1 Signing Each Eastern Conference Contender Should Make to Catch Heat and Pacers

Apologies to the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers—two of the NBA's best—but the Leastern Conference truly has earned its nickname this season.

Taking John Hollinger's Playoff Odds as gospel, the East will feature at least three sub-.500 teams in the postseason: some combination of Charlotte, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Detroit, Cleveland and New York. Washington, currently at 29-28, could be a fourth.

If we're being completely honest the Pacers and Heat punched their Conference Finals tickets as soon as Derrick Rose went down for the season.

But whether you see the first two rounds as a mere formality, the league has still decided to play out the first two rounds—as far as we know. Any team harboring championship aspirations out of the East will most definitely have to go through one, but probably both of the beasts.

And they've all go work to do. Brooklyn is the only contender in the conference to get the better of either Indiana or Miami more than once this season; it has won both of their meetings against the Heat with two more to go.

With a relatively quiet trade deadline passed, a dip into the unemployment pool is the only way for teams to fortify their ranks from here on out—be it a 10-day contract or the full deal. Most of the available talent has been out of work or overseas for months, but every year there tend to be a few prime buyout candidates already in the flow of the NBA season.

Glen Davis was the first "marquee" name both to have his contract bought out (by the Orlando Magic) and sign with another team (the Los Angeles Clippers). A few other dominoes have begun to fall: Antawn Jamison (Atlanta), Ronnie Brewer (Houston), Earl Clark (Philadelphia) and Beno Udrih and Metta World Peace (New York Knicks) have all been given their walking papers and more should be on the way.

There isn't likely to be a franchise-altering player available. But if none of the Eastern Conference contenders as currently composed have the goods to take down the defending champs or the team with the best record, what piece will at least move the needle in the right direction for each club?

Teams are listed in ascending order of Hollinger's Playoff Odds. Hollinger's merciless system gives Cleveland just a 3.2 percent chance of making the postseason, behind both Detroit and New York, and as such were left off of this list.

Stats current as of games played February 25. All stats courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise noted.

Detroit Pistons: Roger Mason Jr., G

Record: 23-34 (9th, 3.5 games out of playoffs)

Playoff Odds: 12.7 percent

Biggest Needs: Interior defense, three-point shooting

Detroit needs help from Atlanta, Charlotte or Brooklyn just to sneak into the playoffs as the seventh or eighth seed and make ownership feel better about splashing on Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith.

Any acquired euphoria will quickly disappear as Detroit would theoretically travel to one of the beasts of the East for the first round.

The confusingly talented Pistons have several holes, most of which will take serious maneuvering in the offseason to fill. Zach Buckley details Detroit's issues when it plays the monstrous Josh Smith-Greg Monroe-Andre Drummond lineup:

"

It's punchless at the offensive end (102.4 points per 100 possessions, would be NBA's 19th-rated offense) and porous at the opposite side (108.2 points allowed per 100 possessions, worse than the Utah Jazz's 30th-ranked defense, 107.8).

"

With Kyle Singler replacing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as the starting 2, Jonas Jerebko and Josh Harrellson are the only other players of consequential height to see court time. Sadly, the current free agent "crop" is light on interior big men. Chris Wilcox and Shelden Williams aren't going to make anyone think twice.

Outside shooting is the next area Detroit could shore up.

The Pistons rely on Jennings and Smith for nearly half of their 19 three-point attempts every game. It's no wonder Philadelphia is the only team with a worse shooting percentage from deep.

Caldwell-Pope, a 37-percent three-point shooter last season at the University of Georgia, is down to 30.9 and it's only gotten worse since Singler took his spot in the starting lineup. He's hit just one triple in the eleven games he's come off the bench this month.

Roger Mason Jr., waived by Sacramento last week after being thrown into a trade by the Heat, could provide some valuable floor-stretching for Detroit. Last season in New Orleans, Mason Jr., shot 41.5 from behind the arc—his highest since starting 71 games for San Antonio in 2008-09. His career 38.3 clip would immediately make him the team's most viable long-range shooter along with Singler.

Perhaps Mason's most valuable trait is the ability to step in and knock down shots in spot situations (notice how the commentators in the video above mention his first shot of the game was in the third quarter). He's never averaged more than 19 minutes per game in the last five years and managed to post respectable three-point shooting percentages.

Regardless, this Pistons team—interim coach and all—is still a long way from winning a seven-game series against any of the East's top four teams.

