Editor's note: Preventive medicine is key to a healthy regular season. That's why we had Dr. Jack Ramsay prescribe a dose of wisdom for all 29 teams before the curtain drops on the 2002-03 regular season.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIVISION
New Jersey Nets
The Nets are the team to beat in the East. The additions of Dikembe Mutombo, Rodney Rogers and Chris Childs (assuming he regains top physical condition) make them deeper and stronger. With Keith Van Horn gone, energetic/athletic Richard Jefferson starts and plays extended minutes -- for which he's ready. The team defense, already effective (fifth in the league in field-goal percentage allowed in 2001-02) gets stronger with Mutombo's rebounding and shot blocking, and affords more running opportunities for Jason Kidd, who's the best in the game in the open court. Kerry Kittles, Kenyon Martin, Jefferson and Kidd give the Nets the best fastbreak team in the East.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics (49-33), along with Detroit as the league's surprise teams last season, must re-tool to compensate for the losses of Rogers, Kenny Anderson and Vitaly Potapenko. Coach Jim O'Brien needs Vin Baker, the best post-up player among the Celts' big men, to be a consistent scorer. Point guards Tony Delk, Shammond Williams and rookie J.R. Bremer must handle and shoot well enough to keep defenses from collapsing on the team's high-scoring duo, Paul Pierce (26.1 points per game) and Antoine Walker (22.1). Team defense is Boston's key to success. The Celts tied for second last season for the NBA's lowest field-goal percentage defense (.425).
Philadephia 76ers
Coach Larry Brown, unhappy with his team's first-round ousting by Boston, added Van Horn, Todd MacCulloch, Brian Skinner, Monty Williams, Greg Buckner, Mark Bryant, Efthimios Rentzias, Olden Polynice and rookies Sam Clancy and John Salmons in hopes of adding firepower without losing defensive toughness. Allen Iverson remains the Sixers' main man and has reliable holdovers Eric Snow, Aaron McKie and Derrick Coleman (recovering from injury) to form a solid nucleus. The key to Philadelphia's success is to determine which of the many new additions Brown can work into a formidable playing rotation.
Orlando Magic
Grant Hill appears finally ready to play a full season and combine with budding superstar Tracy McGrady to attempt to lead the Magic's return to a contender's position. Dynamic Darrell Armstrong is yet again the point guard catalyst, and Mike Miller and Pat Garrity are 3-point threats. However, if Orlando hopes to join the East's elite, the team's "bigs" (Horace Grant, Andrew DeClercq, Steven Hunter and Olumide Oyedeji) must hold their own on defense and rebounding. Coach Doc Rivers must also find a way to improve the Magic's defense -- Orlando was 27th in points allowed and 23rd in field-goal percentage defense last season.
Washington Wizards
Michael Jordan is ready to play and the Wizards have acquired Jerry Stackhouse, Larry Hughes and Charles Oakley. Coach Doug Collins has his eyes on the playoffs, and don't be surprised if his team gets there. Collins needs for Jordan to play a full season and for his young big men -- Kwame Brown, Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas -- to take a big step forward. Christian Laettner, the rehabbing Jahidi White, and Oakley will show them how it's done. Feisty Tyronn Lue gives the team solid veteran bench help in the backcourt, and rookies Juan Dixon and Jared Jeffries will get their chance to play.
New York Knicks
The Knicks' run of bad luck continues. They've lost newly acquired Antonio McDyess for the season and are at odds with Latrell Sprewell because of his broken hand. Coach Don Chaney has yet a quality nucleus of veteran starters: Shandon Anderson, Clarence Weatherspoon, Kurt Thomas, Allan Houston and Charlie Ward. That's a competitive group, but the bench is thin with only Othella Harrington and Michael Doleac until Sprewell is cleared to return. This is not a playoff team.
Miami Heat
The Heat is another team struck by disaster. The loss of Alonzo Mourning, perhaps permanently, costs the team not only its leading rebounder, shot blocker and consistent scorer, but its spiritual leader as well. Coach Pat Riley is left with a rebuilding project with only Eddie Jones and Brian Grant left to lead the way. Young Turks Caron Butler, Rasual Butler, Vladimir Stepania, Malik Allen and Sean Marks must grow up quickly. Riley will get his team to defend, but scoring enough points to win will be his greatest problem.
