2009-2010 NBA Southeast Division Season Preview

Welcome to the best and most complete 2009-2010 NBA Southeast Division Season Preview available online. The teams that make up our 2009-2010 NBA Southeast Season Preview are the are the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards.

The NBA’s Southeast division is not the most talented division to start the 2009-2010 season, but there are some solid teams with the possibility of duplicating the Orlando Magic’s success from last year. The Miami Heat went from winning 15 games a season previously, to riding the coat tales of Dwyane Wade into the postseason last season. The Washington Wizards, played last season without Gilbert Arenas, and hope to do the same thing this year. Moreover, the Atlanta Hawks are talented enough to take big playoff leap similar to what Orlando did last season. While a team like the Charlotte Bobcats who are full of talent with a hall of fame coach, but are still trying to an identity in hopes of making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

With new players, returning players and everything in between, the Southeast Division has a totally different feel to it. With that said, as solid as the division is, it’s not crowded at the top. The Magic enter 2009-2010 as the team to beat, but they will have four capable and hungry teams eager to take them down. But the bottom line is: this is the Orlando Magic’s division to lose.

2009-2010 Orlando Magic Season Preview

The Magic won 59 games and ran away with the Southeast Division last year, then bumped off the defending champion Celtics and upset LeBron and the Cavaliers to win the Eastern Conference, before running out of gas against the Lakers in the Finals. Orlando also went 49-32 vs the point spreads, second-best in the league, and 26-14 ATS on the road. And with Magic games averaging 196 points, 12th-fewest In the league, the totals went 36-46. With C Dwight Howard, who led the league in rebounding (14 RPG) and blocked shots (2.9 BPG), patrolling the middle, Orlando ranked third in FG defense and ninth in rebounding margin. At the other end of the court, only the Knicks took more 3-pointers than the Magic, and no team made more than the Magic’s 10 a game. Still, Orlando was the worst free-throw shooting team in the league. The big off-season news was the trade that sent Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston, both key contributors in the Magic’s playoff run, to New Jersey for G Vince Carter (21 PPG). Orlando lost F Hedo Turkoglu, but they expect to have a healthy Jameer Nelson back, after he missed most of the second half of the season and the playoffs with a shoulder injury. But F Rashard Lewis will miss the first 10 games of this season serving a suspension. Although it’s uncertain how Carter will fit in with Orlando’s style, they’re the favorites to win the Southeast again, and a threat to make another run to the Finals.

(Orlando Magic +500 to win the NBA championship at BetUS)

Orlando Magic 2009-2010 Season Preview – Orlando Magic 2009 Season Schedule

2009-2010 Atlanta Hawks Season Preview

The Hawks are coming off their finest season in a decade, winning 47 games and a playoff series before falling to Cleveland in four games in the conference semis. Now the trick for this team is to hang on to the talent at hand, and advance to the next level – which isn’t always easy to do. Atlanta posted one of biggest home/road differentials in the league last year, going 31-10 at Phillips Arena, but 16-25 on the road. And, though they ranked 25th in rebounding margin at -1.9 per game, they were five games over .500 against the spread, at 43-38. This off-season, the Hawks managed to hold on to F Marvin Williams (14 PPG. 6 RPG), signing him to a five-year deal. They also re-signed G Mike Bibby (15 PPG, 5 APG) and C Zaza Pachulia, and traded for Jamal Crawford (20 PPG for the Knicks and Warriors last year). Along with G Joe Johnson (21 PPG, six APG), F Josh Smith (16 PPG. 7 RPG) and Al Horford (12 PPG, 9 RPG), it’s evident Atlanta has rounded up a nice collection of talent. The Hawks are now playing with heightened expectations, though, which has proven tough for some supposedly up-and-coming teams to do. And they’ll have to fare better than the 2-1 0 record they posted vs Orlando, Boston and Cleveland last season (6-6 ATS). Nonetheless, while the Magic, Cavs and Celtics may be the big three in the East right now, the Hawks are rapping at the door.

