Still too early to tell, and a lot can still change. That said, Eastern conference should be a little better this year. Cavs - LeBron James. Bulls - I doubt Rose will ever be healthy, but who knows. Pau Gasol + Noah is a perfect combo. Pacers - Maybe losing Lance will help them..? I don't know. This team is strange, but should still be a top Eastern team.. well, maybe.. who knows. Wizards - Lost Ariza but added Pierce. Young core got playoff experience. Wall, Beal and Pierce is a great back court. Raptors - Kept all their major pieces together. Should be decent in the East. Heat - Bosh, Wade, and a pretty decent bench. Deng is a nice move. Can Wade stay healthy? Probably not, but the Heat should still be a playoff team in the East. Hornets - I like the Lance Stephenson addition, and Big Al Jefferson is always a bonus. Knicks - I think they can bounce back; at least compared to the disaster last season.
No. The Eastern Conference will be another dumpster fire. Stars make teams and no stars from the West went East, they just shuffled around. They'll be "better" in that it will be more competitive with themselves, but it's possible that 9 of the best 10 teams in the league are all in the West.
No way. Most good players who joined East teams came from other East teams. They got only Gasol from West. That's it. If you want to say that Gasol on his own will make East much better as a whole, I won't argue with your opinion.
Man, talk about a conference shakeup. Here were the standings last year: Indiana (56-26) Miami (54-26) Toronto (48-34) Chicago (48-34) Washington (44-38) Brooklyn (44-38) Charlotte (43-39) Atlanta (38-44) Since the close of the season, the West has basically remained flat with some little movement here or there, but the East has been shaken up violently. Indiana: The top seed going into last year's playoffs, Indiana was a team on the brink of total collapse. They ultimately made the Eastern Finals before getting dismantled by the Heat. A team rife with behind the scene issues, they've now seen perhaps their best offensive player last year bolt for less money to the Charlotte Hornets. Their "franchise big man" pulled a bizarre disappearing act in the playoffs and Paul George has not shown he can consistently be "The Man" when asked to be on offense. Key Additions: CJ Miles Key Subtractions: Lance Stephenson, Evan Turner Miami: The title favorites going into last season, Miami hobbled their way through the regular season to finish with the East's 2nd best record before breezing through the playoffs until getting smoked in the finals by the Spurs. A crushing end to the season was made much worse when the best player in the world left the Heat for his hometown Cavaliers. Now the Heat will try to rebuild around Wade and Bosh and make a new run to the title. They still have Mario Chalmers afterall! Key Additions: Luol Deng, Danny Granger, Josh McRoberts Key Subtractions: Lebron James, Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis Toronto: The dinos from the north were sort of a fan favorite in last year's playoffs with Kyle Lowry emerging on the national scene with tremendous performances. A team that looked dead in the middle of the year, Toronto GM Ujiri did what any struggling team should do: trade Rudy Gay. The team made a strong showing in the playoffs before ultimately being bounced but has managed to hold the core together. Key Additions: Lou Williams Key Subtractions: John Salmons Chicago: Another offseason of star chasing ends in disappointment for the Bulls as they failed to add a superstar to their roster. The hardnosed team did add talent however in the form of Pau Gasol. Everything for Chicago rests on whether you believe former MVP Rose will be back to his old form. Key Additions: Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic Key Subtractions: Carlos Boozer, DJ Augustine Washington: The Wizards were a team that played well in the playoffs, better than expected, on the backs of a strong front line featuring Nene and Gortat and a career year out of forward Trevor Ariza. Ariza is gone and Paul Pierce is in for the team that is trying to compete while preserving the ability to potentially add Kevin Durant in two years. Humphries will bring solid defense and rebounding off the bench at the 4 and the 5 behind Nene and Gortat. Key Additions: Paul Pierce, Kris Humphries Key Subtractions: Trevor Ariza, Trevor Booker Brooklyn: One of the great disappointments, the Brooklyn Nets were supposed to be a team that could content with Miami. Built with no regard to payroll or age, the Nets had a star studded lineup that featured Pierce, Garnett, Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, AK47 and others. Instead of contending under first year head coach Jason Kidd, the Nets looked like an old boxer without the power left. The rebuilding has begun