The Detroit Pistons are the reigning NBA champions, but with Shaquille O'Neal taking up residence in Miami, it might be a different ballgame this season. Here's a look at the Eastern Conference for the 2004-2005 season.

The Contenders

1 ? Detroit Pistons: The defending champs remain the beasts of the East. They have tremendous depth and size upfront, starting the Wallace boys and with Antonio McDyess, Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman ready off the bench. The Pistons remain the premier defensive team in the league and so long as coach Larry Brown keeps his team focused on defense and teamwork, the me-first NBA will once again see the Association?s answer to the New England Patriots in the Finals, despite a thin backcourt and potentially suspect outside shooting.

2 ? Miami Heat: Shaq-Daddy returns to the East and it will be the beast of the East vs. the beasts of the East in the Conference Final. Shaq has a nice supporting cast in Dwayne Wade and Eddie Jones, however, he has too little help elsewhere and upfront in particular to defeat the Pistons this season.

3 ? Indiana Pacers: The addition of Stephen Jackson gives the Pacers the perimeter scorer they needed to complement Jermaine O?Neal and replace Reggie Miller. However, a player more capable of being a primary scorer was necessary to compliment the lesser O?Neal whose offensive game has plateaued at 20-21 ppg. Nevertheless, Jermaine O?Neal, Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson are a formidable defensive troika that will keep Indiana near the top of the Conference. Ray Allen would have been a perfect fit for this team.

Playoff Bound

4 ? Philadelphia 76ers: This is the second deepest and biggest team in the Conference, with players like Willie Green, Glenn Robinson, Samuel Dalembert, Brian Skinner and Corliss Williamson coming off the bench. However, this team may be too deep and trying to find minutes and shots for all of these players will be difficult, particularly with Allen ?Me, Myself and? Iverson running the point. With too many mouths to feed, no true point guard and a lack of an offensive presence in the post, the 76ers are likely to fall short of seriously contending for the Conference title.

5 ? Cleveland Cavaliers: Lebron James has one season under his belt and with a superior supporting cast he is ready tot lead the Cavs back to the playoffs. The Cavs added outside shooting (Lucious Harris and Sasha Pavlovic) to stretch the defense, they have the second best true center in the Conference with Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden will make them forget about the Carlos Boozer fiasco. The Cavs surged with Jeff McInnis running the point and with Eric Snow and Robert Traylor off the bench, the Cavs will give the Pistons and Pacers a good scare, but are still another perimeter player away.

6 ? Orlando Magic: Gone are Tracy McGrady, Juwon Howard and Drew Gooden, yet a return to the playoffs is likely for Mickey Mouse?s favorite team. Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley freed from Jeff Van Gundy will lead the charge as the Conference?s most potent backcourt, while first pick overall Dwight Howard looks to provide the kind of athleticism upfront that Amare Stoudemire did for Phoenix in his rookie season. A healthy Grant Hill (chuckle, chuckle) would be a boost and the additions of Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Kelvin Cato and Tony Battie will provide the depth necessary to make the play offs and even challenge the Heat in the Southeast Division.

Outside Shot

7 ? New York Knicks: This team is a collection of overpaid, over-hyped and selfish players, who are being run by two Hall of Fame point guards who are as incompetent in management as they were spectacular on the court. Thee Knicks do not have a center who can defend the rim, while Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford may lead the league in steals as they try to take the ball from each other so one of them can shoot it first. Nevertheless, there is enough offense on this team that in a weak Eastern Conference the Knicks can get swept in the first round again.

8 ? Boston Celtics: This team led by Paul Pierce can score, but other than Mark Blount there are not any post defenders of note, Raef LaFrentz is more of a weak-side defender and as was made evident in the playoffs last year there are plenty of holes in the Glove so the perimeter defense will be porous as well. The Celts will likely post a sub-.500 record and suffer a first round sweep.

9 ? Toronto Raptors: Your classic donut team and that is not because Oliver Miller is back on the roster. The Raptors centers comprise of journeyman Loren Woods, Rafael Araujo who looks as out of place on the court as Donald Trump in a thrift shop and Jerome Moiso who is just as tough as his French nationality would indicate. The Raps are also weak at the point, with Rafer Alston who is a career 37% shooter, but looks like Larry Bird shooting compared to back up Milt Palacio. The Raptors can count on a breakout season from Chris Bosh, Donyell Marshall who maybe the league?s sixth man of the year, Jalen Rose and of course Vince Carter. If Carter drives to the basket and displays the explosiveness he did in 2001 the Raps will grab one of the last two playoff spots. Unfortunately, Carter is as soft as Elton John at the Playboy Mansion and a near miss is likely again for the Dinos.

Not Likely

10 ? Milwaukee Bucks: Last year?s surprise team will miss Brian Skinner inside and lean heavily on Mike James at the point with T.J. Ford likely our for the season. Joe Smith is unlikely to repeat last season?s success and with only two real scorers in Michael Redd and Keith Van Horn on the roster and both working on the perimeter, don?t look for Cinderella at the ball again this year.

11 ? Chicago Bulls: Still a team treading on potential, too young and too undisciplined to make a serious run at the playoffs. Kirk Hinrich is one of the Conference?s best point guards and Eddy Curry should be more dominant for a player his size, but this team lacks a true number one scorer and has a poor work ethic.

12 ? Washington Wizards: The fact that this team is only ranked 12th speaks to the weakness of the Conference. Gilbert Arenas does a poor job of running the offense and the team?s lack of depth and perimeter shooting will offset the benefits of adding Antawn Jamison to the roster, ensuring the Wizards remain also-rans.

No Way

13 ? New Jersey Nets: With the losses of Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles, Rodney Rogers and Lucious Harris; coupled with Jason Kidd?s injury and wish to leave the Garden State, it might not be that difficult to pinpoint what that smell in New Jersey is now.

14 ? Charlotte Bobcats: A team with some impressive size upfront in Primo Brezec, Emeka Okafor, Melvin Ely and Jahidi White, they will wear down their opponents occasionally. However, with a terrible back court and no perimeter threats, the expansion season will be a lean one.

15 ? Atlanta Hawks: This team is so bad that it will finish behind an expansion team! They have no size up front and too many young players to win more than 25 games. Look for Antoine Walker to rebound statistically as he goes from having to share with a boat-load of stars to being the only NBA caliber starter on this roster. Walker will go postal, shooting every chance he gets, but the Hawks will lose nevertheless.