When LeBron James left Miami for Cleveland he weakened one franchise, strengthened another and changed the entire landscape of the Eastern Conference. Other teams made moves as well, some got stronger, some not so much.
Here are my rankings of the top 10 teams in the East with each squad’s projected starting lineup and first three players off the bench. This off course is subject to change based on trades and other free agent signings in the future.
1 Chicago Bulls (48-34) HC- Tom Thibodeau
PG- Derrick Rose SG- Jimmy Butler SF- Mike Dunleavy PF- Pau Gasol C- Joakim Noah
Bench – Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott , Kirk Hinrich
2 Cleveland Cavaliers (33-49) HC- David Blatt
PG- Kyrie SG- Andrew Wiggins SF- LeBron PF- Tristan Thompson C- Anderson Varjao
Bench- Dion Waiters, Anthony Bennett, Mike Miller
3 Indiana Pacers (56-26) HC- Frank Vogel
PG- George Hill SG- C.J. Miles SF- Paul George PF- David West C- Roy Hibbert
Bench- Luis Scola, C.J. Watson, Ian Mahinmi
4 Washington Wizards (44-38) HC- Randy Wittman
PG- John Wall SG- Bradley Beal SF- Paul Pierce PF- Nene Hilario C- Marcin Gortat
Bench- Martell Webster, Otto Porter Jr., Kris Humphries
5 Toronto Raptors (48-34) HC- Dwane Casey
PG- K.Lowery SG- Terrence Ross SF- D. DeRozan SF- Amir Johnson C- J. Valanciunas
Bench- Greivis Vasquez, Pattrick Patterson, Louis Williams
6 Miami Heat (54-28) HC- Erik Spoelstra
PG- Mario Chalmers SG- D-Wade SF- Luol Deng PF- Josh McRoberts C- Chris Bosh
Bench- Chris Anderson Norris Cole, Shabazz Napier
7 Charlotte Hornets (43-39) HC- Steve Clifford
PG-K.Walker SG- L. Stephenson SF- M. Kidd-Gilchrist PF- Cody Zeller C- Al Jefferson
Bench- Noah Vonleh, Gary Neal, Gerald Henderson
8 Atlanta Hawks (38-44) HC- Mike Budenholzer
PG- Jeff Teague, SG- Kyle Korver SF- DeMarre Carroll PF- Paul Millsap C- Al Horford
Bench- Thabo Sefolosha, Dennis Schroeder, Pero Antic
9 Brooklyn Nets (44-38) HC- Lionel Hollins
PG- Deron Williams SG- Joe Johnson SF- A. Kirilenko PF- Kevin Garnett C- Brook Lopez
Bench- Mason Plumlee, Jarrett Jack, Mirza Teletovic
10 New York Knicks (37-45) HC- Derrick Fisher
PG- Jose Calderon SG- I.Shumpert SF- Carmelo PF- A. Stoudemire C-Samuel Dalembert
Bench- J.R. Smith, Andrea Bargnani, Tim Hardaway Jr.