Tag Archives: Carmelo

When LeBron James left Miami for Cleveland he weakened one franchise, strengthened another and changed the entire landscape of the Eastern Conference. Other teams made moves as well, some got stronger, some not so much.

Here are my rankings of the top 10 teams in the East with each squad’s projected starting lineup and first three players off the bench.  This off course is subject to change based on trades and other free agent signings in the future.

1  Chicago Bulls                  (48-34)                 HC- Tom Thibodeau

PG- Derrick Rose  SG- Jimmy Butler  SF- Mike Dunleavy  PF- Pau Gasol  C- Joakim Noah

Bench – Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott , Kirk Hinrich

2  Cleveland Cavaliers       (33-49)                 HC- David Blatt

PG- Kyrie  SG- Andrew Wiggins  SF- LeBron  PF- Tristan Thompson  C- Anderson Varjao

Bench- Dion Waiters, Anthony Bennett, Mike Miller

3  Indiana Pacers                (56-26)                HC- Frank Vogel

PG- George Hill  SG- C.J. Miles  SF- Paul George  PF- David West  C- Roy Hibbert

Bench- Luis Scola, C.J. Watson, Ian Mahinmi

4  Washington Wizards     (44-38)                HC- Randy Wittman

PG- John Wall  SG- Bradley Beal  SF- Paul Pierce  PF- Nene Hilario  C- Marcin Gortat

Bench- Martell Webster, Otto Porter Jr., Kris Humphries

5  Toronto Raptors            (48-34)                 HC- Dwane Casey

PG- K.Lowery  SG- Terrence Ross  SF- D. DeRozan  SF- Amir Johnson  C- J. Valanciunas

Bench- Greivis Vasquez, Pattrick Patterson, Louis Williams

6  Miami Heat                    (54-28)                  HC- Erik Spoelstra

PG- Mario Chalmers  SG- D-Wade  SF- Luol Deng  PF- Josh McRoberts  C- Chris Bosh

Bench- Chris Anderson Norris Cole, Shabazz Napier

7 Charlotte Hornets          (43-39)                 HC- Steve Clifford

PG-K.Walker  SG- L. Stephenson  SF- M. Kidd-Gilchrist  PF- Cody Zeller  C- Al Jefferson

Bench- Noah Vonleh, Gary Neal, Gerald Henderson

8 Atlanta Hawks                 (38-44)                HC- Mike Budenholzer

PG- Jeff Teague,  SG- Kyle Korver  SF- DeMarre Carroll  PF- Paul Millsap  C- Al Horford

Bench- Thabo Sefolosha, Dennis Schroeder, Pero Antic

9 Brooklyn Nets                 (44-38)                 HC- Lionel Hollins

PG- Deron Williams SG- Joe Johnson SF- A. Kirilenko PF- Kevin Garnett  C- Brook Lopez

Bench- Mason Plumlee, Jarrett Jack, Mirza Teletovic

10 New York Knicks           (37-45)                HC- Derrick Fisher

PG- Jose Calderon SG- I.Shumpert SF- Carmelo PF- A. Stoudemire  C-Samuel Dalembert

Bench- J.R. Smith, Andrea Bargnani, Tim Hardaway Jr.