Well, the 2007-08 NBA regular season is already upon us. With many good story lines working and a slight shift in the balance of power in conferences, it promises to be an interesting campaign. Here are my thumbnail predictions for the upcoming season . . .

EASTERN CONFERENCE
No longer merely the junior varsity half of the NBA, the East is getting better but still is inferior to the West. Seven teams look like play-off clubs if they stay healthy - Boston, Toronto, New Jersey, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and Miami. Washington, Orlando, Indiana and New York should contend for the eighth and final spot. Milwaukee could also be in the running for the final slot if all goes right, if Chinese rookie Yi Jianlan fufills his enormous
potential, and Michael Redd stays healthy.

Atlantic Division
This division has gone from the worst in pro sports to fairly decent this year. All five teams should be better, with Boston and New Jersey significantly better, while defending champion Toronto should be solid. New York improved their talent base as well but it remains to be seen whether they have any chemistry. It should be a three-horse race, with Boston, the Nets and Raptors bunched tightly, with each posting around 45 to 50 wins.

1) Boston (46-49 wins): The Celtics mortgaged their future to win now with the seven-for-one deal with Minnesota, and another multi-player deal that depleted their depth but garnered two all-stars to add to incumbent Paul Pierce. The new Big Three can't hold a candle to the Bird-McHale-Parish trio, which has all three players in the top 50. Only Kevin Garnett has that sort of cache. But if they stay healthy and get anything out of a meager supporting cast, Boston should be able to win this mediocre division.

'It should be a three-horse race, with Boston, the Nets and Raptors bunched tightly, with each posting around 45 to 50 wins'


Shooting-challenged second-year point guard Rajon Rondo will have to play more like Dennis Johnson than well, the bad-shooting but defensively talented Rondo of the past. And the Cs must get something out of center.
Flaky but underrated pick-up Scot Pollard could give them the rebounding and defence they need if he stays off the DL. Doc Rivers must produce as coach or else!

2) Toronto (44-47 wins):
The defending division champs have a nice mix of young and skilled international players. Second-year seven-footer Andrea Bargnani has a little Larry Bird in his game and should become one of the top front court tandems in the east with versatile 6-10 Chris Bosh. TJ Ford is a solid point guard, the bench is decent and Jason Kapono is one of the league's best shooters. But two guard looks like a weakness. Still, they are the team of the future in this grouping.

3) New Jersey (43-46 wins):
The Nets have a strong trio in Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter. But Kidd is creaky, Carter is not good in the clutch and Jefferson has had his injuries as well. The key is whether sweet-shooting center Nenad Krstic can come back from a knee injury. NJ have been a bad shooting team in recent seasons, even in their
Finals years of 2002-03. Krstic gives them some solid mid-range shooting but again the team's key trio is aging and they lack the overall perimeter shooting to go far. Marcus Williams is a promising back-up to Kidd.

4) NY Knicks (35-39 wins):
Too much duplication of talent and too little chemistry and coaching means the Knicks will be better and contend for the last play-off spot, but probably come up just short. Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph are too similar, although Randolph has more range and is a better rebounder. The Knicks do have a lot of talent and depth, but it's doubtful that shoot-first playmaker Stephon Marbury has the distributive skills and point guard mentality to bring out the best in his teammates.

Forward David Lee and clutch-shooting guard Jamal Crawford are very capable players and Quentin Richardson could be a key perimeter threat if he gets in shape. With a better coach they would be a play-off team.

5) Philadelphia (29-34 wins):
Last year's 18-11 finish after getting rid of the selfish Allen Iverson was nice but probably a misleading smokescreen. The new AI (Andre Iguodala) is a budding star at small forward but doesn't have enough help beyond solid, underrated point guard Andre Miller and sharp-shooting Kyle Korver.This is probably the last go-round for former 76er point guard Mo Cheeks as coach unless he can get this group to play almost to its full potential, which would still be under .500.

Up next: Part 2 of the East, The Southeast and Central Divisions.