Preview of the NBA Playoffs

With the playoffs looming in the near future, teams in the NBA are gearing up, and hoping for, a long playoff run. Here is an in-depth look at the teams who have the best chance of representing the East in the NBA Finals.

Detroit Pistons

Starting Five - The Pistons have, by far, the best starting five in the Eastern Conference. Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups are likely the best backcourt in the league and can carry the team in scoring in any game. The frontcourt is also stacked with forwards Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace and center Chris Webber. Webber has largely made up for a terrible off-season signing in Nazr Mohammed, as the team has gone 15-3 with him as a starter. All five players are capable of big scoring nights.

Chris Webber can be a liability on defense which will force the Pistons to play a lot of zone defense. While they are talented enough to successfully wield this defense, they could fall into trouble against the better shooting teams.

Bench - While not as bad as last year, the Pistons bench still leaves a lot to be desired. Lindsey Hunter is a great defensive presence off the bench, but his scoring is sporadic. Carlos Delfino has taken great strides in his first year of significant playing time, but his inexperience shows the longer he plays. The same goes for Jason Maxiell, who has the talent to be a starter or sixth man but has suffered from the lack of consistent playing time.

Antonio McDyess is the lone threat off the Pistons bench in any game. Since the NBA switched back to the old leather ball, McDyess has been shooting lights out, with a field-goal percentage over 56% in 2007. Dale Davis provides another veteran big man off the bench who can provide tough defense and solid rebounding if called upon.

Coaching - It is tough to deny the success Flip Saunders has had in Detroit and Minnesota during the regular season. That being said, he still has to prove himself able to lead a team through the playoffs. The Pistons were the best team in the NBA for 87 games before nearly falling apart against Cleveland and finally losing to Miami. Flip blamed the problems on exhaustion and the team peaking too early. Fine, but this year there are no excuses to not winning the East barring a major injury to one of the starting five.

Prediction - With Dwayne Wade injured possibly for the rest of the season and the Cavaliers and Bulls still too young to contend, the Pistons should find themselves back in the NBA Finals. Once there they will unquestionably be the underdogs, just the way they like it.

Washington Wizards

Starting Five - Washington has three stellar scorers in their starting five. Gilbert Arenas has really came into his own in the past few seasons and has had nothing short of a MVP season for his team. In addition to Arenas, Caron Butler is having a career season posting highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and field-goal percentage. And Antwan Jamison, who should be back by the postseason, offers the team a solid low-post presence. Unfortunately for Washington, basketball is played five on five. Not too many casual fans outside of Washington know the remaining starters, DeShawn Stevenson and Brendan Haywood, even though they are both solid contributors.

Washington's main problem, with both the starting five and the bench, is a lack of defensive play. They do not have an offense nearly as fluid as Phoenix, relying on one-on-one match-ups and allowing their stars to dominate the ball for the majority of the shot clock, and often stutter on offense. Because of this role players have a tendency of disappearing for long stretches during a game. With these obvious flaws even a high seed won't help the Wizards make magic in the playoffs.

On the other hand, Gilbert Arenas can get his shot from anywhere and dominate games at will. If he can put up big numbers for seven games, Washington has a chance to take out a major contender in the East and move far.

Bench - Antonio Daniels is a great veteran guard to have off the bench. Outside of him, Jarvis Hayes and big man Etan Thomas, the Wizards substitutes are thin. Donell Taylor and Andray Blatche are not players the team expects to be logging critical playoff minutes. Expect the Wizards "depth" to continue watching Gilbert and co. log huge minutes through May and, possibly, June.

Coaching - Eddie Jordan was one of the hottest coaches when he first accepted the Wizards offer. But recent spats with Arenas and an inability to construct a hard-nosed team has left many questions with Eddie. Known as a defensive specialist in New Jersey, Jordan never has gotten through to his players on shutting down opposing offenses. It's the reason why Washington was beaten by the Cavaliers last season despite having more talent. Unfortunately for Eddie there is no time to change the team now.

Prediction - The Wizards are a good team and they win games...but it is often tough to see how. With a selfish offense and no defense, their holes should be exposed by a better-coached team in the playoffs. Namely the Bulls, Pistons or Raptors.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Starting Five - Looking at the Cavalier's starting five, there is only one name that jumps out; LeBron James. Without LeBron, the Cavaliers are not in championship contention., maybe not even in playoff contention. James is experiencing a slight down-year due to injuries but still posts better numbers than most in the NBA. After LeBron, the biggest threat on the floor for the Cavs changes night to night. Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been a solid center for many years but his performance has diminished greatly over the 2006/07 season. After averaging over fifteen points a game for four straight seasons, Z is scoring under twelve points per game this season.

Larry Hughes has yet to match his play from two seasons ago when he averaged over twenty-two points a game and was among the leagues best in steals. Since signing with the Cavaliers, Hughes has failed to develop into the consistent sidekick to LeBron that Danny Ferry thought he would be. In addition, the Cavaliers are forced to start either offensively inept Eric Snow or rookie Daniel Gibson at point guard, leaving their backcourt as a constant liability.

In fact, the closest to an X-factor Cleveland has is Drew Gooden. Although the power forward lacks discipline and consistency to be a night-in, night-out threat, he has strength in the post and enough athletic ability to make an impact.