with Kidd out and Lionel Hollins in at the reigns. Key Additions: Key Subtractions: Paul Pierce Charlotte: After making the playoffs and showing a lot of moxy under head coach Steve Clifford (former JVG disciple), the Bobcats officially became the Charlotte Hornets as the head into the 2014-15 season. A playoff team that is eager to contend in the New East, Charlotte has made bold moves in the offseason under GM Rich Cho and owner Michael Jordan. They'll be hurt by the loss of McBob to Miami, but the addition of the volatile yet talented Lance Stephenson could make them players in the upside down East. Key Additions: Lance Stephenson, Marvin Williams, Brian Roberts Key Subtractions: Josh McRoberts Atlanta: A team with a losing record made the playoffs in the East last year in the form of the Atlanta Hawks. Injury riddled with a lot of mediocrity on the roster, the Hawks are none the less a team determined to contend under former Spurs assistant Budenholzer. Smart moves are replacing the old Hawks MO of getting whatever player would take your money. In addition to offseason moves, the Hawks are banking on a return to health from Al Horford. Key Additions: Thabo Sefalosha Key Subtractions: none And of course, the non playoff team last year that everyone is going to talk about: Cleveland: The perennial loser Cavs who were heart broken a few short years ago when they lost Lebron James to Miami. Now they stand on the cusp of greatness as the prodigal son has returned home, bringing with him renewed home. It doesn't hurt that the Cavs have had 3 #1 picks since Lebron left! Are they ready to skyrocket to the top of the East in Year 1 of The Return? Key Additions: Lebron James, Mike Miller Key Subtractions: Loul Deng
You know i think people are overrating the west a little, the heat imo would still have beaten everybody in the west except San Antonio and possibly the Mavs. San Antonio dominated OKC almost as bad as the Heat. San Antonio will win 60 games again, the mavs will be better and OKC will be up there too, but other than those guys, nobody else in the west is a real threat to win a championship next year. IMO
It'll take a little while to bear fruit, but I think the best news for the East/West split is all the rookies in the East this year. The top 4 picks in a very strong draft all went to EC teams. 8 of the top 12. Plus notable rookies from earlier drafts like Noel and Mirotic.
I don't beleive so I think OKC - Serg got smoked . .. . Heat got smoked with all hands on deck Dallas went toe to toe with the Spurs and the Rockets swept them in the regular season so . . no i don't think we overrating the West Rocket River
Every playoff team in the West could have been the number 1 seed in the East. I think the Pelicans and the Suns could have also gotten a top 2 seed out there.
The East is in large part about health, just like the last two years. It's going to be weaker than the West, but how much weaker depends on Rose, Noah, Rondo, Horford, Kyrie, Brook Lopez, Dwill, Lowry, Wade, Jefferson, Nene, etc etc. The East has collected a lot of all star caliber injury prone players. As to the Pacers, in my view, their floor got higher without Lance. He stagnated the offense quite a bit in the second half of last season, and played no defense. I don't think they'll collapse as badly again. But I think their ceiling got much lower. The "good" Lance was one of the keys to Indiana looking like the best team in the NBA in the first half of the season. I don't think they have a legitimate shot at a title now without another addition. I thought they had a shot with Lance, if they got clicking at the right time. I think they are a solid 50 wins team now, one piece away.
I see the Bulls underachieving once again. I don't think thibs is a good coach and I know Paxson can't build a team. They'll be like a 7 seed. I got the Cavs Knicks Pacers Hornets as the top 4.
Bulls Cavaliers Raptors Heat Wizards Hornets Pacers Nets 1-4 placing is wide open IMO, I can see any of those teams coming out as number 1 in the east,the same could be said for the 5-8 places. The East as a whole so far has gotten more competitive, but overall the East still have the weaker teams. Next season will be fun for both conferences just by how the offseason has played out so far.
Better in terms of number of competitive teams, but the talent at the top sucks even more now. It will be another easy win in the finals for the Western Conference.
y'all are sleeping on the hawks man. Teague/Milsap/Horford with shooters everywhere is a very solid team in the East (assuming they can actually stay healthy). They were the 3 seed last year until Horford got hurt.... I really think they will be the surprise team of the year in the East.
Don't forget the raptors, they will be in the mix. Not sure who they will bounce from your list though...
