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NBA training camps have officially gotten underway, and my body is slowly stabilizing itself from the withdrawals it annually experiences when the NBA Finals conclude in June. My fellow junkies in hoop got a little reprieve while keeping up with the Redeem Team capturing the gold in Beijing. But it just ain’t the same as the phenomenon of NBA action. Plus, I don’t get to write my No Bitchassness Allowed reports. So for the next few days, Sportaphile’s NBA report will be giving our in-depth analysis of each team, by division. Consider this the training camp edition.

Today we look at teams in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic division. (Last year’s record)

(66-16). Never say never. I never in 1,000 years could have imagined myself rooting for the Boston Celtics. But this past spring, if loving them was wrong, I sure as hell wanted to be charged with the crime. I have a love for KG and won’t take the space to go on about the glory of the 2008 NBA FInals. Going into this season it’s the champs who hold the top spot (even without my guy James Posey) until a team is bold enough to beat them down and take it. That is no easy task, so as of right now, I have the Celtics in the Finals until further notice. My Finals pick will be posted on Opening Night of the NBA season.

(34-48) The Nets drew the line in the sand this summer and traded Richard Jefferson. In exchange, they got Yi Jianlian, who will undoubtedly expand the team’s marketing reach in China, but will not have that same impact where it counts–on the court. I do believe that the Nets scored a keeper in Chris Douglas-Roberts, though, who will be playing with a certified chip on his shoulder after being dissed in this year’s draft. CDR and Devin Harris should really push the rock once they get in sync but it’s truly shit or get off the pot time for Vince Carter in New Jersey as far as I’m concerned. Overall, the Nets aren’t making any noise this year. Read the rest of this entry »

It wasn’t that long ago that black men weren’t even allowed to play alongside whites, let alone own a piece of the most prestigious franchise in the MLB. Jay-Z is looking to become a minority owner in the New York Yankees, according to Time Out Magazine.

He’s already part owner of the New Jersey Nets, and almost bought into London-based soccer team Arsenal Football Club in 2005 before the deal fell through.

“I had invested in the Nets, and they (Arsenal bosses) asked me if I was interested in investing. But I get that from time to time,” Jay told London’s Time Out magazine. “Someone told me yesterday that someone else had a piece of the New York Yankees, ‘We wanna talk to you, yadda yadda yadda.’ I mean, I love the Yankees so I’m in the middle of following that through, but sometimes it comes to be nothing. That (Arsenal) was one of the times it came to nothing.”

All this will be worth if it I can just see George Steinbrenner through up the ROC diamond at a Yankees game…. .seriously.

Jay-Z will be representing the New Jersey Nets at the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery, which is set to air live May 20 on ESPN at 8pm. This is ALMOST enough to make me watch the lottery, which has proven year in and year out to be horribly boring television.

But seriously… unless Jay jumps out of his seat and throws up the ROC, then the evening will somewhat uneventful.

“This is very exciting and I hope my nickname “Lucky Lefty” holds up,” Hov said in a statement.

The Nets only have a 1.1 percent chance of landing the top pick in the draft held June 26. This is the first time the team has been in the draft since 2001, the season before Jason Kidd teamed with Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin to lead the Nets to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances.