[Crossova21Participant]

With all the teams in the East clearing cap room for free agents there could possibly be a shift in power at the top of the conference. There’s so much talk about where the big name free agents will sign but no one is talking about what free agency will mean for the teams without cap room. I don’t think you can get into the playoffs with a sub-.500 record so a lot of teams will have to make some trades this summer or else find themselves in the lottery. How do you guys see the playoff picture rounding out next year?

[sacphil_08Participant]

Even with the potential FA signings I still think the power in the East lies in orlando and boston. If lebron leaves cleveland there goes that team. Depending on the way the FAs sign i think they could shape out the 3-8 seeds. Given however boston is reliant upon whether they can re-sign ray allen and i saw something that said that boston wanted to sign brad miller probably to fill in where rasheed wallace left. If boston can successfully sign them then them and orlando will remain atop the east. If say miami signs bosh and wade they can be in the tier i spoke of (3-8 seed) and then say lebron and boozer sign somewhere in the east then they will also be in that tier EVEN if they go to chicago because at the end of the day, boston’s defense is too sturdy and they are much taller than a chicago team that has boozer and noah as its front line (honestly i dont think boozer will be an integral part of a championship team because he’s just too undersized) I know a rose, lebron, SG?, boozer, noah lineup sounds amazing but chicago lacks shooters at the moment and in my opinion neither rose nor lebron are great jump shooters and teams would force them to become jump shooters and at that point they are very ordinary then say the wade bosh thing happens in miami bosh is definitely light and not a huge defensive presence and i dont know that they would be able to get the right players. You factor in that it took a concerted effort from a masterful defensive team to stop the onslaught that orlando had going on offense BUT ive seen alot of reports saying gilbert arenas might be going to orlando in exchange for vince carter so there could be chemistry issues there. I guess we’ll see how it shapes up but i dont think that where the big name FAs go will be teams that will contend at least next year.

[Durantula-35Participant]

Magic, Heat, Bucks, and Bulls in the top 4 (Taking a risk on these. For Heat and Bulls, it depends on the FA situation. If Bogut can stay healthy the Bucks could have a good year)

Nets, Celtics, Hawks and Bobcats in the bottom 4. The Nets could crack the top 4 though

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