1. Orlando Magic (Last Season's Finish: 3rd)
I really truly tried my best to put my Magic diehard bias on hold, but this team is stacked 12-deep. No other team in the league can say that. Even with all the moves that saw Turkoglu, Tony Battie, Rafer Alston, and Courtney Lee depart. The Magic, team philosophy wise, are more stable coming into Opening Night than any East opponent. Vince Carter, Ryan Anderson, Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes, and even Jason Williams have infinitely improved a team that made it to the Finals just months ago. We are witnessing a rejuvenation of a city with their Amway Center debuting 10/10/2010. Dwight Howard will hopefully continue to be more aggressive on the offensive end. Meanwhile, Jameer Nelson is back at full health. Even with no Rashard Lewis for the first ten games of the season due to a substance abuse suspension, Coach Stan Van Gundy has plenty of options to insert as his starting five. The mass media just assumes the Magic will struggle for the first few months of the season to mesh, but they're flying high right now coming off an 8-0 preseason. Vince Carter is a better finisher than Hedo Turkoglu ever was, and that'll be the boost Orlando will have to propel them to the top of this conference.

2. Boston Celtics (Last Season's Finish: 2nd)
That Rasheed Wallace signing is looking good right now with Leon Powe gone, KG still limping about, and now Big Baby Davis getting injured in a personal altercation. Rajon Rondo stiffed Danny Ainge yesterday by not accepting a decent contract extension offer. That means Rondo will now be apart of the crazily hyped 2010 free agency class. Marquis Daniels has slightly flown under the radar of importance as the former Pacer will need to be a key provider off the bench. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are not getting much younger either as injury woes can be predicted to linger on one of them. I expect Kendrick Perkins to fill any big man voids with Eddie House and Tony Allen providing the much needed extra bench support. This Boston team has a lot of 'what ifs' surrounding them. For the regular season, their experience will prevail easily over most teams in this league and will find themselves competing for first place in the conference with a week remaining in this season.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (Last Season's Finish: 1st)
The rules seem to have been 'tampered' in favor of LeBron: No handshakes, travelling rule being adjusted; new rims. I kid I kid, trying to avoid conspiracy talks. Even if he's out of shape, Shaq is still a huge addition. However, I see him as an overglorified Ben Wallace right now. The original Superman is expected to shutdown Dwight Howard should these two teams see each other again in the playoffs. Problem with that is the Cavs lost in the ECF because of Dwight's supporting cast. They brought in Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon for some extra length and defense, but this team needs offense and they don't have much aside from giving the King the ball every time down. We know Mo Williams is good in the regular season, plus he's got a fire lit under him after a not so stellar playoffs. Delonte West is hurt mentally and physically as his life is worth a couple movie dramas already. Mike Brown will desperately need to find a way to best utilize Shaq, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Anderson Varejao if Cleveland wants to compete for the crown. It's do or die for the Cavs as they got much older and LeBron may not want to wait around after this season for a contending team with Shaq's nearing retirement in the air.

4. Toronto Raptors (Last Season's Finish: 13th)
Head Coach Jay Triano knows he has the talent, he just needs that talent to stay on the court and gel fast enough to get off to a great start. Chris Bosh has added ten pounds of much needed muscle this summer as he's going to have to keep his cool this season. Hedo Turkoglu is feeling the pain of coming off a Finals run and playing EuroBasket. He's shaking off a leg injury as he will be given the closer role. Jarrett Jack was one of the more underrated point guards in the league last season. Well he now will play behind (and sometimes next to) Jose Calderon. DeMar DeRozan is going to have to grow up fast if he wants to start at shooting guard. Few rookies have as much pressure on his shoulders as DeRozan. The Raptors actually have some legit depth for a change as they always picked up Marco Belinelli, Antoine Wright, Amir Johnson, and Reggie Evans. GM Brian Colangelo is competing with Orlando's General Manager Otis Smith for Executive of the Year. If this team can grab some home court advantage after finishing in the bottom of the pack, BC has the award.

