NBA East making some progress

A few well-known players crossed over this summer.

Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are in Boston, Rashard Lewis signed with Orlando, and Zach Randolph took his troubles to New York.

Were those moves enough to narrow the talent gap between the NBA's Eastern and Western conferences?

Last year, the disparity between West and East seemed ridiculous even before San Antonio's ugly sweep of Cleveland in the Finals. Heading into the 2007-08 season, it's easy to project the West providing home to the league's best teams once again.

At the same time, the teams with the best shot of being really bad -- Minnesota, Portland, Seattle, the L.A. Clippers without Elton Brand -- also are in the West.

So maybe the East is making some progress.

"I think the East got a lot better," Bulls guard Ben Gordon said. "There are definitely more talented players in the East now. We'll see what kind of impact they have with their teams."

Count new Bulls forward Joe Smith among those who believe the East will be strong from top to bottom.

"I was talking to a buddy of mine the other day, telling him how much fun I think this season's going to be," Smith said. "Because every game is going to be a challenge, regardless of who we play. Everything is up for grabs right now."

Most of the Eastern attention figures to shine on the Celtics, with their intriguing combination of Garnett, Allen and Paul Pierce. Boston's biggest questions right now are chemistry and supporting cast. Allen and Pierce may have to accept getting fewer shots, while the Celtics are counting on second-year point guard Rajon Rondo and non-improving center Kendrick Perkins as starters.

"I think they're going to be tough, mainly because of K.G.," Gordon said. "He's a guy that's very unselfish. There are going to be open shots all over for those guys. A guy like Ray Allen, you give him 10 open looks, he's liable to make 10 on a given night.

"I'm sure they're going to be out there talking trash. It will be fun to play against those guys."

Added Ben Wallace: "It's always fun playing Boston just because of their history. Now they've got some players on the floor that a lot of people followed. It's definitely going to be exciting."

While the Celtics made some bold moves, many of last year's Eastern leaders stood still. The Bulls basically have two new additions, Smith and rookie Joakim Noah, but believe their young players will be better.

"It's all about chemistry," Gordon said. "While those teams have gotten better with individual players, hopefully our chemistry will go a long way and we'll be able to beat a lot of those teams out."

With the regular season two weeks from tipoff, here's a rundown of the Eastern Conference movers and stallers besides Boston and the Bulls, in order of last year's finish:

Detroit. The Pistons are trying to get younger on the fly by adding rookie guard Rodney Stuckey, along with forwards Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson to the rotation. Chris Webber is not expected back. The Pistons also signed former Wizards forward Jarvis Hayes.

Cleveland. So far, the Cavs have only subtracted since Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic are holding out. Some key players, like Eric Snow (34), Donyell Marshall (34) and Zydrunas Ilgauskas (32), are getting old.

Toronto. The only significant additions were former Miami sharpshooter Jason Kapono and ex-Detroit forward Carlos Delfino. Like the Bulls, the Raptors have room to improve from within, especially through second-year forward Andrea Bargnani.

Miami. Surely the Heat could have found a better off-season acquisition than 36-year-old Penny Hardaway, who basically hasn't played for two seasons. James Posey and Jason Kapono left, while Dwyane Wade still is recovering from shoulder surgery and Shaquille O'Neal will be 36 when the playoffs start.

New Jersey. The key addition here is center Nenad Krstic, who missed nearly all of last season with a knee injury. On the other hand, Jason Kidd turns 35 in March.

Washington. The Wizards didn't make any changes other than drafting USC guard Nick Young and letting Jarvis Hayes leave. Etan Thomas probably won't play this season after having heart surgery. That leaves Brendan Haywood and his declining skills to man the middle

Orlando. The Magic overpaid for Rashard Lewis, but he figures to score some points. Meanwhile, Orlando did nothing to address its athletic, erratic backcourt. The team also is thin inside since Darko Milicic left for Memphis and Tony Battie may miss the season with an injury.

Indiana. No team in the East needs a shake-up more than the Pacers. But their most notable transaction was signing former Marquette star Travis Diener. A backcourt of Jamaal Tinsley and Mike Dunleavy doesn't figure to scare many opponents.

Philadelphia. The Sixers drafted Georgia Tech's Thaddeus Young but are mostly waiting for next summer, when they'll have the cap room to make a move in free agency.

New York. No question Randolph is a talented player. He averaged 23.6 points and 10.1 rebounds in Portland last season. How well he will coexist with center Eddy Curry, another post scorer with a reputation for playing little to no defense, is another story. Randolph also could push the Knicks' most underrated player, David Lee, to the bench.

Charlotte. Pairing former Warriors shooting guard Jason Richardson with forward Gerald Wallace is an intriguing move. But the Bobcats don't have any inside strength beyond Emeka Okafor.

Atlanta. At some point, the Hawks need to trade for more veterans. As it stands, Florida's Al Horford joins the crowd of underachieving forwards.

Milwaukee. The Bucks re-signed point guard Mo Williams, who probably shoots too much to fit well next to Michael Redd. Desmond Mason also returned from the Hornets. Milwaukee's hope for the future is Yi Jianlian, but it's difficult to see him making much of an impact as a rookie.