(Atlanta Hawks +2000 to win the NBA championship at BetUS)

Atlanta Hawks 2009-2010 Season Preview – Atlanta Hawks 2009 Season Schedule

2009-2010 Miami Heat Season Preview

The Heat recovered from the lost season that was 2007- 08 to go 43-39 last year, but their season ended in a first-round loss to the Hawks. Miami never won more than four games in a row, yet they never lost more than three straight. But they struggled on the road, going 15- 26, and it eventually cost them when they had to play that first-round Game 7 at Atlanta. Miami went 40-40 vs the point spreads, and even though Heat games averaged 196 points (only 18th-most in the league), the totals went 45-86. Wade led the league in scoring at 30 PPG and made a run at the MVP award. The next leading scorer on the team was rookie F Michael Beasley (14 PPG). Wade averaged 22 shots per game; Beasley came next at 12. This off-season, while help was needed, Miami basically stood pat. They couldn’t lure Lamar Odom away from LA. and couldn’t pry Carlos Boozer away from Utah. The Heat got C Jermaine O’Neal in a trade last February, but he didn’t produce like they’d hoped he would (13 PPG, 5 RPG) in his 27 games with the team. PF Udonis Haslem (10 PPG, 8 RPG) remains a starter, and PG Mario Chalmers started every game as a rookie last year, although his 2.4 A/TO ratio and 42% FG shooting could improve. Overall, Miami is not one of the better shooting teams in the league. The Heat are still a playoff team, but they’ll need their young talent to grow up quickly to play deep into the spring.

(Miami Heat +1400 to win the NBA championship at BetUS)

Miami Heat 2009-2010 Season Preview – Miami Heat 2009 Season Schedule

2009-2010 Charlotte Bobcats Season Preview

The Bobcats started their first season under coach Larry Brown by winning just seven of their first 25 games. Then Charlotte won 27 of its next 49 to get to 34-40, within a sniff of the playoffs. But they finished 1-7, and 35-47 overall, and still haven’t made the postseason in their fiveyear existence. And yet, while they won just three more games than in 2007-08, it was pretty clear they made advances under Coach Brown. Also, in being regularly underrated, the Bobcats went 46-36 vs the point spreads, the fifth-best ATS mark in the league. Also, with the ‘Cats playing the lowest-scoring games in the league, at 189 points per, the totals went 37-43. This off-season, Charlotte traded former Rookie of the Year Emeka Okafor for C Tyson Chandler (9 PPG, 9 RPG for the Hornets last year). F Gerald Wallace (17 PPG, 8 RPG) is one of only three players that remain from the day Brown was hired back in April of 2008. But one of those other holdovers is PG Raymond Felton (14 PPG, 7 APG), whose status with the team was uncertain as of late August. Second-year G OJ Augustin, SG Raja Bell and F Boris Diaw round out the starting five, and rookie G Gerald Henderson, the 12th overall pick in the draft, will get a chance to play right away. With Brown at the helm, this ship is headed in the right direction despite an overall lack of talent. But if the wandering coach jumps, this outfit could go right down the tubes.

(Charlotte Bobcats +3500 to win the NBA championship at BetUS)

Charlotte Bobcats 2009-2010 Season Preview – Charlotte Bobcats 2009 Season Schedule

2009-2010 Washington Wizards Season Preview

The Wizards entered last season with streaks of four straight non-losing seasons and playoff appearances. But those runs came to an end as Washington stumbled through an injury-plagued 19-63 debacle. The Wizards started 0-5, and things went downhill from there, although they somehow beat Cleveland twice. G Gilbert Arenas missed all but two games last year thanks to that iffy knee: C Brendan Haywood missed 76 games after undergoing wrist surgery: and G Shawn Stevenson missed 50 games with a bad back. And while F Antawn Jamison played 81 games, he then had off-season ankle surgery. Washington also went just 31-49 against the point spreads last year, which tied with the lowly Clippers for the worst ATS mark in the league. Thanks to all those missed games by key personnel, we should throw out most of last season’s statistics. But one number that deserves attention, both from bettors and new head coach Flip Saunders (587-396 career in NBA), is the 48% opponents shot from the floor vs the Wiz. Now, the good news. If all goes well, the Wizards should field one of the best starting fives in the conference in late October. The experience gained by guys like G Nick Young, F Andray Blatche and others last year can’t but help this season. And Washington added G Randy Faye (16 PPG) and F Mike Miller (10 PPG, 7 RPG, 5 APG) in an off-season trade with Minnesota. If this team could only keep its starting lineup relatively healthy for an entire season, they’d make the playoffs, and would have the potential to give some people real headaches.