CENTRAL DIVISION
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons (50-32) over-achieved more than any NBA team last season to win the Central Division and gain Coach of the Year honors for Rick Carlisle. But general manager Joe Dumars wasn't satisfied and acquired free agent Chauncey Billups and traded Stackhouse to get a younger Rip Hamilton. Dumars kept Ben Wallace (the league leader in rebounds, blocked shots and steals), point guard Chucky Atkins, swingman Jon Barry, Michael Curry, forward/center Clifford Robinson and steady Zelly Rebraca and drafted the intriguing Tayshaun Prince. Detroit defends well and can score. I look for them to stay on top of the Central Division and battle the Nets for the East title in the playoffs.
Indiana Pacers
Pacer fans keep waiting for their young team to explode. This could be the year when Jermaine O'Neal, Jonathan Bender, Al Harrington, Ron Artest and Jamaal Tinsley come of age. Ron Mercer will share the 2-guard spot with Reggie Miller, who is always ready to provide long-range bombing and locker room leadership; and big men Brad Miller and Jeff Foster will help O'Neal hammer the boards. Coach Isiah Thomas also has some nice rookie talent in Fred Jones and Jamison Brewer.
New Orleans Hornets
The Hornets take virtually the same team to a new home. Coach Paul Silas retains his starters from last season: forwards Jamal Mashburn and P.J. Brown, center Elden Campbell and guards Baron Davis and David Wesley. Silas also has George Lynch, Stacey Augmon, Kirk Haston, Jamaal Magloire, Courtney Alexander, Bryce Drew and Robert Traylor in his bench corps. The big question for the Hornets is health. Mashburn, Davis, Brown and Campbell are all struggling with injuries ... and that leaves the Hornets with little sting.
Milwaukee Bucks
Coach George Karl's team was in a freefall last season. The big question is where will the Bucks stop. Karl sent Glenn Robinson to Atlanta for Toni Kukoc, Leon Smith and a 2003 first-round pick, but he otherwise retains the same nucleus from last season: point guard Sam Cassell, versatile Ray Allen, small forward Tim Thomas, big forward Anthony Mason, handy-man Michael Redd, and centers Ervin Johnson and Joel Przybilla. Karl and his team were a puzzle last year. The coach needs to reclaim his perch among the league's top bench leaders, and his players must forget stats and learn how to win again.
Toronto Raptors
Lenny Wilkens pulled his team out of a tailspin just in time to tie with Indiana for the final playoff spots in the East last season and stave off an embarrassing finish. It won't be any easier this year even though Vince Carter appears to have fully recovered from knee surgery and veterans Antonio Davis, Morris Peterson, Alvin Williams and Jerome Williams are back. The Raptors lost two big men -- Hakeem Olajuwon (retired) and Keon Clark (via free agency) -- and didn't replace them. Toronto will be battling for a playoff spot once again.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks are so confident they'll make the playoffs, they've offered rebates to season-ticket holders if they don't. The reason for their optimism is the acquisition of forward Glenn Robinson and the return of Theo Ratliff from the injured list. Add All-Star Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Nazr Mohammed and Alan Henderson and the Hawks have a formidable front line. The guard corps remains a question mark aside from high-scoring Jason Terry, but the Hawks will be in the fight for a playoff spot this season.
Chicago Bulls
This is the fifth season since da Bulls won their last NBA championship. General manager Jerry Krause fully expected to be a contender by now, but failed hopes on free agency and some questionable draft choices have kept the Bulls the losingest team in the league since their glory days. But promising new coach Bill Cartwright now has a nucleus of players that can get them to the playoffs -- if not now, in the near future. Jay Williams, Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler will all be quality NBA players. Jalen Rose is already at that level and Donyell Marshall was a good free agent pickup. Among Eddie Robinson, Marcus Fizer, Trenton Hassell and Jamal Crawford is another batch of potential waiting to jell. Bulls fans are looking for results ... now.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Like the Bulls, Cleveland's last winning season was in 1998 (47-35). They also have some promising young talent in Darius Miles and Dajuan Wagner -- both of whom are future All-Stars barring injury. The Cavs also have the talented 7-foot-3 Zydrunas Ilgauskas and 7-foot Chris Mihm at center, veteran Tyrone Hill, energetic Jumaine Jones, flashy Ricky Davis and steady Bimbo Coles. Coach John Lucas has shown patience with his squad, but he would like to see some daylight at the end of the tunnel for a change.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
MIDWEST DIVISION
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs, riding the all-round performance of league MVP Tim Duncan, came on with a rush to beat out Dallas as the division winner last season. They defend, rebound and score well enough to hold on to that top spot. Coach Greg Popovich will count on Duncan again, and hope he gets improved help from David Robinson (playing his final NBA season), young point guard Tony Parker, defensive ace Bruce Bowen and 2-guard Steve Smith. Coach Pop still has reliable big man Malik Rose and 3-point threat Danny Ferry as reserves, and has better bench depth with Speedy Claxton to back up Parker at the point, Manu Ginobili, who will eventually replace Smith as the starter at shooting guard, and big men Kevin Willis and Mengke Bateer for short minutes of basket defense and rebounding.
