Southeast Surprise: The best division in the East

For the past few seasons, the Central Division has been the standard for the Eastern Conference. It hasn't always produced the best team, but Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago and at times Indiana and Milwaukee have been tough, competitive teams.

The tide turned last season after Detroit had its worse season in some time and the Atlanta Hawks took another step forward. After the Orlando Magic claimed the Eastern Conference crown, it's safe to say it is the best division in the conference. Three teams should be locks for the playoffs and the other two could be good enough to make it as well.

Here is how it should play out.

1. Orlando Magic

The conference champions are back to defend their crown. Some say the addition of Vince Carter makes them an even better squad, but it's going to be tough to repeat. Hedo Turkoglu was a clutch player for the squad last season and Courtney Lee played lock-down defense. Dwight Howard will need to improve his free-throw shooting, Carter will need to commit to defense and Mickael Pietrus will need to build off his stellar season.

The most silent but violent move for the Magic: Brandon Bass. His motor never stops and he will help Howard clean the glass.

2. Atlanta Hawks

I absolutely love this team and truly believe they are a threat to not just win this division, but the conference as well. Joe Johnson is one of the best shooters in the NBA and is a great leader. Mike Bibby is still an effective point guard and now has Jamal Crawford and Jeff Teague (who had a tremendous preseason) backing him up. Josh Smith is a great off-the-ball defender while Marvin Williams has tremendous on-the-ball defense. Horford is a cardio machine for a center.

The Hawks improved the bench, which was their main concern, but there is still no front court depth. In a conference with Howard and Shaq, Atlanta will need to add size to make a push for a conference championship.

3. Miami Heat

I felt this team slightly overachieved last season, which makes it even more dangerous this year. Dwayne Wade is in a contract year, Mario Chalmers is a legitimate NBA point guard (especially on defense), Michael Beasley should be better and Jermaine O' Neal might be healthy. Biggest issue for this team is lack of scorers.

The addition of Quentin Richardson should help spark the offense, but expect Daequan Cook to be the breakout star for the Heat.

4. Washington Wizards

Gilbert Arenas, Mike Miller, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. Sounds like a dangerous lineup. Brendan Haywood, DeShawn Stevenson, Randy Foye, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee sounds like a dangerous second wave. So why will they finish fourth in the division? Someone is bound to get injured first off and secondly, where is the defense going to come from?

This is the only team in this division where I look around and can't see a single sound defender on the team. Butler and Jamison are respectable, but not great. Everyone else is close to water. They will win plenty of games by outscoring teams, but defense wins championships.

5. Charlotte Bobcats

This team was scary the last three weeks of the 2008-09 season. The intensity they played with allowed them to slay the giants of the NBA and the look in Gerald Wallace's eyes every time he stepped on the court was reminiscent of Mike Singletary. This team will turn the corner one year, just not now.

Wallace is great and I love the combination of Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustine. Their defense got a whole lot better with Raja Bell and Tyson Chandler. But there is one huge problem: To win in the NBA you need a star, they don't have one. This team brings it every night, but until they get their franchise player, they will struggle.

Can Kobe Do It For Kareem? Your Obligatory Game 5 Pre-Game Blog

As a kid, I always remember the Bulls clinching in Game 6 at home mostly because I was convinced the team wanted to celebrate at home. Of course, that logic was defied in 1998. But it was cool, Mike probably had road beef.

Speaking of (alleged) road beef, Kobe, say it ain't so? Vanessa's hot and you could do so much better. With that said, I wouldn't kick her out of bed for mispronouncing my name.

So here's hoping for a well-played game in which Kobe does work and the Magic drain a lot of threes, Dwight Howard gets his 20 points 20 boards to go along with missing key free throws in an attempt to make Magic fans forget that Nick Anderson ever existed. C'mon, who wants a blowout in Game 5.

Prediction: There will be a celebration in the Magic Kingdom tonight. Unfortunately for Magic fans, it will not involve the home team. Lakers 102 Magic 97.

In Jameer Nelson's Grill: Where Amazing Happens

Hey, Lakers fans, I gotta question for ya. Do you like Fish sticks?

Derek Fisher's stat line won't look clutch as he only made two 3-pointers in five periods of basketball. However, what the box score won't tell you is that the first tied the game in regulation, sending the game into overtime. And the second ended up being the game winner in overtime.

And to think, if Jameer Nelson was a few inches taller, maybe he bothers Fisher's game-tying shot. Or he draws a foul on Kobe Bryant's elbow in OT.

More proof that size matters.

Speaking of Kobe, just a pedestrian 32 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in more than 48 minutes.

And you know how the Magic were undefeated in the playoffs when that one little girl sings the anthem? Well, that ended as soon as ABC's cameras found Nick "The Brick" Anderson.

It was the Ghost Of Nick Anderson haunted Dwight Howard's late-game free throws, right?

As for adjustments the Magic need to make in Game 5 to avoid elimination, it's quite simple if you ask me. Just play like you did in Game 3. Of course, that is easier said than done.

