer SF Caron Butler for the playoff series due to a broken hand. The three players will combine to form a lethal scoring threat in the conference this year, but defense will continue to be a problem.

The addition of GF Nick Young via the draft will lend another scoring option to an already dangerous team. However, size will also cause problems for Washington, especially if PF Darius Songaila is still experiencing pains from a back injury that forced him out 45 games last year.

The regular season win total for Washington is set at 40, which shouldn't be a problem for the Wizards. This same team would have crushed this number last year had it not been for its stars getting injured.

This is a very dangerous team that no other team wants to see in the playoffs, if Arenas and Co. are healthy. More defensive efforts and consistent play from the post and you can consider the Wizards contenders.

3. Miami Heat

New season, same story for the Miami Heat. Injury, fatigue and age all came together last season to prevent Miami from making another run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, as the 2007-08 season is upon us, the Heat bring back many aging players and already have several players unable to practice because of various injuries. Guard Dwyane Wade had another great campaign last year averaging 27.4 points per game, but he appeared in only 51 games during the regular season. Offseason knee and shoulder surgeries are a concern coming into this year as Wade is slated to miss a few games right off the bat.

Center Shaquille O'Neal is a year older (35) and will once again start the season injured. He left a preseason game because of a quad injury and was kept out of several practices. This isn't as serious as past injuries that have sidelined the star until January, but the combination of age and wear-and-tear could leave the Heat without Shaq for 20-plus games again.

Other elderly players on the Miami roster include C Alonzo Mourning, G Jason Williams, F Antoine Walker and recently added G 'Penny' Hardaway.

The Heat should get enough out of their stars to make the playoffs in East, but a legit run in the postseason is unlikely. Young role players like F Wayne Simien, PG Smush Parker and F Marcus Slaughter may not be role players for long.

Beginning the year with injuries will not help the Heat reach the regular season win total of 46. Dwyane Wade will miss another stretch of time at some point this season given his physical style of play causing the Heat to come up shy of the mark.

4. Charlotte Bobcats

The Bobcats are very similar to the Hawks as far as having young talent, but Charlotte was smart enough to acquire another veteran scorer that the kids can learn from. Swingman Jason Richardson came over to Charlotte via a draft day trade with the Golden State Warriors and he provides the Bobcats with a legit go-to scorer to complement F Gerald Wallace.

Wallace led the team with 18 ppg in 2006-07 and inked a huge contract over the offseason to remain with franchise. This scoring combo should help out an offense that only averaged 96.9 ppg, but Richardson won't be too useful on defense where Charlotte conceded more than 100 per contest.

The Bobcats new head coach Sam Vincent won't have the services of PF Sean May who will be sidelined for the season after having knee surgery in October. This will put more pressure on the oft-injured fourth-year FC Emeka Okafor.

Despite injuries, Okafor has had a productive start to his career averaging 14.5 ppg and 10.9 rpg, but the Bobcats need him more this season than ever with May out. Aside from Okafor, Charlotte will struggle to fill the void left by May in the post.

Fresh off a 33 win season, oddsmakers have Charlotte penciled in for 35 wins in 2007-08. Defense and size will cause problems for the Bobcats all season in a very physical conference, leaving them shy of this unimpressive number.

5. Atlanta Hawks

The chase for win No. 31 continues for the Atlanta Hawks, who haven't had a 30-plus win season since the 2002-03 campaign. Last year Atlanta came close, posting a 30-52 mark, but the fact that 31 wins is considered a banner year has to be depressing for Hawks' fans.

Once again the Hawks added great young talent via the draft with G Acie Law IV (Texas A&M) and FC Al Horford (Florida), but the problem is converting the talent into wins. In 2005 the Hawks used the second overall pick on GF Marvin Williams, who is beginning to show promise (13 ppg), but isn't quite there yet. The year before Atlanta selected GF Josh Childress who also averaged 13 ppg last season.

G Joe Johnson carried the Hawks on his back last year averaging 25 ppg, but toting the load caused Johnson to accrue nagging injuries that kept him out for the last few weeks of the season. Johnson and the Hawks desperately need one or two of these young talents to become young performers to have any success.

So far, GF Josh Smith has done his part since being drafted in 2004, stepping up to average 16.4 ppg last year. Smith is a restricted free agent at the end of the year so expect him to play well and be a major contributor.

Atlanta was dead last in the NBA last year in points scored (93.7 ppg), but the young players stepped up on defense holding opponents to 98.4 ppg, good for 15th in the association.

Oddsmakers apparently believe this is the year the Hawks' young players come into their own as they posted the win total at a generous 38 wins. Over the last nine years Atlanta's highest win total was 35, leaving no choice but to like the 'under'.