How are the teams looking in the Eastern Conference?

The free-agent buzz is currently in the air and although there are two more days until the deals are made, there are some players that have already announced their intentions. Dwight Howard will join the Houston Rocket for the chance to jumpstart his career and look to add a ring next season while Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will complete the Brooklyn Nets lineup. However, this remains unofficial until Wednesday. This will be the day when everything gets settled and gamblers surely have their basketball prop bets ready.

While things will constantly be changing and it is hard to predict the outcome of the 2013-14 season, here is a forecast regarding the top finishing teams in the Eastern Conference.

Miami Heat

Needless to say that the Miami Heat is the most likely team to win the Eastern Conference. Early betting odds offered by large bookmakers put them as favorites to win the trophy which is understandable considering they won it two consecutive times already. After defeating the San Antonio Spurs in seven games for the 2013 NBA title, the Heat have been celebrating quite a bit. They will be sitting out the free agency as they did with the Draft and still maintain their top position for the Eastern Conference and the league.

Ray Allen will stick around for one more year, which will certainly help Miami get towards the Larry O’Brian trophy once again. Of course, the main focus for the Heat will be LeBron James, who will get the much needed rest during the offseason to come back and lead his team once again. The other members of the “Big Three”, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, will join the big man next season despite the rumors that they would be split up. At the end of the day, if it works, why change it?

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers are looking very good and will make for an exciting season in the Eastern Conference so gamblers should certainly brush up on their basketball betting dictionary terms. With Larry Bird back in the president seat, the team looks ready to take on the league. Bird’s first goal of keeping David West away from free agency worked very well and he will join Paul George and Roy Hibbert to complete one of the best trios in the league. If we also add Danny Granger into the mix, it is easy to see why the Pacers have such a high spot on the list for predicting the outcome of the Eastern Conference.

Chicago Bulls

Although the Bulls didn’t have a very good season, the absence of Derrick Rose gave the chance for the supporting cast to get noticed and they shined more than what most people gave them credit for recently. Joakim Noah should not be overlooked either since he showed a lot of effort despite the fact that he is battling an injury. He certainly became one of the best players in the league and the perfect counterpart for Rose. As far as leadership for the Bulls goes, Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer have it covered and the coach Tom Thibodeau has shown that he knows how to take the parts and turn them into a well-running machine.

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets have no lack of stars, from the coach to the starting five. The combination is sure to create some problems for the Eastern Conference top-ranked teams. Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Garnet, Brook Lopez and Pierce look like the best starting five in the league right now, at least on paper. It remains to be seen if the combo will work on the court but the potential is there without a doubt. The goal is set simply by looking at the line-up and the Nets will not settle for anything less than a spot in the conference finals.