Ranking The Southeast

Hoops World

The Southeast Division remains one of the toughest in basketball. Since 2007 the division has had at least three teams make the postseason each year and for two of the past three seasons a team from its fold has represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. Both teams, the Orlando Magic in 2009 and the Miami HEAT in 2011, were unable to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy when the dust settled.

Little is expected to change once the 2012 season begins.

Barring major injuries the division will feature three teams who will rank among the league's elite, an emerging young squad poised to raise some eyebrows and a franchise committed to rebuilding from scratch with the goal of eventually ranking among the league's best.

Of course the new Collective Bargaining Agreement may totally change the league landscape and impact rosters across the association – but for now here is how the teams in the division rank today.

Miami HEAT (58-24) – Contrary to popular opinion, the 2011 season wasn't a failure for the HEAT who succumbed in six games to the Dallas Mavericks in the finals.

Miami currently has three of the top talents in the league in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh under contract. The trio will only get better from a chemistry standpoint with the more court time they share together.

Unfortunately, the new collective bargaining agreement may negatively impact the HEAT the most especially if the salary cap is lowered or the use of salary exceptions are limited or removed completely.

Not including restricted free agent guard Mario Chalmers the HEAT have nine players under contract for the 2012 season with close to $66 million on the books. Bosh, James and Wade account for $48 million of that cap number which will continually make signing top tier talent a major struggle every offseason through 2016.

The team's weaknesses are at the point guard and center positions.

In last month's draft Miami acquired former Cleveland State University standout guard Norris Cole from Chicago for the No. 31 overall pick (Bojan Bogdonavich) and a future second round selection.

Cole isn't expected to be handed the keys to Miami's offense anytime soon and isn't a huge threat to unseat Chalmers as the club's starting point guard should the HEAT decide to re-sign him in free agency. But what Cole is expected to offer is athleticism, speed and defense on the perimeter (Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 and averaged 2.2 steals per contest).

Cole was known as a strong on ball defender throughout his collegiate career and should help the HEAT contain smaller guards on the perimeter which is a huge need considering how the Mavericks' assortment of undersized guards routinely scorched Miami all throughout the finals.

At center, the HEAT are banking on the continued development of Dexter Pittman and Joel Anthony, but are also hoping to lure one of this year's free agent big men to south beach – namely Samuel Dalembert.

Regardless, the HEAT are once again poised to win the Southeast Division crown behind a dominant trio in the primes of their careers. With those three in place, most teams would gladly take the point guard and center question marks.

Atlanta Hawks (44-38) – The Hawks reached the postseason for the fourth consecutive season in 2011. But for the third straight year the team was sent home packing in the second round of the playoffs.

Fortunately for Hawks fans, despite the usual postseason exodus, last season marked a significant breakthrough as the team defeated the heavily favored Orlando Magic in the first round after suffering an embarrassing sweep at their hands in 2010.

The Hawks feature the second best trio of talent in the division with Josh Smith and All-Stars Joe Johnson and Al Horford.

However there is widespread concern that this core group isn't able to push the franchise to the next level. These concerns have helped spark rampant trade rumors suggesting Smith is on the trading block in order to move Horford into the starting power forward role full-time, while acquiring additional pieces of talent in return.

The Hawks must also address the potential loss of veteran guard and 2010 Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford to free agency.

For the past two seasons Crawford has been a driving force off the bench for the Hawks and if the team loses his consistent double-digit scoring ability and long distance shooting touch their second unit will undoubtedly struggle.

Last year the Hawks were seemingly taking proactive steps in preparing to lose Crawford this summer after acquiring rookie Jordan Crawford in a 2010 draft night deal.

However the younger Crawford played sparingly in Atlanta before he was shipped to Washington in February for veteran guard Kirk Hinrich.

In last month's draft the Hawks had an opportunity to select another young shooting guard with the No. 48 overall pick with former University of Kansas product Josh Selby still on the board. However the team decided to address their frontcourt needs with Oakland's Keith Benson.

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Benson has been described as one of the most NBA ready big men in this year's crop of rookies, but the jury is still out on how much he can actually contribute on a team most believe is only a piece or two away from serious title contention.
There are question marks for sure, namely whether Jeff Teague is ready to assume the starting point guard role full-time, but as it stands right now the Hawks get the number two nod in the division based on this past season's playoff performance.

