Ok, I should give New Orleans a little more respect than I did, but I'm factoring in all the teams that had injuries most of the year; Orlando, Philadelphia, Miami, and Indiana. That right there is four teams, throw in Boston, New Jersey, Detroit, and Milwaukee(which has a very talented team) and the East is tough. The Hornets with Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn is tough but they are not as talented as Phila, Boston, Miami, or New Jersey.
Everybody wants to count out Philadelphia when in fact they were injured most of the year. Iverson, like him or hate him, is a great player. I don't respect his practice habits but come game time, he can take over a game and carry a team if needed. If he would work hard in practice, there is no telling how good he could be.
Indiana has the talent, has a coach who knows what it takes to win in this league, they started to mesh towards the end. If they play up to their level, they should definetely be in the top 4 in the East.
Toronto on the other hand, played better without Vince Carter. With him this year, they were not a team. He is good, but he has not taken the responsibility of being the leader. That's why I put them as a bubble team, unless he changes, I don't see them being in the top of the East.
Who really knows? Milwaukee, which should have been in the Eastern Conf. Finals on their talent alone, didn't even make the playoffs. So, alot could change come next year. I'm just going on how this season went and what transpired over the 9 months of the season.
On Sacramento not recovering from this past playoff loss, that's just wishful thinking on the Laker's part. When Detroit had Boston beat in Game 5 of the '87 Conf. Finals and Bird stole the ball and the series from Detroit, did they not recovery? No they came back and made it to the Finals 3 straight years and won the last 2 they were in. When the Bulls lost Game 7 in the '90 Conf. Finals, did they not make it back? No, they went on to win 3 straight titles and 6 in 8 years. Did L.A. not recovery after being beat in the Conf. Finals in '98 and getting swept in '99? No, they went on to what? Win the next 3 titles.
Sacramento was there, they had it, they knew it. There team is more talented than the Lakers and younger than the Lakers. There hunger will be just as strong as it was this year. Can the Lakers match it? Maybe they can, maybe they can't, I don't think they will as the Kings now have had the experience of almost being there. Just wait and you'll see, barring an injury, the Kings can and I believe will do it. This is a Bulls fan talking, see I'm just waiting until after the next 4 or 5 years when the Bulls(believing they keep everybody there) will dominate the East better than the Bulls of the 90's. They have the talent, the coach that has been there, they just need the experience.