Champion Spurs eye repeat as balance of power shifts to East

Standing in the way of superstar forward Tim Duncan and company this season may be a team from the much-improved Eastern Conference.

 During the off-season, stars Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, Zach Randolph and Jason Richardson migrated to the East, closing the talent gap on the West, which has held the upper hand for nearly a decade.

 "It's about time we got some pros over in the Eastern Conference," said superstar swingman LeBron James, whose Cleveland Cavaliers were swept away by the Spurs in June in the NBA Finals. "I think the Eastern Conference is definitely going to step up a notch now."

   At the championship level, the gap between is not that big. Before San Antonio's 4-0 sweep, a team from the East had won two of the last three titles.

 However, the West's strength has been in its depth. Last season, the West had five teams with more than 50 wins, while the East had only one.

 The Spurs won 58 games last season, five more than any team in the East but good enough for just the third-best mark in the West. They avoided a showdown with mighty Dallas (67 wins) and eliminated Phoenix (61 wins) en route to the title as French flash Tony Parker earned finals MVP honours.

 After championships in 1999, 2003 and 2005, the Spurs were unable to return to the finals. But with an intact core led by Duncan, Parker and Argentine star guard Manu Ginobili, they have the desire to prove their critics wrong.

 "They're just as hungry as they've ever been to become the best team they can possibly be by playoff time," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

 "They haven't been able to (repeat), so that's one of the things they're going to be pointing towards," Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders said.

 The Spurs will be challenged again by the Mavericks, who added veterans Eddie Jones and Trenton Hassell to a talented roster led by German juggernaut and NBA MVP Dirk Nowitzki, and the Suns, who added forward Grant Hill to a high-octane attack powered by superstars Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire.

 There is no shortage of talent in the West.

 The Utah Jazz are coming off a trip to the conference finals. The Golden State Warriors are emboldened by their first-round playoff upset of Dallas. The Denver Nuggets have had a training camp to develop chemistry between scoring machines Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. And the Houston Rockets have added old friend Steve Francis and Argentine Luis Scola to the all-star duo of Yao Ming of China and Tracy McGrady.

 The West also has the likely rookie of the year in Kevin Durant, who should get plenty of touches as Seattle rebuilds around him. And still out West - for now - is two-time scoring champion Kobe Bryant, perhaps the league's best player, who has spent the summer asking the Los Angeles Lakers to trade him.

 "When I'm here, wherever I'm at, I'm ready to go," Bryant said recently. "It's not my job to worry about what management is doing at this point. I voiced my frustrations over the summer, and I'll just leave it there."

   One of the teams rumoured to be in the running for Bryant is the Chicago Bulls, who have a stable of improving young players who could be packaged for the superstar. Should Bryant come East, that would close the gap even more.

 The biggest strides were taken by the Boston Celtics, who swung deals for Garnett and Allen. Along with fellow perennial all-star Paul Pierce, the Celtics have perhaps the most imposing trio in the league.

 "The great thing about these guys is that they are unselfish guys, and I know they want an NBA championship," said Pierce, who admitted he was considering asking for a trade before the deals went down.

 Also making a bold move were the Orlando Magic, who acquired Rashard Lewis to play in the frontcourt alongside Dwight Howard, who has added 20 pounds of bulk to his muscular frame.

 "For us, it is going to be being able to operate effectively at both ends with our three best players on the floor together - Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and (Turkey's) Hedo Turkoglu - which is hard, because Rashard and Hedo are both essentially small forwards," new coach Stan Van Gundy said.

 James again should have the Cavaliers near the top of the East this season. In the deep Central Division, they will try to fend off the Pistons - who have reached the conference finals five straight years - and the Bulls.

 Also expected to make noise in the East are the Miami Heat, who are hoping superstars Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal are healthy; the Toronto Raptors, who acquired Argentine Carlos Delfino for their internationally flavoured lineup; and the New Jersey Nets, who welcome back Serbian centre Nenad Krstic from injury.

 However, those teams have a way to go before they can compete with the Spurs, who are favoured to do something they never have done - repeat. By Paul Levine, dpa