The Southeast Division has a lot of tough teams in it, but perhaps only the Atlanta Hawks are true contenders in the Eastern Conference. The Washington Wizards and Miami Heat are both tough teams, but do any of these teams in the Southeast have what it takes to knock off the Cleveland Cavaliers? Or the Chicago Bulls?
That is a far tougher thing to say.
The Hawks may have seemed like an unlikely club to win 60 games last year, but not everyone is confident the team can sustain that level of success.
The Wizards are getting better, but losing Paul Pierce is going to hurt more than just his simple production.