And there are currently no rumors linking Mason Jr., to any NBA teams. The biggest Mason Jr., news comes from off the court:

"

NBA Player Roger Mason Sued -- You LIED About My Barber Skills! http://t.co/huUyB9SNJU

— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) February 25, 2014"

New York Knicks: Ben Gordon, G

Record: 21-36

Playoff Odds: 18.1 percent

Biggest Needs: Ball handlers, front-court depth

Only the New York Knicks would find themselves in a situation where they regret the buyout of Beno Udrih.

With impending legal issues surrounding Raymond Felton, the Knicks are in real danger of handing over the keys to 36-year-old sophomore Pablo Prigioni. On the surface, worse things have happened—Prigs is more than capable of passing to Carmelo Anthony—until you realize there is no other point guard on the Knicks roster if Felton ends up serving jail time.

The Knicks jumped the gun and did their best to fix the myriad of other issues in Madison Square Garden:

"

Knicks to sign Shannon Brown and Earl Clark to 10-day contracts on Thursday. That way, they maximize their 10 days and get them for 7 games

— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) February 26, 2014"

Clark addresses the lack of front-court depth Andrea Bargnani's injury caused, but the expectation that Brown can play significant minutes at point guard is laughable. Joe Flynn details Brown's "familiarity" with the position:

"

The guy isn't a point guard. He has played a mere nine percent of his career at the point and hasn't logged a single NBA minute there since 2010-11. To even pretend he is a viable alternative at the point would be a hollow charade.

"

Sadly, the free-agent market for ball handlers is bare, so the Brown signing is less of a head-scratcher. Chris Duhon recently signed with an Italian team, and Jeremy Pargo is in Russia.

That leaves Sebastian Telfair (when the Chinese season ends), Daniel Gibson, Jamaal Tinsley and Rodrigue Beaubois as the only recognizable names left.

The Knicks need to make a statement move rather than fill a void. Ben Gordon is reportedly close to a buyout agreement with Charlotte:

"

Yahoo Sources: Charlotte, Ben Gordon progressing on a contract buyout. http://t.co/4fGJOE7SNn

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 21, 2014"

Even though he's basically the same person as J.R. Smith, Gordon could be just the shot in the arm the Knicks need. He managed to fall out of favor in Detroit and Charlotte during low points for both franchises but has mounds of meaningful playoff experience from his years in Chicago.

Specifically, his incredible performance against the Boston Celtics in the first round of 2009, which included 42 points in Game 2 as shown above.

Atlanta Hawks: Ivan Johnson, F

Record: 26-30

Playoff Odds: 85.1

Biggest Needs: Rebounding

Atlanta's big men must be passing around an injury bug.

Al Horford left a gaping hole in the Atlanta Hawks interior. Pero Antic, the nominal replacement at center, went down a month later and has missed the last 15 games. Gustavo Ayon has played seven minutes since the All-Star Break.

And now Atlanta's only bright spot, Paul Millsap, is day-to-day with a knee contusion.

Elton Brand is now the Atlanta Hawks' starting center. 

Suffice to say the Hawks need reinforcements badly.

As a team, they are 25th in rebounding differential at -3.0. That number ballooned to -5.2 in January and has since come back to Earth at -3.3 in February.

We already acknowledged how bare the market is for available traditional big men, so Atlanta is going to have to take the unconventional route.

Ivan Johnson, a former Hawk, was playing in China according to Shams Charania of RealGM. He averaged 26 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.9 steals in 24 games with Zhejiang, but is now back in the U.S. working out for NBA teams.

Johnson's familiarity with the club—he averaged 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in two seasons—should make a smoother transition rather than bringing in someone completely unfamiliar with Atlanta's system.

He brings an active presence on defense. Just ask Nick Young about his hops. And with renewed confidence from China, Johnson may yet be a scoring threat in the NBA.

But Atlanta will have to move quickly, as other teams have caught wind of Johnson's play overseas:

"

RealGM reports #Nets Clippers both STILL interested in Ivan Johnson, former Hawk, just back from China. http://t.co/lOiHo980gk

— NetsDaily.com (@NetsDaily) February 23, 2014"

Brookyln Nets: Ramon Sessions, G

Record: 26-28

Playoff Odds: 88.4

Biggest Needs: Backup point guard, perimeter defense

The New York Nets seem to have found themselves with the dropping of the ball over in Manhattan. Brooklyn has gone 16-7 in the new year, including a pair of five-game winning streaks.

