After producing the league’s 2023-24 champion, the Eastern Conference looks to build on that momentum. The competition between the top eight teams will be fierce as last season when only four games separated the second and eighth seeds.

Following a summer focused on internal development, the Cavs are set to contend for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. However, with several teams restocking and enhancing their rosters, they face a challenging road ahead filled with formidable opponents.

The argument in the Sixers' favor is that their depth is much stronger than that of New York. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse's rotation has a few potential weak links depending on how the season unfolds, but he has far more bench pieces to work with than his New York counterpart, Tom Thibodeau.

In a society seemingly obsessed with “change,” standing pat occasionally can be a very cool hand. Nothing was broken in Boston, so there was no need to fix anything. It’s a great, two-way roster with plenty of versatility and depth and stars who are getting prime-ier.

The Pacers are looking to build on their Eastern Conference finals run from last season, but the East is still tough and Boston is still on top.