MIAMI — After years of looking inferior to its Western brethren, the NBA’s Eastern Conference is enjoying a renaissance, galvanized by a steady influx of talent and the relocation of star players to new teams.
The Knicks’ championship generally extinguished perceptions that the West had the two best teams (the Thunder and Spurs). But there are other factors that have created the belief that the East now measures up very well against the West. Among them:
— The migration of All-Stars LeBron James (Lakers to Philadelphia) and Anthony Davis (Dallas to Washington) and Kawhi Leonard (Clippers to Toronto).
— New Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo’s move to a team where he appears better equipped to contend.
— The improvement of the Hawks and Hornets and expected improvement of the Wizards.
— Tyrese Haliburton’s return to health in Indiana.
— The continued blossoming of young stars Cade Cunningham (Detroit) and Jalen Johnson (Atlanta).
So where does that leave the Heat?
“Four to seven,” an Eastern Conference scout told me. “Some really talented teams are going to be in the play-in.”
The Heat will enter Year 1 of this new era with a projected rotation of Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and Klay Thompson starting, and a first five off the bench (in whatever order) of Bobby Portis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Pelle Larsson and potentially Niko Jovic and Simone Fontecchio.
Dru Smith (when he’s healthy again), Ryan Conwell, Myron Gardner and Nick Richards (if he makes the team) will try to push for minutes.
How does that group compare to the other teams in the East? Taking inventory, alphabetically:
Atlanta
— Potential starters: Center Oyeka Okungwu; forwards Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels; guards CJ McCollum and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
— First off the bench: Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, first-round pick Kingston Flemings, Jock Landale, Dorian Finney-Smith.
— Comment: The additions of former Thunder players Dort and Wiggins — and the selection of Flemings at No. 8 — made this a successful offseason. But the Heat now appear to have the talent edge, which wasn’t necessarily the case last year.
Boston
— Potential starters: Neemias Queta or Mitchell Robinson at center; Jayson Tatum and Paul George at forward; Derrick White and Baylor Scheierman at guard.
— First off the bench: Whoever doesn’t start at center; Payton Pritchard; Sam Hauser; Mike Conley; Hugo Gonzalez.
— Comment: The Jaylen Brown trade (for George) and the Heat’s acquisition of Antetokounmpo eliminated the wide talent gap between the teams, even though oddsmakers continue to give the Celtics a much better chance of winning the title than the Heat. Robinson improves the perimeter defense, but can George be trusted to stay healthy?
Brooklyn
— Potential starters: Center Day’ron Sharpe; forwards Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle; guards Mikel Brown Jr. (the sixth overall pick from Louisville) and Egor Denim.
— First off the bench: Mo Wagner, Noah Clowney; Terrance Mann or Ben Saraf; Keon Ellis or Drake Powell.
— Comment: Brown and Randle will make them somewhat more competitive, but they’re nowhere near playoff-caliber.
Charlotte
— Potential starters: Hannes Steinbach or Moussa Diabete at center; forwards Brandon Miller and Naz Reid; guards Coby White (now injured) and Kon Knueppel.
— First off the bench: The center who doesn’t start; Grayson Allen; Denis Schroeder; Royce O’Neal; center Ryan Kalkbrenner (who shot 75% from the field); and perhaps Grant Williams.
— Comment: Subtracting LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges somewhat diminishes the overall talent, but Charlotte wanted Miller and Knueppel to usher them into the next era. Don’t underestimate Reid, and the Hornets got a first-rounder and three first-round pick picks from Minnesota in the Ball trade. White’s availability to start the season is in question because of a calf strain; Schroeder and Allen will fill in.
Chicago
— Potential starters: Center Nik Claxton; forwards Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis; guard Norman Powell and Josh Giddey.
— First off the bench: Jalen Smith, Patrick Williams, Isaac Okoro, 15th overall pick Dailyn Swain, Tre Jones, Buddy Hield.
— Comment: The Bulls must hope that North Carolina rookie Wilson becomes a star, because this could be a 30-win team otherwise. Because the second year of Powell’s two-year, $44 million deal is a team option, he could be dangled at the trade deadline to a contender that needs a shooter.
Cleveland
— Potential starters: Center Jarrett Allen; forwards Evan Mobley and Peyton Watson; guards James Harden and Donovan Mitchell.
— First off the bench: Jalen Tyson, Sam Merrill, Mario Hezonga, Thomas Bryant, Craig Porter Jr.
— Comment: Watson was a very good replacement for Dean Wade, but the Cavs cannot be taken seriously as a title contender until Harden and Mobley (and to a much lesser extent, Mitchell) meet the moment in the playoffs. Hezonga, drafted fifth overall in 2015, returns to the NBA after nine years overseas.
Detroit
— Potential starters: Jalen Duren at center; John Collins and Ausar Thompson at forward; Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson at guard.
— First off the bench: Paul Reed, Isaiah Joe, Kevin Huerter, Daniss Jenkins, Ron Holland.