Derek Fisher helps Lakers move within one game of title [LA Times]

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Magic Pull Out All Tricks In Win. And All Of A Sudden, We've Got A Series. Kind Of.

The Orlando Magic got 60 points from its frontcourt trio of Dwight Howard (21), Rashard Lewis (21) and Hedo Turkoglu (18) to go along with a 20-point night from Skip To My Lou. The Magic also shot 62.5 percent from the field.

And still almost lost.

All you will hear tomorrow morning is that "we've got a series on our hands" from every NBA expert this side of the moon. However, it took Orlando's best shooting performance combined with a subpar second half by Kobe Bryant to squeak out a four-point win on its own homecourt.

Don't expect Kobe's struggles to continue. Don't expect the Magic to keep nailing three's like it unlocked a cheat code on NBA Live.

The losing team always makes the adjustments. Unfortunately for Orlando, Game 3's losers still have a 2-1 lead.

Los Angeles Lakers 104 Orlando Magic 108 [Yahoo! Sports]

What? You Didn't Expect The Magic To Hit All Their Threes, Did You?

I guess someone forgot to tell Orlando that if you press left-right-left-right-up-down-"B" as the ball is tipped you will unlock the can't miss a three cheat.

Orlando was 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) from the great beyond and in turn, fell in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, 100-75.

Kobe Bryant went bonkers on the Magic as he poured in 40 points to go along with 8 assists and 8 rebounds. There are truly no words to describe the look of determination Bryant is wearing around the Staples Center.

It is not as if Orlando is out of this series just yet. The Magic came back from a 2-1 deficit to knock off Philadelphia. Then they bumped the defending NBA champs on their home court in decisive fashion despite being down 3-2. And unless you've been sleeping under a rock, you know they eliminated King James and his Court Jesters in the Eastern Conference Finals.

But if they continue to struggle with their outside shot, and Dwight Howard only posts 12-and-15 by taking only six shots and making only one, Kobe might need to make room for a fourth ring.

Orlando 75 Los Angeles 100 [Yahoo! Sports]

The Next Jordan Or The Euro Jordans: Your NBA Finals Preview

Finally, the rematch everyone was looking forward to seeing is only hours from tip-off.

Wait, what do you mean no one is looking forward to seeing Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard lock horns as they did in the Summer Olympics? Or J.J. Redick go up against Adam Morrison?

OK, so it's not the series Nike had hoped for, but the NBA Finals should be an interesting series of who can take advantage of their mismatches down the stretch.

Los Angeles will try to avoid last year's fate as it will attempt to ride the world's best player and the league's best coach in an attempt to land its 15th NBA title.

In Orlando, the Magic will ride a team that is reminiscent of the kind of team you would find in NBA Jam. Yeah, don't you remember that old school video game where each team had one low-post player responsible for grabbing every rebound teamed with 3-point snipers that never missed? That is exactly who the Magic remind me of.

In fact, their 1995 title team was one of my favorite NBA Jam teams as I used a combination of Horace Grant, Nick Anderson and Penny Hardaway to slam dunks and rain threes all over my opponents.

I digress.

Unfortunately, I cannot play this series out on my Super Nintendo set because the Lakers are led by Nick Van Exel, Anthony Peeler and Vlade Divac. Excuse me while I yack.

OK, I'm good. Here are the match-ups I'm looking forward to.

1. The Next Jordan vs. The Euro Jordans

Last year, I asked whether three was greater than one when I previewed the Kobe v. Big 3 match-up. This year I ask whether or not The Next Jordan will be able to beat The Euro Jordans.

Kobe's got that nasty game face on as if he does not want to lose and will not allow his teammates to fail. He knows it is his time to cement his legacy in the Post-Shaq Laker Era.

On the other hand, The Euro Jordans (Pietrus and Hedo) have no pressure on them because being the French Jordan or the Turkish Jordan is the equivalent to being the smartest kid in class when you're the only kid in class.

2. Pau vs. D-Ho

Dwight Howard is a scary dude right now. He's a double-double ready to happen at any moment. And not one of those weak-sauce 15-10 games, I'm thinking that at the drop of a hat that Howard can pour in 40 and grab 20 boards without blinking twice.

On the other hand, Pau Gasol is just plain scary. He is arguably the ugliest man in the NBA and without a doubt the ugliest individual in this NBA Finals. I would have more faith in Stan Van Gundy's ho-runnin' abilities than Gasol's. Luckily for Pau, none of that matters. He, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum are in charge of checking the big man down low.

3. J.J. Redick vs. Adam Morrison

They were college basketball's best hoopers. They owned the game's sweetest shots and were beloved by fans across the country.

Then fans realized that J.J. shanks during crunch time, or whenever angry athletic black men guarded him vigorously. And that Morrison shed waterfall-like tears when his team fell behind whenever Gus Johnson yelled loudly.

A pair of lottery picks will go against each other if, and only if, everyone else in front of them fouls out.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.