Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
Your playoff premise is wrong.
The longer a team is in playoff contention, the less likely they are to tank. There are teams tanking from the get go (philly) but the fact that teams like the bobcats and Wizards could be in playoff contention late in the season is a good thing. The more wide open the East is, the better. Once ownership knows that playoffs (and the money that comes with it) are out of the question, it's easier for them to sign off on tanking.
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Just the opposite, I believe, in the EC.
You could make a case that four (and maybe five) non-playoff teams in the WC may all have better records (at 38-44 wins) than the last two playoff teams in the EC. So earning a playoff spot in the East truly could be the difference between a pick at #10 with a chance to move up in the lottery, and a pick that is locked in at #15.
Toronto, which made their trade last season for Gay and played .500 ball the rest of the season, and Detroit, which added Smith and traded for Jennings, are my picks to replace Boston and Milwaukee in the playoffs. Guess you can say Charlotte upgraded a bit with Jefferson. But maybe he lifts that team from 21 to 30 wins. I guess Cleveland upgraded (if Bynum plays). None of the other EC teams made significant gains in free agency. I see Toronto and Detroit gaining separation early, causing the others to decide well in advance of the deadline to pursue a higher draft seeding.