The Cleveland Cavaliers made the NBA Playoffs and did pretty well in them this year. I suggest that their team nickname be changed to "LeBron and the Bronettes," as despite a roster with a few other pretty names, it really was the LeBron show. Larry Hughes is supposedly the Pippen to his MJ23 and Zydrunas Ilgauskus is consistently slept on by everyone else following the game. Drew Gooden's a consistent double-double threat, and both Damon Jones & Flip Murray can shoot threes well.

They have their share of problems though. First and foremost: Eric Snow is their starting point guard. I do not understand this. He's about 500 in dog years, and stopped being a starting level 1 around 3 years ago. Also, Luke Jackson loves the IR like Eddie Griffin loves dash-mounted porn, Donyell Marshall is an underachiever, Gooden's a free agent and Hughes underproduced with LeBron. And Snow is still their starting point.

Their bench is messed up. I don't know where Damon Jones will be on it - his regular season state (25 minutes per game) or his playoff state (14 minutes per). Marshall's old, and I don't like Aleksander Pavlovic getting serious small forward minutes. I can't complain about Anderson Varejao, as he has the best non-African-descendant afro in the NBA. But he did miss half the season, so there is that. Their guards from the bench situation is a mess though.

They might have fixed that with the 25th pick of the first round: Shannon Brown of Michigan State. Brown's a pretty great athlete and has a nice shot to go with it. He also has a pretty high ceiling, as he could turn into a good 20 point-per-game scorer. He's also a likely Dunk Contest participant in the near future.

Two problems, though. One, he's inattentive on defense. That can be worked on, so I'm not too worried at this point. Two, he's 6'1" - maybe. That's a bigger problem, as you can't teach height yadda yadda. If he's athletic enough to get by the bigger guards, he'll be okay. If his athleticism is less than what it's said to be... well, we have a problem.

Second round picks were 42nd pick Daniel Gibson of Texas and 55th pick Ejike Ugboaja of Nigeria. Gibson's still learning the game, as he just picked up the point guard position. I think he'll end up in the NBDL soon, as I hold little hope for immediate success from those who are just learning the game. Ugboaja... I got nothing other than he's about 6'9". NBADraft.net has nothing on him. TrueHoop.com has nothing on him. FreeDarko has nothing on him. It might be Eddie Murphy pulling a tremendous practical joke on the NBA. It might be one of the Monstars from Space Jame. It might be Manute Bol trying to raise more money for Sudan. I don't freaking know. I just can't wait for Marv Albert to have to say his name.

The Cavs are in a good position, but if their add-ons to LBJ don't pan out soon - I'm looking at you, Hughes - and if they don't get their bench rounded out, they won't contend for a title this year. I think they'll make at least the Eastern Conference semi-finals, if not the Conference finals. I don't think they'll make it past both Miami and Detroit though.

The Chicago Bulls are on their way to being one of the top teams in the Eastern conference for years to come. Kirk Hinrich is well on his way to being an elite point guard. Ben Gordon's an explosive player at the two guard, whether they decide to make him a starter or sixth man specialist. Tyson Chandler's a solid interior defender, although if his offensive game consisted of more than dunks he'd be a lot better off. Luol Deng is a good athlete that's kind of Pippen-esque in that he has a great all around game. Andres Nocioni is a surprisingly good player with a nice shot. Michael Sweetney might turn into a force at power forward. Chris Duhon is a good backup point guard who should last in the league for at least 10 more years. And I like the acquisition of Victor Khryapa from Portland. I didn't expect they'd get much more from Portland than a second round pick in their trade of Thomas for Aldridge. Khryapa can develop into much more than most second round picks.

Unfortunately, I don't know that any of these guys are elite players. They're undoubtedly very good, but there's a difference between Gordon and Dwayne Wade. Wade's a finisher - someone who can single handedly take over games. Gordon (and the rest of the Bulls, really) is not.

I can't think of a team off the top of my head that has ever won a championship without one elite player who regularly takes over games. Don't mention the Pistons, as Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton qualify.

The problem here is that the Bulls would have to draft something that might not have been draftable this year. If one of their players can develop into that realm of players, it won't matter, but I really don't know if anyone in this draft can jump from a pretty good player to a franchise guy.

After a bunch of moving guys around, the Bulls ended up with Tyrus Thomas of LSU with the fourth pick. Thomas has a good chance of becoming the elite player Chicago needs. He's really athletic, and at 6'8" can dribble, drive, pull up with a mid-range jumper and dunk. He reminds of Shawn Marion and Kevin Garnett. Those two were both undersized with regards to bulk when they came into the league, and both have excelled as hybrid forwards who can rock the boards.

