okay, maybe 8.

From the guy who said we would get Drummond 4 weeks before the draft.

1. Many teams in the East got worse, we got better and stronger.

Look at last season's Eastern Standings:

Read more:http://basketball.realgm.com/#ixzz20u3NyH5T

Chicago lost Derrick Rose - but theyre still pretty good because of coaching and defense.

New York lost Lin - the only reason they made the playoffs

Philly lost Lou Williams - I think their leading scorer?

Orlando is about to lose Dwight. - nuff said.

Atlanta lost Joe Johnson - a major scoring contributor off the bench.

The only teams that improved with veteran growth are NJ, Milwaukee, and Washington. Toronto is adding some good rookies.

Meanwhile, the Pistons improved to be a .500 team in the latter part of the year. Their main weakness was interior defense, which they solved with Andre Drummond and Vyacheslev Kravtsov aka Ctr+lV aka KraftSauce.

So a team that improved to be better than their record said they were during the year, also addressed one of their two main weaknesses in the offseason.

So I think it will be

1. Miami

2. Boston

3. Indiana

4. Chicago

5. Brooklyn

6. Detroit

7. Atlanta

8. NY/Milwaukee/Toronto

Reason #2

Kravstsov is the real deal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU4Ou_k5xds

I know this is a koolaid highlight video, but since Euro stats don't translate well:

Reasons:

a. He dunks with 2 hands, consistently. This means a smarter player with better footwork.

Look at Anthony Davis highlights and you’ll see a bunch of 2 handed dunks. Look at Andre Drummond last week and you’ll see a lot of 1 handed dunks and missed dunks. Better fundamentals, positioning, and footwork = better player.

b. I tried to look at the euro highlights of another 7 foot euro big. Timofey Mozgov came to mind. From first glance Kravtov > Mosgov. Timofy Mosgov highlights – lots of fingerolls and 1 handed dunks. No comparison.

c. He’s a beast that blocks shots and rebounds and dunks, and he’s been doing this against grown men.

d. Dunks are the most efficient points in basketball.

So, just from highlights, I can ascertain some info about his fundamentals and habits that say he will start off better than Timofey Mosgov and Andre Drummond.

3. Drummond's going to improve quick if Ben Wallace returns

– with Andre Drummond being mentored by Ben, big brothered by Monroe, and battled in practice by Kravtsov - his physical equal, his talents will develop quickly.

So in my opinion, barring an injury to Stuckey or Monroe, we are definitely a playoff team in the East.

Bonus: if we steal Scott Machado from Houston by offering him double whatever they offer him... we'll be even better and will have solved our other major problem. Machado is worth his height in gold, even as a backup PG. Trade Amnesty Cut DLeague anyone at the bottom of your roster to get Machado on your team Joe!