Fansided

Phil Jackson expects more parity in the Eastern Conference

By Andrew Melnick

Mar 18, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks new president of basketball of operations Phil Jackson is introduced at a press conference at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks new president of basketball of operations Phil Jackson is introduced at a press conference at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

For the last few years, it has been the Miami Heat dominating the Eastern Conference, winning four straight conference titles. The Chicago Bulls proved to be a bit of a challenge and the Indiana Pacers pushed the Heat to seven games in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals, but mostly it has been the Heat and then everyone else.

More from NBA

Now that the Heat have lost LeBron James, New York Knick’ president Phil Jackson believes there will be more parity in the east.

“I see it flattening out the Eastern Conference, dispersing the talent around a little bit because of the advent of [Kevin] Love, obviously, LeBron in Cleveland, changes the conference from having two teams that were below or around .500 to having probably all eight teams having to be above 45-46 wins to get into the playoffs,” the Zenmaster said Friday via Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “So it’s going to change how that goes.”

Jackson explained his rationale.

“Indiana may have slipped a little bit because of the injuries and the loss of players,” Jackson said, referring to the leg injury to Paul George and the signing of Lance Stephenson. “We dont know. They have a pretty cohesive unit there, they may be able to sustain it. Teams like Charlotte and Washington are coming up. We saw their progresses last year. So there’s going to be a real healthy challenge in our conference. I think we’ve got a really good chance at settling in and finding a way to play and winning in this conference and being effective. I think the big key about it is learning process during the course of the season. But I think I see this pretty open division that we’re in and hopefully we can get out to a good start.”

With José Calderón now at point guard, the Knicks expect to return to the postseason in 2014, only further proving the conference’s parity.

Be sure to check FanSided’s official NBA page to keep up to date on the latest news and rumors from around the league as we get you ready for the start of the 2014-2015 season.

More on FanSided.com

Phoenix Suns expect Eric Bledsoe to be elite
Carmelo Anthony can thrive in triangle offense
Reggie Jackson rumors: Oklahoma City Thunder have no plans to trade Jackson
Orlando Magic rumors: Magic pushing for extensions for Nikola Vučević, Tobias Harris
Could Kevin Garnett be traded to the Cavs?

Home/NBA