Deron Williams returned to the starting lineup and his February averages (16.4 points, 5.7 assists) resemble the D-Will of old.

Brooklyn still has its problems.

They're tied for the second-worst three-point defense and own the third-worst rebounding differential.

The former has yet to be addressed while Jason Collins was brought in to help with the latter and to take minutes pressure off Kevin Garnett and Andray Blatche.

But without Brook Lopez, Williams becomes the Nets most important piece. He has missed nearly one-third of this season's games and, though Shaun Livingston has been very serviceable as a backup or starting 2, he isn't exactly the dictionary's image of durable.

In the event either player picks up a knock, Bulls' castoff Marquis Teague becomes the primary backup as Jason Terry just ruled himself out for the year. If Tom Thibodeau can't turn Teague into a serviceable rotation player, then nobody can.

No reports—not even from the New York Post—have surfaced about a Ramon Sessions buyout by Milwaukee after he was acquired in the Gary Neal trade with Charlotte. The Bucks, however, are a team with nothing to gain from playing a journeyman point guard, so this is a situation worth monitoring.

In the event Sessions is waived, the Nets should be first in line for his signature.

How many people can say they have posterized LeBron James?

Sessions has proved himself a capable backup despite bouncing around the league in his seven years. Not since 2009-10 has he scored below double figures, though his assists numbers have dropped off by a couple the last two seasons.

Don't forget that he distributed 24 assists in a single game as a rookie and scored 44 points in a game nearly a year later.

Owner Mikhail Prokhorov has no qualms spending money to win, but when every dollar spent turns into about six, something has to give. Take ESPN New York's Mike Mazzeo's explanation on the possibility of acquiring Jordan Hill from the Lakers at the trade deadline:

"

Hill makes $3.5 million in 2013-14, but the Nets would have to pay around an additional $17 million in luxury-tax penalties on top of his prorated salary for the remainder of the season (more than $1 million), making him a very expensive addition.

"

Needless to say, the Nets have probably made their last addition this season.

Charlotte Bobcats: Danny Granger, F

Record: 27-30

Playoff Odds: 93.0 percent

Biggest Needs: Wing scorer, backup big

Michael Jordan finally appears to have the closest thing to a winning formula in basketball as he's had since his last retirement. Charlotte is still under .500, but the team is getting maximum effort from Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker.

Replacing Sessions with Neal adds perimeter touch to an average three-point shooting team and Luke Ridnour covers the backup-point spot.

The Bobcats would probably like to upgrade the interior over Bismack Biyombo and Cody Zeller, but the lack of prolific wing scorer due Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's slow development and injury issues is more glaring.

Kidd-Gilchrist has a PER of just 11.2, well below the 15.0 league average, and he's contributing just under eight points per night in 25 minutes of work.

Gordon is as good as gone, so Charlotte's scoring options beyond Jefferson and Walker are slim.

Danny Granger, the most coveted player to surface in waivers, is unlikely to go anywhere not labeled a serious championship contender (unless, of course, he wants to) after his buyout is completed this week:

"

Sixers, Danny Granger finishing buyout today, per sources. Teams in hunt: Clips, Bulls, Heat, Rockets, Spurs.

— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) February 26, 2014"

But Granger has what the Queen City needs. Don't judge him on the 10.4 PER he's amassed in 29 games as a bench warmer this season. The last time Granger was fully healthy, he scored 18.7 points per game on 38.1 percent shooting from three in 2011-12. He can still hit double figures when given the minutes and should find himself in space as teams focus on Jefferson in the post.

The University of New Mexico product is somewhat of a liability on defense given his injury problems, but the Bobcats desperately need to improve on their 25th-ranked 95.2 points per game on offense.

Washington Wizards: Antawn Jamison, F

Record: 29-29

Playoff Odds: 99.6 percent

Biggest Needs: Backup 2 guard, frontcourt depth

Nene's injury was the last thing the upstart Wizards needed as they attempt to secure a playoff berth. 

All the pieces are in place to put together a competitive playoff appearance, something Washington hasn't done since the 2007-08 season. John Wall is blossoming into the star he was meant to be as a former No. 1 pick. Bradley Beal is figuring out the NBA pace. Marcin Gortat and Trevor Ariza are playing about as good as they ever have after moving around for several seasons.

