Over the past 20 years, the Eastern Conference has been substantially weaker than its Western Conference counterpart. Whether this was a result of teams ducking LeBron James, or just plain coincidence, it’s hard to say. One thing’s for sure though, the East made a comeback in a big way this season, and the Chicago Bulls were just one of many victims who suffered from an increase in the quality of competition.
Entering the season, the Bucks, Celtics, 76ers, and Nets (prior to the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving trades) were all seen as frontrunners. The Heat were coming off the heels of a Conference Finals appearance in 2022 and would eventually advance to the NBA Finals in 2023.