We looked at news from around the Western Conference this morning, and now it's time for the East, where seven lottery teams will look to make their first playoff appearance in awhile this season. The same eight teams made the Eastern Conference playoffs in 2011 and 2012, but at least one of them will have trouble holding onto its spot this year, as the Magic are in full rebuilding mode after the departure of Dwight Howard. Here's the latest on some of the teams trying to take their place, and others hoping they don't follow the Magic's descent.
- The Bobcats are reportedly only interested in extending Gerald Henderson's contract if he signs a team-friendly deal, and offseason trade acquisition Ben Gordon is pushing him for the starting shooting guard job, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter links).
- John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com identifies five questions looming over the Sixers as they prepare to start the season.
- Marco Belinelli's rough preseason for the Bulls reminds Steve Aschburner of NBA.com of the struggles Hedo Turkoglu has suffered over the past few seasons (Twitter link).
- Bolstered by former Bulls reserve John Lucas III and other offseason acquisitions, the Raptors bench is shaping up to be the team's deepest in a long time, writes Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio takes a stab at predicting the Cavs' final roster cuts, guessing that the team will waive Jeremy Pargo and Kevin Jones.
- Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com examines the challenge that Celtics coach Doc Rivers faces as he tries to build chemistry on a team that returns just six players from last season.