The bench proved to be the biggest challenge until Nene sprained his left MCL. For now, Trevor Booker, Al Harrington and Kevin Seraphin will take over the Brazilian's minutes until he returns sometime in April. None of those names should make Washington fans sleep very well.

The Wiz already made the first attempt to plug the hole by bringing Drew Gooden out of the void:

"

OFFICIAL: #Wizards Sign Drew Gooden to 10-Day Contract. Press Release: http://t.co/ogytqKRzgE

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) February 26, 2014"

Don't get too excited. Gooden hasn't played consistent minutes in almost two years, and he's on a 10-day contract.

Washington should consider bringing back their beloved Antawn Jamison. The ageless wonder, cast out by Atlanta after a trade from the Clippers, can give 20-25 spot minutes of hustle to a team. And, believe it or not, some of them agree:

"

Chicago and San Antonio among the teams registering interest in Antawn Jamison, source said.

— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 22, 2014"

Jamison provides positional flexibility at small forward as well as Martell Webster provides little else besides solid three-point shooting.

Not convinced Jamison has the legs to run? Less than 15 months ago he scored 33 points in a game for the Lakers at the age of 36.

Chicago Bulls: Jimmer Fredette, G

Record: 30-26

Playoff Odds: 99.7

Biggest Needs: Derrick Rose, three-point shooting

David Haugh poignantly and correctly pointed out two weeks ago, coach Thibodeau has replaced the oft-injured Rose as the face of the Chicago Bulls. With Rose out for the season and the team sitting at 9-16 midway through December, the smart money was for Chicago to enter the tank tank.

Instead, in the most Thibodeau fashion possible, the Bulls have since gone 21-10, and 16-8 since management shipped their leading scorer to Cleveland.

But Chicago can't hide its deficiencies forever.

The addition of D.J. Augustin has proved to be one of the best midseason pickups by any team this season. He's given Chicago's sad three-point shooting a much needed jolt by hitting nearly 42 percent behind the arc. Mike Dunleavy is the only Bull within sniffing distance at 37.6 percent. Hence the team's fourth-worst 34.1 clip.

Augustin also solves the Bulls' need for a playmaker, taking pressure off the aging Kirk Hinrich.

But the Bulls still lacks a pure back-court shooter who doesn't need to worry about directing traffic—they have failed to find such a player for over a decade.

Jimmer Fredette should be freed from Sacramento's bench in a matter of days:

"

Report: Kings working on buyout for Jimmer Fredette http://t.co/mHEbTHBcaQ

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) February 25, 2014"

Fredette, one of the most prolific scorers in college basketball history, fell oddly out of favor in California's capitol before his career ever got off the ground. He logged more than 20 minutes per night in 49 of 171 games and started seven games as a rookie.

Still, the BYU product is a career 40.2 three-point shooter, and is especially accurate this year with an incredible 49.3 clip—including a 6-for-8 performance against his home-state Knicks.

As the video acknowledges, Fredette is somewhat of an undersized defensive liability. Thibodeau lives for making such individual defensive liabilities disappear within the team scheme.

Throwing out an Augustin-Fredette-Dunleavy trio would create tons of space for Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Carlos Boozer to do their damage close to the rim. Replace Dunleavy with Butler and you have a stronger defensive unit.

Though Fredette's name will raise a number of eyebrows, he will be very much available once the buyout is complete:

"

Latest indications I'm getting: Jimmer Fredette is looking at other options besides Memphis and leaning toward signing elsewhere

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 26, 2014"

Toronto Raptors: ?, C

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Record: 32-25

Playoff Odds: 100.0 percent

Biggest Needs: Backup center

Head coach Dwane Casey has Toronto primed to win its first playoff series since 2000-01, just two years removed from a 22-60 season.

Kyle Lowry is forcing people to acknowledge his game despite his prickly demeanor. DeMar DeRozan continues to grow into a primary scorer role, and Jonas Valanciunas is learning to bang with the big boys in his second season.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Raptors have the league's fourth stingiest defense at 96.5 points per game and are tied for the fifth-lowest opponent's adjusted field-goal percentage.

John Salmons and Greivis Vasquez provide solid back court depth.

Yet behind Valanciunas sit the unpredictable Tyler Hansbrough and undersized Chuck Hayes and Patrick Patterson. They could use a legitimate backup center with real size.

Unfortunately, with Drew Gooden snapped up by Washington, there isn't a viable upgrade waiting by the phone. It looks like the Raptors will have to forge ahead as is.