Their other draft pick was also in the first round: Thabo Sefolosha of... Switzerland. I didn't think I'd be talking about a Swiss NBA player, but then again I didn't think a German who loved David Hasselhoff would ever be one of the five best players, so who knows. Anyway, I know next to nothing of Sefolosha. NBADraft.net's profile states that most of his game came in a one-year improvement. Combine that with their usage of the following phrases:

"His offensive game has made great strides, last year he could barely shoot, and now he appears much more confident"
"His defense has improved, always looking for steals, and quickly turns them into fast break opportunities"
"Last year he lacked intensity, but he has improved upon it"
"Lacks a tremendous offensive feel"
"Still must improve his offensive game a lot"
"Some have doubts about his leadership ability"
"Lacks range on his shot'

I'm not exactly high on him, but we'll see.

I think the Bulls will finish in the top six of the Eastern conference. They have top three talent - I think that only Detroit and Miami are better on paper - but because they're so young, they're still developing. Still, this might be the year they breakthrough, because they're a hell of a lot better than 41-41.

Update: The addition of Ben Wallace will undoubtedly solidify their defense, but he's making a big deal about wanting to be a bigger part of the offense and, well, he's not good when it comes to offense. If Bulls coaching caves in and gives him what he wants, I don't forsee this paying huge offensive dividends. The trade of Tyson Chandler for P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith in an attempt to add more initials to the squad was a salary cap move, plain and simple. Brown and Smith combined are not half of the player Chandler is, though if Brown was in his prime I would approve this move. Smith is a high school bust that is notable for being a good dunker and P.J. is just old.

The Charlotte Bobcats are coming off their second year as an expansion team and have shown the ability to draft well. PF Emeka Okafor is a veritable beast, SG Raymond Felton had a good rookie year and SF Gerald Wallace has exploded onto the scene. Brevin Knight slides in as a good point guard and C Primoz Brezec is a better version of Zaza Pachulia. A very good, but young, starting five.

Bad news is around though. Sean May's development might be off track due to his knee injuries of this past season. They have six free agents - three unrestricted (F Lonny Baxter, F Jumaine Jones and C Jake Voskuhl) and three restricted (F Bernard Robinson, F/C Melvin Ely and G Kevin Burleson). But then again, Okafor had a bad knee his rookie season and look what happened to him. And those free agents aren't exactly key to the 'Cats future, so they will be okay on that front. They probably will keep Ely and Jones.

The biggest problem is their games aren't mature enough to take over the NBA. They do have the core to do it, and they will get there, but they need experience.

They picked up Gonazaga junior Adam "I'm Matt Weiner's Favorite Player!" Morrison with the third pick. This does address a need of the team, as I don't really think they had a scorer/shooter on the team. Wallace is a capable athlete and can drive to the hoop, and Okafor's good on the block. Shelton does have a good outside game, but I think Morrison's offensive capabilities are greater.

Of course, if Morrison could defend, it'd be better, but people who are committed to the game usually improve defensively in their time in the NBA. I think Morrison's willing to put in the time and at least become an average defender. The only other player that would have really made sense at this point was Brandon Foye, and I'm not sure he'll be a better player than Morrison.

With the 50th pick, they tapped UCLA senior big man Ryan Hollins. He's an athletic guy - according to NBADraft.net, he high jumped seven feet in high school. Unfortunately for his career, that's about all that he has going for him. He lacks physical strength and scoring ability. Due to his athleticism and height, he can block shots, rebound and dunk. There's probably 30 guys in the NBDL who can say that along with 100 more eligible in the next two drafts. Unless I'm sleeping on Hollins' ability and/or his athleticism really is that great, he won't last long in the NBA.

The Boston Celtics probably will not make the 06-07 playoffs, but if the cards fall exactly right they may make it in as a low seed in the Eastern conference. Their best player, by far, is Paul Pierce. When motivated, Pierce is an unstoppable scoring and an amazing defender. The problem is, the management of the Celtics has turned Pierce off. He's surrounded by a bunch of kids (four of them jumped straight from high school to the NBA), and only six Cs are 25 or older (Pierce (29 in October), Michael Olowokandi (31), Brian Scalabrine (28), Wally Szczerbiak (29) and the newly acquired duo of Theo Ratliff (33) and Brian Grant (34)) and they had no real shot at winning last year. While I don't really like athletes sending it in, I can understand why Pierce did.

Fortunately for Pierce, it appears that management is getting it. The acquisition of Grant and Ratliff gives them a major upgrade in the front court over Olowokandi, who I do not believe will be resigned. They also have Al Jefferson, who is a young but quickly developing power forward. They also have Szczerbiak, who acts nicely as a second scorer for Boston. Additionally, Gerald Green has a world of potential, and after spending most of 05-06 in the NBDL, he might be prepared to show off that talent this year. Sebastian Telfair might also develop into a good point guard, though his lack of size is an issue.

