Can Danny?

Miami Heat: The bench, perimeter shooting

The Heat are won of the few East teams that has done nothing to really improve themselves this offseason. In fact, their weaknesses have just become more pronounced as the off-season wears on.  The bench depth will likely take a hit with Gary Payton seeming close to retiring and James Posey looking like he's heading elsewhere.  Jason Kapono took the money and ran to Toronto. Dorrell Wright should get more minutes at the SF spot but he can't shoot so he's not really much of a complement to Wade and Shaq.  The point guard position is especially weak with only the Jason Williams (who is starting to look a bit washed up) and Chris Quinn holding down the fort.  If the Heat don't start to make some moves soon, it will be another lost season of the Shaq Era in Miami.

Washington Wizards: Center

The Wizards really have a complete team.  The draft added two solid players in Nick Young and Dominic McGuire to help solidify the bench and Aundray Blatche and Oleksiy Pecherov (along with a healthy Darius Songaila) should be able to help out the forward spots.  The problem for the Wizards is that their center position is clogged with two overpaid underperformers, Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas.  Neither is especially good at anything so the Wizards either need to find a cheap FA or go small with Songaila in the middle.

Orlando Magic: Guard play, bench depth

For all the hype surrounding Dwight Howard and all of the money being paid to Rashard Lewis, the Orlando Magic are only going as far as their point guard takes them which is a problem because I'm not sold on  either Jameer Nelson or Carlos Arroyo.  The shooting guard spot is actually worse off with only JJ Redick and Keith Bogans really filling that role.  Keyon Dooling can slide over to get some mintes but he's just not that good. In the end, Trevor Ariza and Hedo Turkoglu will probably have to slide over to get minutes at the spot but Turkoglu really has no business trying to handle the SG spot. Aside from Ariza, Stan Van Gundy is going to have some long nights trying to figure out how to coax even a little bit of defense out of his backcourt.

It's not like the frontcourt is much better off.  After Dwight Howard, the Magic big men are Tony Battie, Pat Garrity and James Augustine.  In fact, the one position that the Magic actually had depth at was the spot they just poured all of their money into.  The SF spot is held down by Rashard Lewis, Turkoglu, and Ariza.  Otis Smith had done a solid job setting up his team to improve, but by overinvesting in Rashard Lewis, he's now tied the franchise's hands to a point where they might not be able to get out of the Southeast division and into the playoffs.

Atlanta Hawks:Maturity, #2 scorer

If the Hawks are going to win more than 30 games this season, Josh Smith has to grow up.  The uber-talented SF could be a star in the league but seems destined to be one of the bigger headcases.  Last season he fought with Zaza Pachulia and clashed with Anthony Johnson (refusing to run set plays that the PG called).  It also would help if former #2 pick Marvin Williams figured out how to utilize his skills on the court. The Hawks also are going to rely heavily on two rookies, Al Horford moreso than Acie Law.  

Horford is likely going to have to step in and be the #2 scoring option since he should have a better post presence than Smith.  If Horford is as NBA-ready as scouts liked to this, he could give Atlanta a consistent threat in the half-court offense, which the team sorely lacked last season.  On paper, the Hawks have a very solid roster, lacking only one more legit center to backup Zaza Pachulia.  Whether the young guys are ready and if Mike Woodsen can bring the talent together is the main question.

Charlotte Bobcats: PG play, young players need to emerge

If the Bobcats are going to make the playoffs, Raymond Felton has to blossom ala Chris Paul and Deron Williams (or at least a somewhat close approximation), Sean May has to stay healthy, and Adam Morrison has to play like an actual NBA player.  Needless to say, the odds of either of those are looking slim. Felton and Morrison's outside shots are particularly important because while Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson have improved their jumpshots throughout their career, neither is particularly consistent and most teams will pack the paint and force Charlotte to make them pay from the perimeter.  Sean May's perimeter shot is actually solid but it's not much use if he's on the bench in street clothes.

In the end, the Bobcats need to hedge their bets and go after a good backup point guard and one more good low post player if they want to make it to the playoffs this year.