Stock up, Stock Down: Eastern Conference

What teams are on the rise and who has taken a tumble in the Eastern Conference now that the summer offseason moves have slowed to a crawl.

This offseason in the NBA has seen a lot more change than normal. With the salary cap increase, many free agents and stars have changed their address. Last season the East had a four-way tie for third place, with the changes that have occurred, we might get even more parity.

Like just about every year, there are about four teams with legitimate title hopes. The rest of the league will be hoping for a good matchup in the playoffs, to make a little noise. The Eastern Conference will have plenty of teams hoping to sneak into the playoffs after this summer’s offseason moves.

The top four seeds will most likely be the same, familiar teams the league is accustomed to seeing. But after that, it will be a fight for the last four spots in the playoffs. Almost a toss up.

There are a few teams in the Eastern Conference that have improved their roster which will lead to an increase in the win column while a few of last season’s playoff teams seem to have gotten worse.

Not only have rosters been transformed, but new coaches will be at the helm for some teams. A change in philosophy may be just what the doctor ordered for some of these squads, while others may take a while to adapt to a new leader.

We will go through the Eastern Conference team by team to examine exactly how each squad has improved or regressed and come up with an early playoff picture.

Next: Stock Up