Cream of the crop: last year's cream looks to have been diluted. The Miami Heat have made some moves that make their team a less potent, free agency wasn't kind to them and their depth is looking shaky. Gone are Duncan and Iggy, in is Beal and a handful of role players that are handy depth, but they will rely heavily on Curry and Lopez and crossing their fingers Beal continues to emerge. But despite the probable decline from last year's lusty heights, they should still be the top in the South East as the rest of the division have issues of their own. Both the Magic and Wizards will likely narrow the gap to the Heat, but this is Miami's division to lose.

Standing on the outside looking in: The East has always been a tough conference, so cracking a playoff spot is never easy. Apart from the Heat, the South East was the ugly duckling division of the east last season. But the Magic and Wizards are both going to be knocking on the door this season. While both have some roster deficiencies, both have worked to move forward and have some improving talent. The Magic unfortunately lost main man Brandon Jennings when he bolted, but with Trey Burke in his place and Thad Young, Monroe and some solid front court depth, the Magic may just get their foot in the playoff door this year.

The Magic have taken a bit of a risk with Tyreke Evans and his rather large contract. But if he comes good it will turn out a master stroke. No doubt he is versatile and with Burke next to him running the show the pressure will be off a bit. He could be the man to help the Magic make a run at the playoffs.

We wanna, we wanna, we wanna win! Washington brass have ridden the rollercoaster of NLL success and decided that they want '13/'14 to be a winning season. Some roster moves have brought in some veterans who know how to win - the main drawback with Garnett will be whether he can consistently play this season. It only takes a single rest day to miss a week in NLL time and this aging vet might be M.I.A. a bit this season. The biggest question is the guard rotation. Jennings at SG? Seems risky. What did Gordon Haywood do to miss out on a starting role?

Which ever way they go, this season will likely see them back in the playoff hunt. They have some depth to cover the occasional injury and with more lambs than a sheep farm, the Wizards could be a force. But if things turn sour, GM Darko is prone to the odd panic attack, so things might be quite different come mid-season.

To Tank or Not To Tank? The Bobcats could have been a great option for a tank-a-thon season, but they traded away their 1st pick, so tanking isn't really an option. However maybe they get a bad rap - their roster has some ability, IF they can stay healthy. Walker and Gordon COULD be a strong backcourt if they get it together. Kidd-Gilchrist and Asik COULD but decent role players and with depth of Shumpert, Louis Williams and Anthony "I bat above my average" Randolph, this team should improve a bit this season. So the potential tank batton should be passed to our next team ...

Holy crap! Not again: In Atlanta, many heads bowed, many smiles turned sad and the Hawks management's jaws dropped in disbelief a few weeks back - Derrick Rose gone - again! There is something bad in the water in Atlanta, well there is something bad in whatever Derrick is drinking. Last year they lost their 3 best for much of the season. Unfortunately this year isn't shaping up a lot better, and it hasn't even started yet! With their own number 1 pick safely in their pocket, we say, tank!

Division MVP: Stephen Curry. This is a tough call. The likely candidates are Curry and his Miami teammate Lopez, Orlando's Thaddeus Young, Washington's Brandon Jennings and maybe animated Kevin Garnett can still produce the goods. Even Atlanta's Jeff Green will likely put up strong numbers in a down-trodden team. But Curry is my pick. He took a backseat to some other big names last year, but this is his team this year

Division ROY: Trey Burke. There really won't be much competition here. Burke will get every opportunity in Orlando and he should be capable of putting up some good numbers being the Magi'c floor general. His only rookie competition in the division is likely to be Atlanta's Kelly Olynyk, but he won't get starter minutes like Burke and isn't in the same class anyway. There really aren't any notable rookies in this division.

Projected finish:

1. Miami Heat: 51-31
2. Orlando Magic: 47-35
3. Washington Wizards: 44-38
4. Charlotte Bobcats: 28-54
5. Atlanta Hawks: 24-58