EAST CAPSULES IN PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

NEW JERSEY NETS

2001-02 record: 52-30, first.

Offense: 96.2 (13). Defense: 92.0 (5).

Gone: Keith Van Horn, Todd MacCulloch.

Arriving: Dikembe Mutombo, Rodney Rogers, Chris Childs.

Outlook: As Bull general manager, Rod Thorn drafted Quintin Dailey after his rape arrest, Ennis Whatley after his drug involvement and Ronnie Lester after he blew out his knee, before finding sanctuary as vice president in charge of fines in the NBA office. It’s been a different story here, where Thorn’s moves have revived the haunted franchise. It has all fallen together perfectly. Mutombo gives them a big center and a defensive presence. His arrival and Van Horn’s departure means they can get away with a smaller power forward and Coach Byron Scott can move Kenyon Martin there. That opens a spot for the explosive young Richard Jefferson.

Prediction: With Scott you get attitude and with Jason Kidd you get instant karma, more than enough to rule the roost over here.

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INDIANA PACERS

2001-02 record: 42-40, eighth.

Offense: 96.8 (9). Defense: 96.5 (18).

Gone: No one of note.

Arriving: No. 1 pick Fred Jones, Erick Strickland.

Outlook: With the Pacer roster revamped since their 2000 Finals appearance, the heat’s on Isiah Thomas, who has taken his sweet time in his two-year coaching career, figuring out how to do this. Last season’s deal for Brad Miller and Ron Artest made them one of the East’s bigger teams. They were already one of the deepest as their kids, Jermaine O’Neal, Al Harrington and Jonathan Bender, began realizing their promise. Of course, O’Neal still has to go from being a guy who scores 20 points, taunts opponents and then disappears when double-teamed, to the real deal. Thomas keeps experimenting -- he just put in another offense -- but now must settle on a scheme, a lineup and deliver.

Prediction: They’ll move up. Time will tell if it’s far enough.

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NEW ORLEANS HORNETS

2001-02 record: 44-38, fourth.

Offense: 93.9 (20). Defense: 92.9 (7).

Gone: Lee Nailon, Matt Bullard.

Arriving: Courtney Alexander.

Outlook: They made the East semis as lame ducks in Charlotte. Now they’re the toast of the French Quarter and Jamal Mashburn, who played 40 games, is back. General Manager Bob Bass kept them going while his owners, busy alienating the community, let free agents walk. They have the East’s deepest front line with Jamal Magloire, P.J. Brown, Robert Traylor and, finally, Jerome Moiso, making Elden Campbell’s biorhythms irrelevant. Baron Davis signed an $84-million extension, and Mashburn re-upped a year ago, giving them something they haven’t had since their early ‘90s honeymoon with Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson: stability.

Prediction: The high-spirited Davis left UCLA after his sophomore year, played little as a rookie but, two seasons later, was their acknowledged leader. If he’s ready to move up further, so are they.

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DETROIT PISTONS

20010-2 record: 50-32, second.

Offense: 94.3 (18). Defense: 92.2 (6).

Gone: Jerry Stackhouse.

Arriving: Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Hubert Davis, Mehmet Okur, No. 1 pick Tayshaun Prince.

Outlook: Joe Dumars outdid himself, trading Stackhouse, who helped them go from 32-50 to 50-32, convinced by last season’s fade (he took fewer shots, still made only 39% and didn’t come up big in the playoffs) that he wasn’t worth the big money he’d want as a free agent this summer. On the other hand, their improbable rise was going to be hard enough to duplicate and Dumars just traded a 6-6, 220-pound No. 1 option for Hamilton, who may be tough but is built like a toothpick. With cap room next summer and Memphis’ No. 1 pick, Dumars thinks he can get a star to move to Motown, even if it’s cold and has a state sales tax. Good luck.

Prediction: Rookie Coach Rick Carlise turned their defense around but if they don’t play it as well, they’ll go lower than this.

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BOSTON CELTICS

2001-02 record: 49-33, third.

Offense: 96.4 (12). Defense: 94.1 (9, tie).

Gone: Rodney Rogers, Kenny Anderson, Vitaly Potapenko, Mark Blount.

Arriving: Vin Baker, Shammond Williams.

