Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Zach Randolph, Rashard Lewis and Jason Richardson. That’s the coup of players that left the Western Conference for the East this offseason. The East figures to be stronger than in recent years. How will the teams stack up? Here’s one analyst’s take:

1. Cleveland: The defending conference champions are flawed and need a point guard. But their defense always keeps them in games, and in the fourth quarter they have LeBron James and his awe-inspiring talents to drive home the big victory. Count on a monster season for James as he leads his Cavs deep into the playoffs again.

2. Boston: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce AND Ray Allen on the same team? This group will win games all by itself, but will their supporting cast be exposed come playoff time? This season will define Garnett’s legacy and is his best shot at getting that ever-elusive championship ring.

3. Detroit: The ‘Bad Boys’ from Motown may be overlooked, but still have a very good basketball team led by their committee of good players. But in the last three years they dropped playoff series to Tim Duncan, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. Is their no superstar approach to winning in June good enough anymore?

4. New Jersey: This squad has reached round two of the playoffs in five of Jason Kidd’s six seasons at the helm. That includes last season, when Nenad Krstic was hurt for the year and Richard Jefferson never fully recovered from an ankle injury. With those two healthy, look for this group to make some noise in the East.

5. Chicago: The Bulls are good, but more flawed than people think. They live and die by the jump shot and their centerpiece on defense, Ben Wallace, peaked years ago. Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Ben Gordon will continue to impress, but without a star this team can’t get past LeBron or Garnett in an improved Eastern Conference.

6. Miami: Shaquille O’Neal is still dominant, and with Dwyane Wade leading the way, they will will their way into the playoffs. But an aging roster with no other real contributors leaves Shaq and Wade in the bottom half of the conference playoff picture.

7. Washington: NBA Live ’08 cover boy Gilbert Arenas and his Wizards know how to score the basketball. But this Wizards team has no frontcourt and plays very undisciplined defense. Arenas’ Wizards should find their way into the playoffs, but going far beyond round one is doubtful.

8. Toronto: Chris Bosh showed the world just how good he is last year. But when the Nets bottled him up in the playoffs, it proved he needs more help. The Nets and Celtics got better over the summer; it’s hard to expect another division title from Toronto. But Bosh can lead his Raptors to a second straight playoff appearance.

9. Orlando: Dwight Howard has Rashard Lewis to complement his dominant inside game, but what else? Grant Hill and Darko Milicic? Gone. Jameer Nelson? He still hasn’t distinguished himself as a solid point guard in this league. The Magic will compete, but don’t expect playoffs.

10. New York: Zach Randolph makes the Knicks better than they’ve been the last few years. But the talent on this squad is mismatched. Eddy Curry and Randolph both don’t play defense. Their guards are all shoot first, so there goes the ball movement and chemistry of winners. More Ping-Pong balls and 34 wins and seem like the call here.

11. Charlotte: Acquiring Jason Richardson makes this squad the best ‘Cats team in their brief history. The problem is that J-Rich is the team’s go-to scorer in the clutch. In his six NBA seasons, he hasn’t proved he can fill that role for a playoff team. The Bobcats will be exciting and will win some games, but will probably fall short of a playoff berth.

12. Atlanta: This team finally looks like they are building something positive. Al Horford and Acie Law come to a team that already has a solid young nucleus. But expecting a playoff berth from a team without a solid starting point guard or big man is a tall order. The Hawks will be better than in recent years, but aren’t ready for primetime just yet.

13. Milwaukee: Michael Redd will impress, but how good are his Bucks? Neither Andrew Bogut nor Charlie Villanueva distinguished themselves in their sophomore seasons. Yi Jianlian doesn’t figure to help their cause this season all that much, and they did not really improve over the summer, unlike other Eastern teams.

14. Indiana: Well, at least the Colts are good. The Pacers have Jermaine O’Neal and, well, not much else. And O’Neal seems to have passed his prime; he can’t stay healthy and has been criticized for not being a team leader. This team is going to implode early. And when it happens, look for O’Neal to force his way out the door.

15. Philadelphia: Andre Iguodala is an all-star caliber player. It’s unfortunate that he plays on a team that is going nowhere fast. It’s hard to imagine this group winning more than 25 games.

Conference Finals: Celtics defeat Cavs

NBA Finals: Spurs defeat Celtics