5. Washington Wizards (Last Season's Finish: 15th)
From last, to an improvement by ten spots? A Gilbert Arenas rebirth and the additions of Randy Foye and Mike Miller will certainly help backup D.C.'s optimism. Antawn Jamison is out for possibly as much as six weeks, but the depth support should limit any short comings. DeShawn Stevenson (tattoos and all) is beyond eager to get back onto the court as this team is well covered 1 through 3. Fabricio Oberto brings some much needed experience to a mediocre front court. It's time for Andray Blatche and Brendan Haywood to man up and act like they want to win a title. There's a good mix of youth and veterans that could see this team struggle at points, but I will be severely disappointed if they don't make the postseason.

6. Atlanta Hawks (Last Season's Finish: 4th)
Head Coach Mike Woodson thinks his team should improve from their fourth place finish last season. I'm not agreeing with that assessment with other conference teams improving as a whole a lot more than the ATL. Jeff Teague looks like a fish out of water, and the Atlanta front office is on crack if they're expecting Jamal Crawford to boost them back into home court advantage talks. I think sixth place is more than generous for me to place them only because of the hunger that Josh Smith, Mike Bibby, and Joe Johnson claim they have. Marvin Williams and Al Horford will have to play out of their minds for anyone to mention a top four repeat. I just don't see the stability from this roster that they'll be required to provide night in and night out to their stars. Zaza Pachulia and Maurice Evans look good on paper off the bench, but I just don't see their pine production to be enough to vault Atlanta into championship talks.

7. Philadelphia 76ers (Last Season's Finish: 6th)
No Andre Miller hurts, but Jrue Holiday is going to be something special and Louis Williams' explosiveness will finally be shown with extra minutes. Eddie Jordan needs to figure out how he can get Elton Brand to maximize his output. Thaddeus Young was the real deal last season and he'll approach Andre Iguodala numbers this go-around. Jason Kapono should provide us with his best Kyle Korver impression. Samuel Dalembert better show up every night or else he'll find himself playing behind Marreese Speights (or worse, Primoz Brezec). The Sixers need to run fast and run hard. If they do that, they'll be a lot better than a seventh seed.

8. Miami Heat (Last Season's Finish: 5th)
It'll be quite a slugfest for this last playoff spot, but I can't imagine David Stern not having Dwayne Wade making the postseason. 2nd year coach Erik Spoelstra believes he has some great pieces, but I don't see them coexisting too well. The man that no one wants, Quentin Richardson, will find himself starting at small forward with Beasley at the four (and Udonis Haslem now coming off the bench). Michael Beasley better get his priorities straight and step up as Wade's sidekick if this team wants to play in May. This roster on paper looks good, but there's not much heart visible. Jermaine O'Neal is a walking zombie. They picked up Carlos Arroyo who talked himself out of Israel after a very unpleasant stay. Jamaal Magloire is already suspended two games for getting in a preseason fight. Dorell Wright is back from missing a full year due to injury, but he's not really making positive waves early on. It's not looking good for a team that's just a few years removed from an NBA title. Mario Chalmers will have to throughly impress at point guard for Miami to exceed my expectations.

9. Chicago Bulls (Last Season's Finish: 7th)
Ben Gordon is gone and Derrick Rose is out of the starting lineup for now. They'll more than likely get off to a bad start that will cost them by season's end. John Salmons seems to believe they should finish no lower than fourth. It's a great attitude to have, but without your stud point guard then that puts way too much pressure on guys like Noah and Kirk Hinrich. Tyrus Thomas will make a strong push for an All Star spot (he'll have to if this team will surprise). They have two most out of shape centers in the league in Jerome James and Aaron Gray. Meanwhile, Brad Miller doesn't seem to care unless it's playoff time. I wouldn't put too much faith in Jannero Pargo or LIndsay Hunter bringing much salvation at the PG position. Taj Gibson and James Johnson have good times ahead of them, but expect ugly growing pains for now. Vinny Del Negro's team were beyond valiant last summer vs. Boston, but he's truly got his work cut out for him at this time.

