Eastern Conference Rankings Pre-season

1.Heat
Adding Battier and young legs in a tough season should get them to the top. Should is the key word with Lebron's mental game hopefully caught up with his physical game. Inside presence is a big question mark.

2.Bulls
Adding Richard Hamilton gives them a legit shooter and allows rose to be more of a passer and save his legs for a grueling playoff run. Health is always key with this team with Boozer/Noah injury prone.

3.Knicks
Lots of names added on to this team from Chandler to Davis and now Stat and Melo should have better chemistry. However, who's team is it, will Chandler/Davis stay healthy and will the addition of assistant coach Mike Woodson help the Knicks finally play some D in the "AntonI" era.

4.Magic
This team could drop big time before the season ends if Dwight Howard leaves as expected. For now, they have added a championship experienced player in Glen Davis and the same core group remains. Chemistry is a big attribute in a season with less practice time/pre-season.

5.Pacers
The underdog has bark and bite since they added David West. As long as no health issues occur with West, coming off surgery, this is a very dangerous front-line. Granger/Hibbert/West need to mesh quickly and Darren Collison needs to continue to improve his impressive game to the next level.

6.Celtics
Names don't help old legs. Garnett/Allen/Pierce are still an incredible nucleus to begin a season with, but with so many games in such little time and little rest, there's bound to be deep repercussions. Still have that championship spirit, but will Rondo get over the trade rumors? Keep an eye on Rondo.

7.Sixers

An exciting team with young legs, some playoff experience under their belt and still have the same core group. Will Andre Iguodala step up and take on a leadership role? Brackins and Turner now have a full season and if they added confidence to their game, the Sixers may take full advantage of a shortened season.

8.Hawks
The Hawks remain a mystery. A team with three marquee players like Joe Johnson , Josh Smith and Al Horford should have better results. The truth is they have no leader. If any of these three decide to carry the team, this team could certainly go up a few spots.

9.Bucks
I like some of the new players they added on, beginning with Stephen Jackson and Mike Dunleavy is a nice pick-up. A healthy Andrew Bogut combined with a more mature Jackson and Brandon Jennings could make this a nice season. Drew Gooden returning from the dead would really help too!

10.Wizards
Rookie of the year pg, John Wall, young exciting center in Mcgee and veterans Rashard Lewis and Josh Howard make the Wizards a sleeping dog. The main issue will be John Wall's shot selection as well as improving that shot (40%!!). The future is bright, but is it now?

11. Cavs
Sometimes teams have a better season than expected because they improved and other times it's because other teams got worse. While #1 pick Kyrie Irving looks to be the early favorite for ROY, the Cavs should take advantage of other bad teams in their conf. Jamison/Varejo are a nice frontcourt, Parker returns for his shooting/D. Playoffs seem far off though.

12.Nets
Deron Williams, DeShawn Stevenson and Mehmet Okur will take the Jazz....oh wait, actually they are on the Nets now. Unless Dwight Howard walks in through that door (Rick Pitino voice), Brooklyn may not be too excited yet for the Nets to arrive. I still like Damion James very much, look out for him.

13.Pistons
There are actually some nice pieces on this team from Stuckey to Maxiell , however, the other pieces need to show up. Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva are still getting their paychecks, but certainly not earning them. If Lawrence Frank can get them to mesh, they may move up a few spots.

14. Raptors
In the battle to avoid being dead last, the Raptors win second to last for a few reasons, but nothing to be excited about. They have a number of returning players who under-achieved badly last year, but still have a nice skill set. Barnani, Calderon and Barbosa is not a bad group of players. Add on some strong 2nd year players and who knows.....I think we all know how it will end though. Sorry Raptor fans.

15. Bobcats
They have Kemba Walker and get all the free Air Jordan sneakers they want. Merry Christmas.