Dallas Mavericks
Coach Don Nelson's Mavs will again lead the league in scoring with the unstoppable trio of Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash. Raef LaFrentz is Nellie's center, and various others (Adrian Griffin, Eduardo Najera, Nick Van Exel, Popeye Jones or Walt Williams) will start as the fifth man in the coach's mix-and-match system. But if the Mavs are going to win their division and hope to go deeper into the playoffs, they must defend better than last season's 101 points allowed per game (28th in the league).
Minnesota Timberwolves
Coach Flip Saunders hung his team's hopes last season on the successful execution of a 1-2-2 match-up zone defense, which didn't work as well as planned. The T'wolves still have the length in big men to keep the idea in Saunder's game plan, but ultimately he'll need an effective man-to-man defense. Kevin Garnett is still the heart of this team and gets good help from swingman Wally Szczerbiak, but the Wolves miss the steady hand of Terrell Brandon. They also need better performances from the other big men (Joe Smith, Marc Jackson, Rasho Nesterovic, Loren Woods and Gary Trent) if they ever expect to advance past the opening round of the playoffs. The additions of Troy Hudson, Rod Strickland and Kendall Gill offset the loss of Chauncey Billups.
Houston Rockets
Houston finally has 7-5 Yao Ming signed. Now comes the hard work to adapt him to the NBA game and blend him into the Rockets' team game on offense and defense ... that's no small task. Until then, coach Rudy Tomjanovic will rotate Ming with Kelvin Cato and Jason Collier at center, or use a three-forward front line when he plays small. The Rockets have firepower in the backcourt with all-purpose Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Moochie Norris and flexibility up front with Eddie Griffin, Maurice Taylor, Kenny Thomas and hopefully a healthy Glen Rice. The Rockets may be ready for liftoff.
Utah Jazz
John Stockton is already 40; Karl Malone will reach that milestone next summer. But the all-time great players just keep on ticking, and so long as they do, the Jazz will be in the playoffs. Coach Jerry Sloan hopes for even more good work from spider-like Andrei Kirilenko, last year's surprising rookie. He also is counting on veterans Matt Harpring, Mark Jackson and Calbert Cheaney to step up and deliver and his big men to at least hold the fort. Sloan is one of the best at getting his team to play hard and together. Don't count the Jazz out.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies keep adding quality young players and may be ready to take a step forward toward respectability and possible playoff contention. Seven-foot forward Pau Gasol was last season's Rookie of the Year, and 6-10 Drew Gooden is my pick for the same honor for 2002-03. Add Shane Battier, newly acquired Earl Watson and Wesley Person and holdovers Jason Williams, Stromile Swift, Lorenzen Wright, Brevin Knight and Tony Massenburg -- plus the impact of having Jerry West on board -- and there's real reason for optimism about this team's future.
Denver Nuggets
General manager Kiki Vandeweghe knows this will be a long season. He's not sure if and when Marcus Camby will be available, and he has a pair of attractive but unproven rookies in Nene Hilario and Nikoloz Tskitishvili to go with veterans Juwan Howard, James Posey and Chris Whitney. The rest of the Nuggets' roster is made up of players with uncertain credentials for NBA competition. Rookie head coach Jeff Bzdelik, a former assistant to Pat Riley at Miami, focuses on building an effective defensive game plan and is ably assisted by the veteran John MacLeod. Vandeweghe is counting on forthcoming free agent money to bolster the team's future.