10. Indiana Pacers (Last Season's Finish: 9th)
If any team is going to catch the mass media off guard, it'll be Indy. Danny Granger is the Kevin Durant of this conference, but he's got a top ten point guard in T.J. Ford and Roy Hibbert impressing this preseason. Coach Jim O'Brien is crazy if he expects Jeff Foster to play bigger than he really is. And it doesn't help that Granger has a bruised bone in his heel right now. Tyler Hansbrough and Mike Dunleavy are on the injured list and will take a while to get into seasonal form. Dahntay Jones, Earl Watson and Luther Head could prove to be invaluable stopgaps with all these injury issues but there's just too many questions marks to give the Pacers much hope of doing anything good this season.

11. Detroit Pistons (Last Season's Finish: 8th)
They may be good as fantasy league pieces, but Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva are not the answers to get the Pistons turned back around. Tayshaun Prince is slowly fading away as the ridiculously thin two-way beast he once was. Rip Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey will have to lift a lot more than just their weight to propel this team out of the depths of the bottom dwellers. On paper, Jason Maxiell, Chris Wilcox, and Big Ben look like a more than respectable frontcourt. Then again, that's just on paper as only Maxiell is really worth discussing as being their only good big man. Rookies Austin Daye and Jonas Jerebko will get a lot of court time from John Kuester who does believe in getting rookies' feet wet. The Cavaliers offensive mastermind should prove to be a great teacher to a much younger squad that lost Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess. It doesn't spell good news for a decaying city, but there's hope for the future if they can make a few more moves.

12. New Jersey Nets (Last Season's Finish: 11th)
The original big three of Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, and Vince Carter are officially completely gone. Star Devin Harris has a lot of potential around him. Yi Jianlian is looking better but has a long way to go to live up to expectations. Brook Lopez could make a strong push for an All Star roster spot. Josh Boone, Courtney Lee, and Chris Douglas-Roberts could very well be cornerstone pieces for years to come. The future looks very bright with prospective new owner, billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, about to be approved by the NBA Board of Governors to take charge of the Nets. With the free agency summer period in 2010 on the horizon, this very young team can find itself picking up a very big name or two. Until then, they're going to have to live with small pieces like Eduardo Najera, Alston, and Battie. Lawrence Frank having success this campaign will depend on how well guys like Jarvis Hayes and Bobby Simmons can shoot.

13. Charlotte Bobcats (Last Season's Finish: 10th)
Considering all the big changes occurring on playoff contending teams, Flip Murray and Stephen Graham as additions doesn't exactly catch the eye of your average NBA fan. Tyson Chandler and Boris Diaw are already injured, and no fan wants to have to depend on Ajinca and Diop. Raja Bell is putting off wrist surgery, so I can't see his offensive contribution being very good. Gerald Wallace needs to stay as healthy as possible for Coach Larry Brown's group to have a chance at avoiding the couch this playoffs. Gerald Henderson will have a lot of room and games to shine this season. You already know what to expect from Raymond Felton and Nazr Mohammed. There's just nothing very special about this roster.

14. New York Knicks (Last Season's Finish: 14th)
It took the whole offseason, but Nate Robinson and David Lee have returned as they signed for a lot less money than they were hoping for. Coach Mike D'Antoni will live and die (mostly die) by his run-n-gun no-defense style that will bury The Garden's fans in another miserable season. The Knicks front office is banking so much on 2010 it's just sad. It'll be another season of watching talented youngsters develop (I'm looking at you Gallinari and Wilson Chandler). Eddy Curry lost weight, but no where near enough to even sniff the court. Expect him and an injury-plagued Jared Jeffries to be dealt by season's end.

15. Milwaukee Bucks (Last Season's Finish: 12th)
Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut are back healthy. So, um, yeah. I guess Scott Skiles will be the most exciting thing to watch this season as he'll be yelling his head off. Good news for him that he doesn't have to deal with the Twitterific Charlie Villanueva. Although I will says that Brandon Jennings looks like a beyond solid draft pick for the Bucks. Your team is screwed if you're depending on Luke Ridnour and Carlos Delfino to help carry your team back from the dead. Keep an eye on Ersan Illyasova who came off a stellar EuroBasket. Hakim Warrick will get a chance to pad his numbers with Kurt Thomas being one of the few legit veterans on the squad.