As the 2022-23 season begins, the Eastern Conference appears to be deeper than it has been in recent memory, certainly since the 1980s when giants such as Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, Sidney Moncrief, Dominique Wilkins, Bernard King, Isiah Thomas and Moses Malone led the way.

Each of the 15 teams this season can make a reasonable case for reaching the Play-In Tournament, if not the official playoffs. Four or five are worthy of title contention. Heck, according to Markelle Fultz, his Orlando Magic have a shot at the No. 4 seed.

The Celtics might have had the edge based on their work in the championship round last spring, only to slide back to the pack of elites in the weeks before training camps opened. Here’s how we see the East sorting itself out, with teams listed alphabetically within each category.

CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS
Boston Celtics: A Finals team from June, adding talent to a defensively adept and cohesive crew, should have been a prohibitive favorite to win the East. But veteran pickup Danilo Gallinari was lost for the season with a torn ACL, gimpy big man Robert Williams III needed surgery again after probably pushing too hard in the playoffs and then the Ime Udoka situation blew up in Boston. Malcolm Brogdon is a nice addition. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown seem to have sorted things out. But size up front is a concern and there’s no template for losing such an effective coach so suddenly.

Brooklyn Nets: Just when it seemed the offseason was going to spin completely out of control on the Nets, well, what d’ya know, nothing. If Kevin Durant can settle into the first year of his four-year extension and Kyrie Irving can get serious in his own contract year, that duo might again prove to be unguardable in big doses rather than the small we’ve seen. The X-factor is Ben Simmons, who now has sat out two entire seasons of what should be a six-year career. If he plays, his reluctance to shoot won’t stymie Brooklyn, with plenty of star and role players to let it fly.