Previewing the NBA Eastern Conference Landscape in 2012

When LeBron James announced he would be taking his talents to South Beach to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh during the 2010 NBA offseason, the landscape of the Eastern Conference changed entirely. The Miami Heat had gone from merely playoff contenders to title contenders, and the Cleveland Cavaliers had plummeted from a 60-win team to Kyrie Irving-bound.

Of course, you still had teams such as the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic, and with the New York Knicks inking Amar'e Stoudemire to a contract during the same offseason and then trading for Carmelo Anthony in February, the East had clearly become the more intriguing NBA conference.

Fast-forward to right now, where the NBA just settled its lockout dispute and the season is scheduled to start on Christmas Day. The East is probably even more interesting than last year, as its top ballclubs have made (or are in the process of making) moves to better their rosters.

Miami is trying to get back to the NBA Finals. The other squads? Well, they're trying to dethrone the Heat.

So without further ado, let's examine the top contenders in the Eastern Conference and see what they've done (and could do) to improve themselves.

Miami Heat

Let's start at the top.

Miami already boasts one of the most star-studded lineups that we have seen in recent memory, with James, Wade and Bosh comprising the latest Big Three. However, in the Heat's Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks in June, it became painfully obvious that just having those three players wasn't enough.

Dallas beat Miami due in large part to its depth (and, of course, Dirk Nowitzki), something that the Heat could not match. Mario Chalmers did become a reliable fourth option, but outside of him, no one else on Miami was able to step up.

Recently, the Heat answered the bell, signing the experienced veteran Shane Battier. Battier is a very good defender and a solid three-point shooter, and his presence in the lineup should give Miami the opportunity to space the floor and allow more room for the likes of James and Wade to operate.

I still think the Heat need to add a legitimate big man to play alongside Bosh in the starting lineup, as Joel Anthony, while fairly valuable under the right circumstances, should not be starting for a title contender. However, with the Battier signing, Miami likely cannot afford to sign a good free-agent center like Samuel Dalembert, whom they were rumored to be interested in previously.

Boston Celtics

Many people (myself included) feel that if the Celtics were healthy in last year's postseason, they would have beaten Miami (what is it with the C's and having hard luck in terms of injuries come playoff time?).

Unfortunately for Boston, "what-ifs" mean absolutely nothing, and Danny Ainge and Company obviously had some work to do to get this team back to prominence in the East.

The Celtics have been very busy thus far this offseason, signing-and-trading big man Glen Davis to Orlando for forward Brandon Bass, trading for Milwaukee Bucks guard Keyon Dooling and signing free-agent forward Chris Wilcox. They also attempted to sign-and-trade for New Orleans' David West, but West ended up inking a two-year deal with Indiana.

Of course, Boston still has its own Big Three, and even if the trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen is aging, it is still very dangerous. Look for Jeff Green, who was acquired in a deal that sent Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City last season, to have more of an impact this year, too, as he has now had some time to learn the Celtics' system.

The Heat may be the favorite to win the East, but by no means can you count out the Celtics.

Chicago Bulls

On the shoulders of MVP Derrick Rose, the Bulls made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, only to fall to Miami in five games. Is there enough talent on this team for them to make it back there and get over the hump?

Well, the way the team is constituted right this second, I don't think so. However, with the right moves, Chicago can certainly contend for a title this year.

The Bulls have been involved in all sorts of rumors over the past couple of days, as they have been linked to free-agent guards Jamal Crawford and the recently waived Richard Hamilton. I think Crawford would be the best fit, as he would provide Chicago with a player who can adequately man the point guard position when Rose is on the bench, not to mention provide Rose with a very good scorer on the wing when both are on the floor simultaneously. C.J. Watson is a solid reserve, but let's face it—he's no Crawford.

Where Chicago is very deep is in its frontcourt, with Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson and Omer Asik roaming the paint. Not many teams have the luxury of having four very serviceable big men, so that is a significant advantage the Bulls will hold over many teams heading into this season.

Chicago is only a move away (Crawford?) from becoming very, very scary.

New York Knicks

The Knicks are experiencing their most exciting period of basketball since the days of their scintillating rivalry with the Heat back in the late '90s.

Yes, basketball is back at Madison Square Garden, with New York adding Stoudemire and Anthony in 2010-11 (not to mention Chauncey Billups, as well) and making it to the playoffs for the first time in seven years this past season.

Still, even with Stoudemire in the frontcourt, the Knicks were missing that defensive intimidator underneath the basket that they haven't had since Marcus Camby. Recognizing that, New York just agreed to terms with free-agent center Tyson Chandler, a player who was instrumental in the Mavericks' run to the championship in '11.

Chandler should provide the Knicks with exactly what they need up front: a good rebounding big man with the ability to completely change the game defensively. This should also make Amar'e's job much easier, as he can now focus more on his offensive game and let Chandler handle most of the load on the other end.

However, even with that signing, New York does need to add some depth to its roster, as its bench is relatively thin, especially now that it had to send Ronny Turiaf away to the Washington Wizards to clear room for Chandler (the Knicks also had to cut Billups to make the Chandler move). Hopefully for New York, rookie guard Iman Shumpert can give the second unit a lift this year.

Orlando Magic

Times are perilous in Orlando, as Dwight Howard may be on his way out and the front office has not done anything to try and assuage him to stay.

Stephen A. Smith believes had David Stern not infamously nixed the deal that would have sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Lakers also had a deal in place to acquire Howard. That right there should tell you how serious this situation is.

Still, at the moment, Dwight is still a member of the Orlando Magic, so he will be treated as such here. Now, do the Magic have enough to seriously contend this year? Well, in a word, no.

Unless Orlando makes some miraculous trade before the season, there is no way that this team has enough to compete with the likes of Miami, Boston, Chicago and New York. The front office did acquire Boston's Davis for Bass, but honestly, I see that as an extremely lateral (if not backward) move, as "Big Baby" is no better than Bass. He brings championship experience to the team, but in terms of skill sets, one can legitimately argue that Bass is the superior player.

The Magic have also re-signed Jason Richardson, but that won't solve any of Orlando's problems, either. The Magic need more than that, and, unfortunately, it does not appear as if they will be able to do much in that regard.

The only thing Orlando can hope for is that Howard decides he wants to stay, but as of right now, that doesn't seem to be the case.

In Conclusion...

The Eastern Conference should be absolutely fascinating to watch in 2012. Will Miami assume its place as the conference's superior team, or will Boston turn back the clock and reassume its spot on the throne? Could Rose replicate (or even improve upon) his MVP 2010-11 campaign and carry Chicago to the finals? Maybe the Knicks will put it together?

Finally, the most important thing to keep an eye on: how the shortened season will impact the Celtics. Will they be much fresher heading into the playoffs due to the fact that 16 games have been shaved off the schedule, or will the fact that they have to play more games per week drain their older legs?

It remains to be seen.