The East feels like half of a conference. Cleveland is the best team, and we don't really trust the Cavaliers . The Knicks made the Eastern Conference Finals and changed coaches. That's it? That's where our list of anticipated championship contenders ends? Maybe Orlando sneaks into that conversation? This is a conference that badly misses Boston and Indiana and Philadelphia, all of whom are either already injury-related write offs or feel like they soon could be.

The talent disparity between the two conferences is a tad overblown. It's just that half of the good teams in the East either aren't healthy or can't be expected to remain healthy. Therefore, we have an environment with a pretty clear and predictable hierarchy. The Knicks and Cavaliers are probably going to be great. Orlando

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