Their biggest problem is their bench. Green and Telfair are - well, green, and won't contribute signifigantly any time soon barring a huge developmental jump. I don't think both Grant and Ratliff will start, meaning that one of them will come off the bench. That strengthens this unit, but outside of that they really have no one else worthwhile on it. Maybe Ryan Gomes, Tony Allen, Delonte West or Kendrick Perkins will surprise, but I'm not holding my breath.

Their first pick was Rajon Rondo, a sophomore from the University of Kentucky. He's a good ball handler who can penetrate the lane very well. However, his defense is questionable and his shot is still being grown. At the very least, he'll do as a fill-in starter at the point. Not a bad pick, but they should address this position further in free agency.

Power forward Leon Powe, the sophomore from the University of California, was taken with the Celtics' second round pick. A large part of why he slipped into the second round is because he's had two big reconstructive surgeries on his knees. He appears to have late first round talent, but there are major concerns about his health. He can shoot, has some strength and is a good jumper. A big thing going for him is his drive. This might make up for his size, but he's still small for an NBA PF. He can't play the SF position, though, so he'll have to stay at the 4. If he ends up staying healthy and achieving his full playing ability, the Celtics will rightfully be hailed for grabbing a great late round steal. If not, well, it wasn't a bad gamble by Boston. There's worse cases that could get a draft pick.

Going into the 06-07 season, the Atlanta Hawks really don't have much of a chance of making the playoffs. They suffer from Isaiah-itis - having too many of their best players at the same position. Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Al Harrington and Josh Childress are arguably their top five, and they all play small forward/shooting guard. While they could deal with having one of them at the power forward, none of them are capable of handling the point or the center positions. For the majority of 05-06, they had Zaza Pachulia and Royal Ivey filling in the starting line-up.

I like Pachulia as a big man from the bench, really. He can rebound and score a bit, although defense isn't his strong point really. But he's either at or just below replacement level as a starter in the NBA. The Hawks can do better, but for the here and now he would suffice. Getting a replacement in the draft would be good, of course. I would have rather they went for a point guard under ideal circumstances.

Ivey is probably somewhere in the 8th-10th man area for the NBA. He's just not good. He can't score - averaging 3.6 points over 73 games (66 of which he started) - and he's not an assist man (averaged just 1 per game - that's good 8th on the Hawks). I haven't followed the Hawks overly closely this year, so I can't say if he's a good defender. Judging from his steals (.33 per game), I'm going to guess he's not great at that either. I think Ivey kind of sums up the Hawks in one player - just not good enough, yet he's still in the league.

The Hawks had the fifth pack in the draft, and with it they took Shelden Williams of Duke. I like this pick a lot, as Williams fills a much needed role with Atlanta. He's a big 6'9" with a huge wingspan, is a very good defender and can rebound as well. He can also score around the basket due to his strength. He has an average jump shot, but he can't be depended upon to make his own shot due to a lack of agility. While that's his major downside, along with a lack of height, I think he will be a good power forward-center hybrid.

I think Williams was the second best player by the Hawks' needsat this spot. I would have preferred to have seen Randy Foye fill the point guard slot, but Shelden will work. I prefer Brandon Roy to either of those two, but they needed another shooting guard/small forward as much as they need Isaiah Rider to make a comeback.

They then took Solomon Jones of South Florida with the 33rd pick, another senior big man from a major college conference. Of course, calling South Florida a major college team is a bit of a stretch, but welcome to the second round!

Jones is kind of the 6'10" antithesis of Williams. Where Williams is big and bulky, Jones is more athletic. Solomon can run, rebound and block decently. The downside is he isn't very strong and is "still learning the game." Last time I head that phrase and really made note of it, Michael Olowkandi was the first overall pick. Good game Clippers, good game.

Still, Jones has potential. He stands a decent chance to make the Hawks because, hey, it's the Hawks. He'll either ride their bench and get a few minutes a game, or else end up in the NBDL and hopefully learn to harness his talents to become a good player. The second round, to me, is a time to take flyers on people. Might as well be Solomon Jones than any other big guy with potential.

I am a recent college graduate who wishes to switch from my original field of computer science to sports journalism. With this blog, I'll be forcing my views upon whoever should have the misfortune to stumble upon this Internet wasteland.

The first few posts will be reviewing the recent transactions of the National Basketball Association. However, this is not meant to be a NBA-centric blog. Instead, I hope to cover major and less major events in the international world of sports.

Enjoy.