Southeast Division

Rumors of Gilbert going to LA for Kobe are swirling, so again, all that follows is subject to the Kobe effect.

Southeast Division

1. Orlando (50-32): I know everyone is not so hype on Rashard Lewis getting a max contract, it kinda falls in the same range as Charlie Bell getting anything more than the Vets minimum for me, but in the Eastern Conference he's gotta be worth at least another 5 wins. Dwight Howard showed some improvement on the offensive end in the pre-season and with shooters on the outside like Lewis and "perhaps the best shooter in the history of basketball" (an actual shooting video commercial) in JJ Redick, who knows? Maybe they can sneak up on the league and actually win this division and clinch the 3rd seed in the East.

Miami and Washington are both banged up and old, see Shaq and D-Wade and Etan Thomas, so it looks like this division is theirs for the taking. If Jameer Nelson can also provide some consistent shooting, I think they get it.

2. Washington (48-34): If Etan wouldn't have had to undergo open heart surgery, which I hope he recovers from fully, I would have put them in first. It hurts this team down low on the defensive end not having him in the lineup. How much trust can you put in Haywood at this point in his career? You know what you are going to get with him, and I don't think it's enough to take them as far as Gilbert believes their gonna go = Championship.

The threesome of Gilbert, Caron and Antawn will again be dominant, and rumor has it that Oleksiy Pecherov is surprisingly good, so possibly they could make a run, but unless Arenas puts down 35 a game, I don't think so. It might not be too far fetched though for him to do that...I don't know, I want to wait and see if he is still on this coast till I am sure.

3. Miami (45-37): Miami got rid of Walker and replaced him with another gunner in Ricky Davis. Hmmm...Couple that with a horrid bench and an aging Shaq and a nicked up Wade? Trouble. This might be the last year of the retirement-home team. Has Shaq been in shape at the beginning of the year since their second championship in LA? Their whole philosophy of waiting till the end of the year to turn it on just doesn't work. But really, their bench is awful. Awful.

4. Atlanta (34-48): They will miss the playoffs for the 100th time in a row and they probably won't resign Josh Smith and Joe Johnson to long term contracts. This is my vote for the next team to move cities. Maybe they can move to Seattle when the Sonics go to Oklahoma City? Let's start that rumor.

5. Charlotte (32-50): Ammo is out for the year. Sean May had microfracture. They do have Gerald Wallace and Emeka and Felton, but Emeka will be hurt by the All-Star break, and really, it's Charlotte. Until they change those jerseys they will always be down in the cellar as far as I'm concerned.