— Comment: The Pistons failed to upgrade around Cunningham; essentially replacing Isaiah Stewart and Tobias Harris with Collins, Joe and Huerter was something of a wash. Disaster was averted when they agreed to terms with Duren on a contract this week. They could be a top-four seed, but a long shot title contender.
Indiana
— Potential starters: Ivica Zubac at center; Pascal Siakam and Aaron Nesmith at forward; and Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard at guard.
— First off the bench: T.J. McConnell, Kelly Oubre Jr., Jarace Walker, Obi Toppin.
— Comment: Haliburton’s return — after missing last season with a torn Achilles — and the return to health of Zubac and Toppin should provide an enormous lift after a 19-win season. But is a second Haliburton-led Finals appearance realistic in a conference considerably stronger than when he last suited up for Game 7 against OKC? That’s highly questionable.
Milwaukee
— Potential starters: Myles Turner or Kel’el Ware at center; Jaime Jaquez Jr. and either Kyle Kuzma or Nate Ament at forward; Tyler Herro and Ryan Rollins at guard.
— First off the bench: Ware or Turner; Kuzma or Ament; Brayden Burries; Kevin Porter Jr.; and perhaps two among Kasparas Jakucionis, Gary Trent Jr. and Caris Lavert.
— Comment: This will feel like watching The Junior Heat, and Ware, Herro and Jaquez should put big numbers on a team without a true No. 1 option. If the Bucks hit on first-rounders Ament and Burries, that would be a huge boost to a major rebuild. Jakuncionis, curiously, wasn’t even in the rotation for the Bucks’ preseason opener.
New York
— Starters: Karl Anthony-Towns at center; Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby at forward; and Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart at guard.
— First off the bench: Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado, Miles McBride, Andre Drummond, Jordan Clarkson.
— Comment: The Knicks, unwilling to go into the second apron, lost Mitchell Robinson to Boston, downgraded with Drummond and are now in a tricky situation with Karl Anthony-Towns, who can become a free agent next summer. He said the sides aren’t close to an extension even though he’s willing to take less than the max; the worst case scenario for New York is that this creates a controversy at the trade deadline.
On the positive side, they re-signed key bench components in Shamet and Alvarado. Unless the 76ers coalesce quickly, the Knicks are still the class of the East, a respect level they deserve after last year’s dominant 16-3 playoff run.
Orlando
— Starters: Center Wendell Carter Jr.; forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner; guards Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane.
— First off the bench: Tristan da Silva, Nikola Vucevic, Goga Bitadze, Anthony Black, Jamal Cain, Johnathan Isaac.
— Comment: The 35-year-old Vucevic’s return to Orlando — where he played eight seasons and appeared in two All-Star games — was the only major personnel addition. Orlando hired Spurs assistant Sean Sweeney to replace head coach Jamahl Mosley, who was hired to guide the New Orleans Pelicans two weeks after the Magic fired him.
It’s difficult to trust a team that not only was so erratic last season, but one that blew a 24-point second-half home lead with a chance to close out a playoff series; Detroit rallied to win that game and then won Game 7.
Philadelphia
— Starters: Joel Embiid at center; LeBron James and Jaylen Brown at forward; Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe at guard.
— First off the bench: Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade, Adam Bona, Dominick Barlow and possibly Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and first-round pick Labaron Philon Jr.
— Comment: There’s no more talented quartet of perimeter players on one team than James/Brown/Maxey/Edgecombe. There’s also no more fragile star than Embiid. With Embiid, a Finals run is realistic. If he can’t stay ambulatory, all bets are off. The 76ers lost reserve center Ariel Hukporti to a season-ending torn Achilles this week.
Toronto
— Starters: Jakob Poetl at center; Leonard and Scottie Barnes at forward; and Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett at guard.
— First off the bench: Collin Murray-Boyles, Ja’Kobe Walker, Jamal Shead, Kyle Anderson and Santa Clara rookie forward Allen Graves (drafted 19th overall).
— Comment: Leonard, if healthy, could make this a top-three seed. But keep in mind that in six seasons this decade, Leonard played 52, none, 52, 68, 37 and 65 games.
Because he was mostly healthy and very, very good last season (27.9 points, 50.5% from the field), the Raptors are taking a chance that his troublesome, often-inflamed right knee will hold up this season and two years beyond. That’s a risky proposition with a 35-year-old with Leonard’s injury history.
Washington
— Likely starters: Alex Sarr at center; Anthony Davis and No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa at forward; and Trae Young and Kyshawn George at guard.
— First off the bench: Bilal Coulibaly, Will Riley, Khris Middleton, DeAndre Ayton, Justin Champagnie, Bub Carrington.
— Comment: The talent has been dramatically augmented since January, with Young, Davis and Dybantsa. But play-in seems the ceiling in light of Davis’ inability to stay healthy, Young’s regression in recent years and this team’s unwillingness to play much defense last season.