NBA playoff race questions: Are the Cavs the East favorites? - ESPN

After an eventful NBA trade deadline that saw several stars change addresses, the dust has settled on an Eastern Conference that remains as wide open as ever.

Will the Detroit Pistons keep up their remarkable run to start the season and run away with theNo. 1 seed? Could the Boston Celtics get Jayson Tatum back and make another deep playoff push, or will the New York Knicks deliver on their heavy expectations? How will the James Harden trade impact the Cleveland Cavaliers, and could this — finally — be the Philadelphia 76ers' season to break through?

Heading into the latest Eastern Conference showdown Wednesday night in Philadelphia between the Knicks and 76ers (7:30 ET, ESPN), here's a look at the state of the conference post-deadline, what to watch for over the next few months and which team we believe will come out on top:

Jump to a question:
How much of an impact will Harden have?
Did Detroit miss an opportunity at the deadline?
Should any East team have done more?
What are you watching down the stretch?
Who are the top teams in the East — and why?

Bontemps: Weirdly, it feels like nothing has changed. Typically at this time of the year, we see contending teams make moves to try to improve their title chances. But among the 10 teams with the best records as of Thursday's deadline, only one — the Oklahoma City Thunder — gave up a first-round pick to add a player. And five of the top 13 — including the Celtics, 76ers and Toronto Raptors in the East — made maneuvers to duck out of the luxury tax.

So while a few contenders made moves around the margins — Detroit adding Kevin Huerter, Boston landing Nikola Vucevic and New York picking up Jose Alvarado — things are not much different than they were entering the deadline. Do