Eastern Conference Preview

It is becoming increasingly harder to figure out which conference is better. The balances at the top have certainly shifted a little. Any time you add Rasheed Wallace, Vince Carter and Shaquille O'Neal to the three top teams in a conference -- without either of those three teams losing much -- than some things shift.

It will really be an accomplishment in and of itself to get out of the Eastern Conference, let alone top the Western Conference team.

I will get to the particulars of the Magic tomorrow -- and if you are reading this blog, you probably have some basic knowledge of what the Magic did this summer and what they could do this year.

So I will focus on the competition -- also, hopefully I will have more to write on them later.

Many could argue the Celtics missed last year's Finals only because Kevin Garnett was injured. Many could also argue the Cavaliers missed last year's Finals because they are built to beat the Celtics and not the Magic (that was my argument at least... and the Magic were a more complete team).

Suffice it to say, both teams moved to remedy these problems.

Boston's acquisition of Rasheed Wallace is Garnett insurance. And now with Glen Davis out for an indefinitely, that looks like a pretty good insurance plan. Boston's lineup is stacked, although not nearly as deep as Orlando's (Orlando has the deepest team in the league, try arguing against that).

The question becomes whether the team can stay afloat with injuries. Garnett's knees are not getting any younger coming off of major surgery. Paul Pierce looks like he will fall apart at the free throw line, but can still play. Wallace is a powder keg. And, again, who knows how their age will hold up. Four of the five starters are on the wrong side of 30. As Magic fans learned for the first time in a long time, getting to the Finals is a long exhaustive process.

Cleveland also tried to move to become more Orlando-proof. The Cavaliers trumped the Magic's acquisition of Vince Carter with a same-day deal that brough O'Neal to the Rock 'n Roll City. O'Neal will certainly help them defend the bigger posts one on one in the post. But against the pick and roll the combination of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and O'Neal does not bode well. That is really how Orlando took advantage of Cleveland's unathleticism. At least Ilgauskas can step out and hit that 18 footer. O'Neal certainly cannot.

O'Neal's issues with his superstar teammates aside, this move seems to me to be the PR splash move of a bad GM. It does not really help the team. I guess time will tell. But unlike the Vince Carter deal (which I was not sold at when it was made), this one has not settled in with me. I am more skeptical of it because of O'Neal's age and declining production for sure.

I will get to the Magic more in a later post specifically about them. But the big question is how the players integrate. It is clear the offense is going to be quite good. It is unclear whether the team can matinain the high level of defense it played last year. That was what got Orlando to the Finals.

1. Celtics: the East is really 1a, 1b and 1c. It is very hard to differentiate between three teams that are going to playing pretty tightly all the way. Expect each team to try and pace themselves, but with the disappointment after last season, I can see the Celtics pulling away at the end to take the first seed. I have the feeling that it might be better to be battle-tested in the second round then to easily advance -- provided no one gets hurt.

2. Magic: Orlando got better. Everyone who thinks Vince Carter is worse for this team than Hedo Turkoglu has obviously not watched a whole lot of Magic basketball outside of the playoffs. Carter is the one-on-one scorer the team lacked in the Finals and he can still perform all of Turkoglu's duties in the offense. The question is whether he will commit on defense. But this team is deep and can play almost anyway it wants.

3. Cavaliers: Cleveland I think did kind of run a sprint through the marathon NBA season and ran out of steam a little bit in the late stages of the postseason. LeBron James certainly did as he had to carry his Cavaliers through the only competitive series they would play and was summarily thumped. O'Neal should provide some help, but the guy is aging pretty quickly and it gets cold in Cleveland -- unlike in Phoenix. O'Neal is not the answer for the Cavaliers, that I am pretty sure of. Mo Williams will have to continue to develop and without a true point guard on the roster, James still decides when he dominates too much and when he "gets others involved." Anthony Parker is a sneaky move the Cavs made that could be interesting come playoff time.

