Best PG

Best scoring PG, Derrick Rose of the Atlanta Hawks. When this guy is on his game, he is unstoppable. Best floor general Deron Williams of the Orlando Magic. Excellent court vision. We all know he can pass the ball and he will also be called on to score more this season playing for the shorthanded Magic The third excellent PG in this Division is Stephen Curry of the Heat however he is often injured and nothing looks like changing this season.

Best SG

Richard Hamilton of the Atlanta Hawks – solid veteran SG. Rip has a career average of 19.9ppg at 0.48fg’s and he doesn’t look like slowing down anytime yet. If he remains injury free he will slot in nicely alongside Rose for the Hawks making for a very dangerous backcourt duo.

Best SF

Joe Johnson of the Miami Heat although Atlanta Hawks’ Dorell Wright may have something to say about this based upon his scintillating pre-season form. Both of these guys can score from anywhere especially JJ who uses superior footwork and just flat-out pure shooting to score. Johnson has a career scoring average of 17.8ppg on 0.47 fg’s and 0.36 3fg’s. He also makes a living from the line averaging ~5 fta’s per game and making 4 of them for his career.

Best PF

Pau Gasol of the Orlando Magic and LaMarcus Aldridge of the Charlotte Bobcats. Gasol led the Wizards to the NLL Championship last season. He now finds himself in a similar position on a roster in Orlando which is lacking in depth. Gasol should put up huge numbers this year. At only 26yrs old Aldridge is extremely talented. Has excellent shooting touch from mid-range as well as nice post game. Similarly to Gasol, LMA is not surrounded by an abundance of scorers which should lead to some monster games.

Best C

Andrew Bogut of the Atlanta Hawks. Bogut rounds out a formidable starting 5 for Atlanta. Bogut averages a career double double in pts and rebounds. He has great hands for a big guy as well as a high basketball IQ. Playing with Rose and Rip should lead to some pretty easy baskets for the Bogeyman.

Best trade (so far)

The Atlanta Hawks send Kyle Lowry and Bismack Biyombo to the San Antonio Spurs. The San Antonio Spurs send Mickael Pietrus, Andrew Bogut and Trevor Booker to the Atlanta Hawks. The Atlanta Hawks send a 1st-Rounder (Atl) to the San Antonio Spurs. The San Antonio Spurs send a 2nd-Rounder (Phi) to the Atlanta Hawks. This is the best trade so far as it brings in a dominant 7ft Center to Atlanta. These guys are very hard to find and a deal like this has elevated the Hawks to a new level – a level where they will challenge out East.

Worst trade (so far)

The Orlando Magic send Louis Williams and Andray Blatche to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Pau Gasol to the Orlando Magic. The Orlando Magic send a 1st-Rounder (Orl) to the Washington Wizards. This is a trade done between Division rivals which makes it even worse. This could nearly be the best trade of the Division too for the Magic but it is definitely the worst trade of the Division for the Wizards. Basically, when you are the defending champions why would you trade away the key guy and arguably the playoff’s MVP – makes zero sense?!?

Best FA acquisition

In a Division where few FA’s have been signed the best acquisition is arguably Samuel Dalembert for the Washington Wizards. After trading away Gasol, the Wiz where very thin upfront so signing Dalembert was key.

Worst FA acquisition

It’s a close call between Francisco Garcia for the Wizards of 2yrs and $5.8M or Chuck Hayes – 4yrs @ $5.6M for the Hawks. Probably due to the 4yr duration Chuck Hayes’ acquisition is the worst. Also a 6’6 C is just not good in this league. The fact that Garcia is the Wizards starting SF is another thing to add to the equation – is this a good or bad thing, we’ll let you decide!

Team on the rise

The two teams on the rise in this Division are the Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic. Both have made decisive and key trades to improve their teams. The addition of Bogut and Hamilton bolster the Hawk starting five which includes Allstar PG Rose and an on the rise SF in Dorell Wright – a good pre-season by new gm Houndy. The Magic have acquired two Allstars in Pau Gasol and Deron Williams. As well as adding Lamar Odom. Combine this with young C Greg Monroe and you have a solid starting unit. Good work by gm Laddas.

Team on the decline

The team on the clear decline are the Washington Wizards. Gm Darko came into this pre-season after winning the NLL Title last season and promptly announced that he is REBUILDING? This is a massive head scratcher and has never ever occurred in the world of professional sports. This change in course is very hard to explain but perhaps it all started when playoff sensation Alonzo Gee declared he wanted out and then Yi Jianlian left the NLL completely. Many experts claim that Gee was in the fact the heart and soul of Wizards and without his presence the team chemistry was gone. Perhaps gm Darko felt the same and he promptly went off trading away other key pieces in Gasol and Jason Terry. Coming into the season things don’t look too good for the Wiz.

Potential breakout players

Orlando : Greg Monroe – surrounded by two allstars who play unselfish ball should really help Monroe. Atlanta : Dorell Wright – if pre-season is anything to go by, Wright could well be an Allstar this season. Miami: JJ Hickson – with David Lee now gone, Hickson has room to blossom this season as the Heat’s starting SF. Charlotte: LaMarcus Aldridge – if the Bobcats are to be a factor this season, Aldridge really needs to have a breakout year. Washington: Andray Blatche – in a team decimated from within by gm darko, Blatche could well be the remaining shining light in Washington.

Rookie to watch

Jon Leuer - Atlanta. Leuer will play decent minutes behind Bogut and Amir Johnson.

GM to watch

So far Houndy and Laddas have been the most active making moves. Whilst Loose has played it safe in Charlotte. Tmac has solidified an already good team and Darko appears to have lost his marbles.

Predicted standings

1. Miami
2. Atlanta
3. Orlando
4. Washington
5. Charlotte