Bench - When the Cavaliers go to their bench, they usually look for energy and get it from two players. On one end, Anderson Varejao, who leads the league in charges taken, can sometimes play wild but can bring the crowd back into games with one play. On the other hand, Sasha Pavlovic provides a much-needed scoring punch as a substitute. Sasha averaged over eleven points a game off the bench in February.

Cleveland also has the option to bring Damon Jones and Donyell Marsall off the bench for three-point shooting. While neither has played their best basketball with the Cavaliers, both are threats from downtown if given the chance.

Coaching - Mike Brown has done an acceptable job with the Cavaliers, leading them to fifty wins last season and most likely forty-five to fifty more this season. But does he have enough authority to coach the team over LeBron during games? Judging by LeBron's lackluster attitude, poor shot selection and average defense, Brown isn't reaching his star. The Cavaliers need a vocal coach with a proven track record that LeBron will listen to.

Prediction - Cleveland seems to have taken a step backwards this season. Expect them to beat their first-round opponent before once again bowing out to a superior divisional foe.

Toronto Raptors

Starting Five - One of the major surprises this season, the Raptor's success can be attributed to an extremely cohesive starting five. While the majority of the credit goes to bonafide superstar Chris Bosh, Toronto have gotten great contributions from every position on the floor.

One of these positions, point guard, has been solidified by an offseason acquisition named TJ Ford. Ford, often maligned as a defensive liability with no shot, has had a terrific year averaging over fourteen points and close to eight assists a game. He is joined in the backcourt by Anthony Parker, who chips in with just enough scoring.

The Raptors frontcourt is solidified b Jorge Garbajosa, an unknown before this season and Rasho Nesterovic, who somehow always plays next to the best big men in the league.

Bench - With depth at every position, Toronto may have the best bench in the Eastern Conference. Jose Calderon is a great point guard substitute that any team would like to have. Morris Peterson's name was floated around many teams as a trade target because of his excellent range and scoring ability. The rookie everyone criticized Toronto for taking, Andrea Bargnani, has been averaging double-digit points off the bench and second-year player Joey Graham also has shown flashes in very limited minutes.

The Raptor's bench should further be solidified by the recent acquisition of Juan Dixon. Dixon has moved from team to team in his brief career but has shown a scoring punch in every location he visits.

Coaching - Sam Mitchell has done a terrific job balancing his job as a coach, looking for wins, and a teacher, looking to develop young talent. No matter what happens he deserves a lot of credit for the Raptor's success.

Prediction - For eighty-two games the Raptors will be a surprise to the NBA. But there are no shocks in the playoffs. Toronto will draw a tough first-round opponent and will never come close to contending for a title, but with a great GM and foundation their fans should be excited for the future.

Chicago Bulls

Starting Five - Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng for a formidable scoring trio for the Bulls on most nights. Although all three, especially Ben Gordon, are streaky shooters, they have enough firepower to keep the Bulls in most games. The problem, more often than not, comes from a lack of interior scoring. Both of Chicago's big men, Ben Wallace and PJ Brown, are better suited defending and rebounding than posting up and creating points.

One has to wonder why the Bulls didn't swing a big deal at the trade deadline to improve their weakness. The veteran leadership and toughness of the aforementioned big men will be critical throughout the playoffs, but Pau Gasol could have helped ease the scoring load a lot.

When one of the three shooters has a bad night, Chicago is usually in trouble. In a seven-game series against a consistent team, this spells trouble.

Bench - Chicago has a bench full of players who are still very young. Nocioni frequently sparks the offense by taking charges and making big shots. He has, however, struggled since being taken out of the starting rotation by Skiles. A lower shooting percentage and drop in points production without a significant loss in minutes is telling.

Chris Duhon backs up Hinrich at the point and is a solid backup. While not as flashy of a scorer as Hinrich, Duhon provides stability and leadership as well as solid lockdown defense.

The rest of the Bulls bench consists of Malik Allen, a veteran big man who never sees too much playing time, Tyrus Thomas, very raw rookie, Thabo Sefolosha, see Tyrus Thomas, and Michael Sweetney, full of potential but has never shown anything consistent. The Bulls should not expect to see any of these four making a contribution in the playoffs.

Coaching - Scott Skiles is a tough coach who draws upon his playing days as a backdrop for his coaching style. Skiles preaches good defense and ball movement and does not mind his players taking very early shots. His method seems to work enough to get the Bulls into the postseason year after year, but it has yet to work over seven games in the later months.

Prediction - The Bulls are better than their record shows. They have a chance, depending on seeding, to get as far as the conference championship. Too much inexperience to go further though.

Other Teams

Without Wade it is unlikely that the Miami Heat will make a long postseason run. Even if he manages to make it back he won't be the same player who won the Finals MVP last season. The Indiana Pacers are a mess and just don't have enough to win in the playoffs as of now. With only Kidd and Carter, the New Jersey Nets may provide a hard first-round series, if they make it to the playoffs, but nothing else. And finally the Orlando Magic are heading in the wrong direction and will probably be watching the playoffs with thirteen other squads

Final Prediction - Pistons beat the Bulls in a six-game series to reach the Finals once again.

The Western Conference preview is coming next week! Stay tuned.