2012-2013 preview: Chicago Bulls

Eastern Conference #8: Chicago Bulls (40-42)

Point Guard: Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Marquis Teague, Nate Robinson.
Shooting Guard: Richard Hamilton, Marco Belinelli.
Small Forward: Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler.
Power Forward: Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, Vladimir Radmonovic.
Center: Joakim Noah, Nazr Mohammed.

Miss me yet?

Things aren't looking pretty for this team without Rose. Kirk Hinrich will be taking over at Point Guard, and most of the scoring will have to be done by Hamilton, Deng, Boozer, and Noah. This is my highly optimistic forecast for Chicago, with the assumption that Rose may come back and win them a few games before the season's over. Noah and Boozer aren't bad at all, and they're certainly a formidable duo, but they aren't as good as they should be. Boozer has been a disappointment for Chicago since he left Utah and Noah has struggled with injuries throughout his career. If they can both stay healthy and increase their production they could be great this year. With Rose out, that will mean more shots for everyone, but particularly for the guys who step up the most. Those are obviously some big shoes for Hinrich and Teague to fill, even if it's temporary.

2012-2013 preview: Atlanta Hawks

Eastern Conference #9: Atlanta Hawks (38-44)

Point Guard: Devin Harris, Jeff Teague.
Shooting Guard: Lou Williams, Anthony Morrow, John Jenkins.
Small Forward: Kyle Korver, DeShawn Stevenson.
Power Forward: Josh Smith, Ivan Johnson, Mike Scott.
Center: Al Horford, Zaza Pachulia, Johan Petro.

Two All-Stars will try and keep Atlanta in the playoffs

Atlanta's best years are over. They peaked two years ago with a 53-29 record and the 3rd seed in the East, and now it's over. They finished 40-26 last season and then traded their leading scorer, Joe Johnson, to the Nets for a bunch of role players including Anthony Morrow and Johan Petro. Now their star is Josh Smith and he'll be supported mainly by Al Horford, Lou Williams, and Devin Harris. Exciting. Smith is assuredly a fantastic player, averaging 18.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.7 blocks, 1.4 steals, shooting 46% in 35 minutes and playing excellent defense. He's the youngest player to reach 1,000 blocks, doing it before he turned 24 years old, and he's only 6'9".

2012-2013 preview: Toronto Raptors

Eastern Conference #10: Toronto Raptors (36-46)

Point Guard: Kyle Lowry, Jose Calderon, John Lucas.
Shooting Guard: Landry Fields, Terrence Ross, Alan Anderson.
Small Forward: DeMar DeRozan, Linas Kleiza.
Power Forward: Andrea Bargnani, Amir Johnson, Quincy Acy
Center: Jonas Valanciunas, Ed Davis.

Playing together... but fighting for minutes

          What do you do when you have two point guards like Lowry and Calderon? Lowry developed into a solid point guard a couple seasons ago, and averaged 14.3 points, 6.6 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 41% shooting in 32 minutes and moved from Houston to Toronto this offseason. However, Calderon has established himself as a top-5 passing point guard and an efficient shooter, averaging 10.5 points, 8.9 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 46% shooting in 33.9 minutes. He finished third last season in assists per 48 minutes behind Steve Nash and Rajon Rondo. Calderon doesn't have the mentality to play shooting guard, and Lowry's only 6 feet tall and isn't the next Allen Iverson. That means they'll have to share the minutes. So... how do you split them?

2012-2013 preview: Detroit Pistons

Eastern Conference #11: Detroit Pistons (34-48)

Point Guard: Brandon Knight, Will Bynum.
Shooting Guard: Rodney Stuckey, Kim English.
Small Forward: Tayshaun Prince, Corey Maggette, Austin Daye, Kyle Singler.
Power Forward: Jonas Jerebko, Charlie Villanueva, Jason Maxiell, Khris Middleton.
Center: Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond, Slava Kravtsov.

Help us Greg Monroe. You are our only hope.

It feels like this Pistons team should get better, but I can't see it happening. Their top three players are Greg Monroe, Tayshaun Prince, and Rodney Stuckey. Monroe is a budding star, and is the shining star on this Pistons team. He averaged 15.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 52% shooting in 31.5 minutes in his sophomore season, and there's no reason to think he won't get better and average a double double this season. Other than him, the Pistons are stuck with a bunch of starters who should really be bench players. Tayshuan Prince, Rodney Stuckey, and Brandon Knight aren't necessarily bad players, but they're not guys who you want to depend on for a good portion of your points every night. Detroit finished 27th last season in points scored, averaging 90.7 points per game and allowed 95.7 points per game.

2012-2013 preview: Orlando Magic.

Eastern Conference #12: Orlando Magic (29-53).


Point Guard: Jameer Nelson, Ishmael Smith.
Shooting Guard: Arron Afflalo, JJ Redick, Christian Eyenga, E'Twaun Moore.
Small Forward: Hedo Turkoglu, Quentin Richardson, Moe Harkless.
Power Forward: Al Harrington, Josh McRoberts, Justin Harper.
Center: Glen Davis, Gustavo Ayon, Nikola Vucevic, Kyle O'Quinn.

The Orlando self-combusted from a team that made the Finals only a few seasons ago, to a team that will achieve success by not finishing at the bottom of their conference. They got rid of their superstar, Dwight Howard, and also parted ways with Ryan Anderson, who led the league in 3s made and was also 2012's Most Improved Player averaging 16.1 points and 7.7 rebounds in 32.2 minutes as Orlando's Power Forward. They leave the starting Center position to a guy who's nickname is "Big Baby" and will rely on Al Harrington, Arron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson, and Turkoglu to score the majority of their points.