4. Hawks: Atlanta is good. Not spectacular, but good. Joe Johnson is a pretty well kept secret in the NBA. And he is part of the free agent bonanza next summer. So look for him to have a big year. Returning Mike Bibby and Josh Smith should help this team continue its maturation. Jamal Crawford has never really been on a successful team, but if he can accept his sixth man role, I really like him there. But otherwise, this is a team that does not do well defensively and is just pretty average.

5. Wizards: Washington can be a good team, trust me. They always have been, it is always just dependent on Gilbert Arenas' health. He is as healthy as he has been in a good while and that bodes well for a Wizards team that has some good players. Adding Randy Foye and Mike Miller will help give Arenas the help. Now, can Arenas be the player he was.

6. 76ers: Philadelphia always finds a way to make the postseason. Whether it is with or without Elton Brand, this team always seems to find a way to contend. Losing Andre Miller will hurt this team as they really valued his veteran savvy. But as they proved in the Orlando series, they can compete with some pretty good teams. Andre Iguodala is a solid player. The question will be whether Brand can fit into the offense and stay healthy and whether Lou Williams is finally ready to be a starting point guard.

7. Bulls: Chicago did lose Mr. late game heroics, Ben Gordon. But this is still a team with a lot of guys who can play. Brad Miller adds a lot down low stability to help out the young and inconsistent Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas. Derrick Rose is going to continue to develop and improve. And John Salmons is sneakily a pretty good scorer in the league. Plus Luol Deng comes back. The Bulls are not a team to overlook despite losing one of their top players from last year.

8. Raptors: Toronto is a very intriguing team. Adding Hedo Tukoglu kind of makes them the Magic of the North with Andrea Bargnani at the four and Chris Bosh at center. This could work. The team is not that deep, but Bosh is in a contract year and that matters entering the bonanza. But Turkoglu adds something the Raptors did not have last year and that is an outside threat that can attack the basket. I think it can work, but that bench is pretty scarce.

9. Heat: Dwyane Wade has almost single handedly won an NBA Finals series. He single handedly took Miami to the No. 6 seed. When this guy is healthy, he is incredibly difficult to stop. There is not much of anything else on this team. Jermaine O'Neal is on his second life and no one knows how long his knees will hold out. This team goes as far as Wade takes them and with improvements in the East, it will not be that far.

10. Pistons: Detroit still has some of their core pieces from their hey day. Richard Hamilton is not a first option, but he looks that way on this team. Detroit is looking to pick up the pieces after the Chauncey Billups trade. Rodney Stuckey is the next great hope at the point. But this team's identity has changed with the acquisitions of Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon. This is no longer a defensive team and they definitely don't have the offense to make up for it.

11. Knicks: you hate admitting it, but the Knicks are not half bad. They are not half good yet, but they are not half bad. Mike D'Antoni is a great coach and he really knows how to maximize his players' offensive potential. Unfortunately New York is in cap clearing mode and has no desire to be incredible this year. Thus they are just treading water. Expect a team that can surprise a few teams, but not much more.

12. Pacers: Danny Granger is one of those secret NBA players that is really pretty good. The Pacers are certainly an improving franchise but kind of in that limbo between decent and bad. This team is not making the playoffs -- they rely on Granger way too much. But Granger and the cast around him is too good to let this team fall into complete irrelevancy.

13. Nets: the Nets are a young team waiting for another breakout star -- or the 2010 free agency bonanza. Devin Harris is a great player and should really come into his own after breaking out next year. More interestingly will be the development of center Brook Lopez who snuck up on many as a Rookie of the Year candidate last season. His development plus the further development of former Magic man Courtney Lee will be the crux of this team's development.

14. Bobcats: Charlotte is close. Close to what, I don't know. Tyson Chandler is a step down for this team from Emeka Okafor. This team needs to find a consistent offensive threat and it just does not have it. Gerald Wallace is not that player. DJ Augustin and Raymond Felton are not those players either. Just a tough team to figure out.

15. Bucks: Michael Redd is one of the best shooters in the NBA. But he is a man followed around constantly by the threat of injury. Much like his playing partner, and former No. 1 draft pick, Andrew Bogut. they lost Richard Jefferson and don't have much else outside of Redd to speak of in scoring. I will not believe anything they do until Redd makes it to the All Star break without an injury.