PACIFIC DIVISION
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers, shooting for their fourth consecutive championship, are likely to get their sternest competition this season. Shaquille O'Neal, the league's dominant big man, starts the season on the injured list, and the Lakers made no significant acquisitions to bolster their squad. Yet coach Phil Jackson, a master at getting his team game to its optimum at the right time of the season, is quietly confident about his team's chance to four-peat. Kobe Bryant appears physically and mentally ready for his best season, and Rick Fox, Derek Fisher and Robert Horry stand up in the clutch of "must" games. That leaves the rest up to Samaki Walker, Slava Medvedenko, Mark Madsen and Devean George. I expect the Lakers to win it again even though their regular-season record may not match Sacramento's.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings came within an inch of beating the Lakers in the Western Conference finals last season and could very well do it this time. The addition of 6-11 Keon Clark to an already imposing front line (Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and Scot Pollard) and the memory of their disappointing finish could propel them to the top. They must have Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic back at full strength, get a better playoff performance from Doug Christie and have the same level of play from Bobby Jackson and Hedo Turkoglu. Lakes-Sac is a great rivalry ... and getting hotter.
Portland Trail Blazers
Each year Trader Bob Whitsitt tinkers with his roster, then watches his team implode in the playoffs. Whitsitt has done it again. He's added Jeff McInnis and Antonio Daniels and reclaimed Arvydas Sabonis, who broke his foot while sitting out last season at home in Lithuania. Coach Mo Cheeks, who did a fine job in his rookie season, faces a tough challenge to create a workable player rotation among point guards Damon Stoudamire and McInnis, 2-guards Bonzi Wells, Derek Anderson and Daniels, small forwards Scottie Pippen, Ruben Patterson and Wells; and Rasheed Wallace, Dale Davis, Zach Randolph and Sabonis at center and big forward. On the positive side, Whitsitt was able to rid his roster of Shawn Kemp, who never regained his former level of play at Seattle. I see the Blazers as no better than fifth-best in the West.
Seattle SuperSonics
The Sonics have scouted and drafted effectively in recent years and are a solid playoff team with the chance of upsetting a complacent top-seeded opponent. Gary Payton, for all of his expressions of discontent, comes to play every game. With GP paired with the multi-talented Brent Barry and bolstered by the bench production of Desmond Mason and addition of Kenny Anderson, coach Nate McMillan has one of the league's better backcourts. Rashard Lewis is good and getting better at small forward, rookie Reggie Evans appears to be a fine prospect, and the mix of Yugoslavs Predrag Drobnjak and Vladimir Radmanovic, the again healthy Calvin Booth, and 7-1 Jerome James combine to make Seattle a strong, developing team. Then add that McMillan is one of the league's bright, young coaches.
Los Angeles Clippers
It's hard to tell what the Clippers will be like this season because they haven't had enough players free from injury to conduct a good practice. Coach Alvin Gentry expects his team to be in the hunt for a playoff spot in the tough Western Conference, but he needs his full cast of players ... and even then it's going to be a war. A starting team of guards Andre Miller and Quentin Richardson, Michael Olowokandi at center, and forwards Lamar Odom and Elton Brand is quite good. There's bench help with guards Eric Piatkowski, Keyon Dooling, Corey Maggette and front liners Wang Zhizhi and Sean Rooks. Once healthy, the Clippers could be sailing.
Phoenix Suns
Are the Suns rising or setting? It's hard to tell. They have the highly talented Stephon Marbury, a quality small forward in Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson (a promising second-year player), a potential All-Star in young Amare Stoudemire and a work in progress at center (Jake Tsakalidis). They also have hustling Bo Outlaw, the suddenly explosive Dan Langhi, and question marks in veterans Penny Hardaway, Scott Williams and Tom Gugliotta. Coach Frank Johnson has some top level assistants in Tim Grgurich, Mike D'Antoni and Mark Iavaroni. General manager Bryan Colangelo is looking for progress.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are another team in transition. Young head coach Eric Musselman was a good choice to work with this developing talent -- most of which is at the perimeter of the floor. Gilbert Arenas looks as if he'll make the grade as a scoring point, Antawn Jamison is more consistent, Jason Richardson is already on his way to stardom and rookies Mike Dunleavy and Jiri Welsch will be good NBA players. Now the Warriors need to improve their front line. Adonal Foyle, rebounding phenom Danny Fortson, young Troy Murphy and Erick Dampier have trouble handling the good fours and fives in the league. This team will be better but not yet good enough to join the playoff hunt.
Dr. Jack Ramsay, who is an NBA analyst for ESPN, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
