NBA Eastern Conference tiers: Knicks on top, but new-look contenders emerge after eventful offseason

The Eastern Conference has long been viewed as the inferior half of the NBA . Seven of the last 15 championships have been won by the East, but the West has been the deeper of the two conferences with more teams capable of hosting a parade in the end. Getting through the West was trumpeted as a monumental accomplishment. Winning the East was something that some team had to do eventually, but few of them got much credit for it by comparison.

That perspective has shifted. The East is stacked. With at least 10 teams having designs on the eight playoff spots, it appears we're headed for one of the…