Scout's Take

On the state of the Eastern Conference after Heat star Dwyane Wade suffered a dislocated left shoulder last week:

" Detroit is on top, now that Flip Saunders can run the offense through Chris Webber , who gives them a second low-post scorer with Rasheed Wallace , which they didn't have last year. In second place I'd put Washington and Chicago : Though the Wizards are having the better year, they have no inside presence and play no defense, while the Bulls' defense is going to make them hard to beat in a playoff series. I can't see it happening for Cleveland : LeBron James (above) can turn it on for a couple of games, but I don't see him carrying that team through series after series. What the Cavs need more than anything is a veteran leader to tell James to quit taking bad shots and to post the damn ball up."