EASTERN TEAMS NEED TO MATCH BOSTON, CLEVELAND MOVES

There may still be some shuffling on the roster, but the Boston Celtics (+550 to win the NBA title) made a genuine power move over the weekend - one that unquestionably signals that they mean business in terms of getting their Eastern Conference title back. Rasheed Wallace, who Boston gets with its mid-level cap exception, may not be in the prime of his career anymore, but he is exactly the kind of veteran presence that can supply the missing piece to a puzzle.

Of course, Boston had to go through the last part of its regular season schedule and all of the post-season without Kevin Garnett, but if there is a positive to take out of that experience, it was that it gave some other players an opportunity to emerge. One of them was Glen Davis, who scored 20 points or better five times in the playoffs; another was Rajon Rondo, who went crazy with triple-doubles in the post-season, and then there was Kendrick Perkins, who had to step up with some muscle to fill the vacuum left by Garnett's absence.

This is the way I think it would work with Wallace, who is 35 years old: he's always been a unique player because of his ability to play either inside or outside. As a 6'11" player, he is a tremendous outside shooter and can draw big defenders out to the perimeter, and he has the versatility to be the first person off the bench at the small forward, power forward or center spot. What he can do is provide instant offense and if he doesn't have to play 40 minutes a game he is a terrific weapon on a good team. Or, if the Celtics really want, they could put him in the starting pivot position and have a "Fab Five" with Garnett, Wallace, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce. The big concern, of course, is that Wallace pretty much tanked it in the playoffs, but that whole Detroit team was a bummer after the Chauncey Billups-Allen Iverson trade.

Davis is a restricted free agent and may be out the door, but Wallace made him more expendable. They've already re-signed Eddie House, and drafted another big scorer, Lester Hudson, who they'll most likely send to the Developmental League first. Stephon Marbury wanted to play for the Celtics again, but that's not likely to happen. Last year's rookies, J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker may be ready to contribute.

I appreciate what the Cleveland Cavaliers (+200 to win the NBA title ) did with the trade that brought Shaquille O'Neal over from Phoenix, especially if Mike Brown is able to manage some split time between Shaq and Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the middle. That takes pressure off both of them. With the Cavs though, I think there is always going to be the problem of the offense being too LeBron-centric, and I'm not completely convinced the arrival of a center who will be 38 in March is going to change that significantly enough.

Cleveland had interest in free agents Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza, but Artest went with the Los Angeles Lakers (+200 to repeat as champions) while Ariza moved on to the Houston Rockets (+1500 to win the title), where he will perhaps take Artest's place in the lineup. Charles Villanueva, another guy they were talking to, signed a deal with the Detroit Pistons (+4000 to win the title), where he will join another former U-Conn star, Ben Gordon, who leaves the Chicago Bulls (+4000 to win the title) with a scoring void that Derrick Rose and John Salmons will help to fill.

The fact is, if they can keep this crew relatively intact, or add a guy or two who can play limited but efficient minutes, and stop thinking about trading Rondo or Allen, the Celtics, more of an ensemble cast than Cleveland, can shift the balance of power in the Eastern Conference back to themselves.

That power will certainly shift away from the Orlando Magic (+600 to win the NBA title), unless they can make up some ground. The Magic traded Rafer Alston, who would have been a valuable backup for Jameer Nelson, and Courtney Lee, who I think is going to be a star in this league, for Vince Carter, who often marches to the beat of his own drummer, which means he's more "me" than "we." Yeah, I know the attraction for the Magic was that Carter has been an All-Star and fills a shooting guard role, and the attraction for him is that he lives in Orlando, but the Magic lost Hedo Turkoglu, who signed with the Toronto Raptors (+10000 to win the NBA title), and he was a versatile guy who could play at the two, three or four positions, bringing his outside marksmanship to any of those spots. Backup center Marcin Gortat is signed with the Dallas Mavericks (+4000) as a restricted free agent, so Orlando is going to have to do something to get some more size on that roster.

Another team that needs to start moving in the market (or else, I suppose) is the Miami Heat (+5000 to win the title), a playoff team last year that stands to lose Dwyane Wade next summer as a free agent. Wade is watching things closely, and wants to hear about the long-term plans of Pat Riley and his franchise. "I'm going to listen. I owe the Miami Heat that much. I'm going to listen to what they have to say and I'm going to think about it," he told reporters. "But right now, the way I feel, I want to make sure that we're on track to where I want us to be on track to before I sign back."



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