Opinion: With roster moves by Heat and Bulls, NBA's Eastern Conference has become wide open
The Miami Heat are back at it again.
Pat Riley wants to win and win, and when there’s no more winning left, he wants to win some more.
Some folks do have it all. Or at least want it all.
The Heat president and general manager Andy Elisburg, often the unheralded salary cap gold medalist behind the Heat’s roster moves, reconfigured the lineup again, giving Miami coach Erik Spoelstra players who could get back to the NBA Finals.
In an ever-changing NBA, the Heat added Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker to All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo while retaining free agent Victor Oladipo and restricted free agent Duncan Robinson.
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After advancing to the 2020 Finals, the Heat finished sixth in the East last season. That’s not what the Heat expected, and not one to be content, Riley sought improvement.
But he’s not the only one.
There is a pervading theme among some, but not all, teams: Make a strong push to win now because it’s possible to win the conference and reach the Finals in the right circumstance.
Since LeBron James left the East, it’s been wide open.
In the past three seasons, three different teams from the East have reached the Finals and five different teams have played in the conference finals. There’s no reason not to believe two different teams will play in the East finals and that a different team will represent the East in the Finals for the fourth consecutive season in 2022.
It could be Brooklyn and Philadelphia. Throw Chicago into the mix. Boston has talent. New York improved. Milwaukee is still a contender. Atlanta wants to establish itself as an annual top-four team in the East.
While maybe not ready to crack the top four in the conference, Charlotte will compete for a playoff spot, and Washington, another playoff team from last season, improved its roster.
Before the next season begins, the East is to be 6-8 teams deep when it comes to potential conference finalists.
The East is deep. It might not be parity like the NFL created but it is variety – and it’s good for the league. The conference finals with Phoenix-Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta-Milwaukee and then the Finals with Phoenix-Milwaukee were entertaining and provided one of the more memorable first-time Finals performances from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The last few seasons have shown that there is some unpredictability to who reaches the Finals, and it has given some teams motivation to take calculated risks. Who knows what’s going to happen? Who will stay healthy? Who will have too many injuries to overcome?
Chicago wasn’t content. The Bulls wanted accelerated improvement, not incremental wins season over season. They added Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso alongside Zach LaVine and Nik Vucevic.
The Wizards made the playoffs last season but they want more – to show Bradley Beal they have a team that can move up in the East. They added Spencer Dinwiddie, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell.
The Knicks finished fourth last season. How much better will they be after bringing in Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier?
We’re still waiting on the Sixers to make a deal involving Ben Simmons, a move that could further shape the East.
Championship windows open and close quickly. That’s as clear as ever, and teams want to take advantage of the opportunity before it's gone in the blink of a season.
Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.