Orlando Magic (52-30) – The Magic entered the 2011 campaign as serious title contenders but after a slower than expected start the club pulled the trigger on two blockbuster deals in December of last year.

The arriving players, Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark didn't lead to a return trip to the finals. In fact, the first round playoff elimination the Magic suffered at the hands of the Hawks has actually started to create panic amongst the team's fans.

Part of the hysteria is due to All-Star center Dwight Howard's uncertain future with the team.

The superstar center can opt out of the final year of his current deal at the end of next season and has refused to sign an extension offered by the franchise which would lock him up long term.

Howard's reluctance to sign the extension is in large part due to his desire to compete for championships annually.

The common belief is Howard isn't sold on Orlando's long-term plan to acquire the talent and clear the cap space necessary to accomplish this goal.

The Magic currently have $76 million on the books for next season which in all likelihood will keep them from being major players in free agency and due to the amount still owed to Arenas and Turkoglu don't have many trade assets at the top of the lineup.

The team also appears to be on different pages as it comes to roles.

Howard has been quoted recently as saying Arenas needs to be granted a more significant role; while head coach Stan Van Gundy and team ownership have supported Jameer Nelson for the point guard slot.

Obviously re-signing Richardson is the club's top priority outside of getting Howard's buy-in.

The team selected versatile wing DeAndre Liggins in the draft, but it's hard to envision him cracking the lineup of a veteran team with raised expectations.

Washington Wizards (23-59) – If it weren't for Toronto and Cleveland, the Wizards would have been owners of the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

If the team decides to match any offer for restricted free agent Nick Young, Washington will feature one of the league's youngest and most talented backcourts with John Wall, Jordan Crawford and Young on the perimeter.

The young talent in the frontcourt of Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee also deserves mention if the upward development trend continues.

Wall showed flashes of stardom last season, but must cut down on the silly turnovers. Post All-Star break Wall increased his scoring average by 3.5 points per contest which clearly illustrates he's a future game changer.

Crawford, buried on the bench in Atlanta, made the most of his playing time opportunity by averaging 19.3 points, 4.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 18 games as a starter for the Wizards.

Before injuries slowed Young, he was getting nominations as a potential Most Improved Player candidate. He will be a highly sought after free agent once the period begins for his scoring capability.

The new talent in the pipeline also has Washington is a position to improve their win totals in 2012.

Washington selected Jan Vesely (No. 6), Chris Singleton (No. 18) and Shelvin Mack (No. 34) in the draft and all three should have a chance to crack the rotation and gain experience right away.

A playoff berth is still a couple of seasons away, but the Wizards are headed in an upward direction.

Charlotte Bobcats (34-48) – The Bobcats made their first ever postseason appearance in 2010, but immediately traded a key cog in center Tyson Chandler for essentially nothing in return. Then the team allowed starting point guard Raymond Felton to walk unimpeded out the door in free agency.

Next, less than 30 games into the 2011 campaign, head coach Larry Brown stepped down from the position. Lastly the club dealt the last remaining member of the team's inaugural season Gerald Wallace at the trade deadline in February.

So it came as no surprise to anyone who follows the league closely that Charlotte missed the playoffs and sunk back into draft lottery territory.

Rather than stay in the middle of the pack, the Bobcats have decided to completely blow up the team in an effort to rebuild from scratch.

Gone is last year's leading scorer Stephen Jackson who was dealt to Milwaukee. Incoming are rookie selections Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo and veteran Corey Maggette who will be tasked with being a mentor in the locker room.

Also onboard is newly crowned general manager Richard Cho who was recently relieved of his duties after less than one year with Portland in the same role.

There are question marks abound, which is to be expected.

Can the undersized Walker adjust quickly to the NBA game?

Will Biyombo turn into a frontcourt stud or will his lack of a refined offense game limit his long term success?

Can Tyrus Thomas live up to the big contract the club invested in him last season?

The Bobcats only have $50 million in salary commitments next season, but will any desirable player join an expected long term rebuilding project?

Expect the Bobcats to be the cellar dweller of the division, because the club made the choice to start anew.

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