Outlook: After surviving Rick Pitino to make last season’s jump, they really did it to themselves this time, trading Anderson, who was handy and, more to the point, had one season on his contract, for Baker, who was useless in Seattle and has four seasons left at $12.4 million per. New England is home for the easily depressed Baker but since he’ll be the No. 3 option behind Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker, it may not turn out to be where Vin’s heart is, assuming he has one. Baker has already earned himself a reserve role, averaging 4.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.0 fouls in exhibitions, sending the front office into barely-controlled panic. Said personnel director Tony Papile, “To say he’s done is premature. He didn’t age in dog years over the summer.”

Prediction: Dear new owners: Good luck.

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TORONTO RAPTORS

2001-02 record: 42-40, seventh.

Offense: 91.4 (25). Defense: 91.8 (4).

Gone: Hakeem Olajuwon, Keon Clark, Chris Childs.

Arriving: Jelani McCoy, Lamond Murray, Lindsey Hunter.

Outlook: Last season was a debacle until Vince (Who, Me?) Carter got hurt and his supporting cast proved to be better without him, rising from 30-38 to make the playoffs. Carter now seems ready to deal with the reality he has always denied, that a player with his ability, and his $14-million salary, has to step up on the floor, rather than at graduation ceremonies in North Carolina the day of Game 7 in Philadelphia. Olajuwon had little to offer and was pushed into retirement but losing Keon Clark, hurt, leaving Antonio Davis as the lone quality big man. In the preseason, they started former Bruin and Laker (briefly in both cases) McCoy at center and he actually had his moments.

Prediction: Small or not, if Carter makes the move from highlight player to star, they’ll do OK.

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WASHINGTON WIZARDS

2001-02 record: 37-45, 10th.

Offense: 92.8 (21). Defense: 94.2 (11).

Gone: Richard Hamilton, Chris Whitney, Courtney Alexander, Hubert Davis, Popeye Jones.

Arriving: Jerry Stackhouse, Charles Oakley, Larry Hughes, George McCloud, Bryon Russell, No. 1 picks Jared Jeffries and Juan Dixon.

Outlook: In what just might be (but who ever knows?) Michael Jordan’s last stand, they brought in all sorts of hoary vets, like Oakley, and turned the preseason into Old Guy Paradise, with Jordan and Oakley sitting out most of the exhibition season. Then there’s Patrick Ewing, who at 40 has signed on as an assistant coach but is still aching to play -- and may, unless Brendan Haywood has come a long way. Kwame Brown, the No. 1 pick, all but written off as a rookie, made a big move in the exhibition season, averaging 18 points..

Prediction: Jordan still has all his drive, if not all his game. This time Coach Doug Collins doesn’t have to start at square one and Jordan will get more help.

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ORLANDO MAGIC

2001-02 record: 44-38, fifth.

Offense: 100.5 (4). Defense: 98.9 (27).

Gone: Patrick Ewing, Monty Williams, Don Reid, Troy Hudson.

Arriving: Shawn Kemp, Jacque Vaughn, Olumide Oyedeji.

Outlook: When Tim Duncan turned down a chance to play with Grant Hill, they went to Plan B, Tracy McGrady. Unfortunately for the Magic, Hill has played 18 games in two seasons and the team has had to resort to desperation moves for old/fat men like Horace Grant, Ewing and now Kemp, looking for a big man. Kemp is still over 300 pounds; the Magic just hopes he can plug up the middle against the other power forwards who play center in the East. Having undergone yet another operation on his right ankle, Hill is ready to start the season but he was ready to start the last two, too.

Prediction: They may be able to create more cap space next summer for a big man. What happens in the meantime depends on Hill’s ankle.

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MILWAUKEE BUCKS

2001-02 record: 41-41, ninth.

Offense: 97.5 (8). Defense: 97.7 (22).

Gone: Glenn Robinson, Darvin Ham.

Arriving: Toni Kukoc, Kevin Ollie, No. 1 pick Marcus Haislip, No. 2 pick Dan Gadzuric.

Outlook: It was a rough year for George Karl, who went from the East finals to nowhere and then failed his country as well, losing an unprecedented three games at the World Championship. This called for bold initiatives, like finally giving away his Big Dog, sending Robinson to Atlanta for whoever’s salary matched up (it turned out to be Kukoc, but the last team he had a major impact on was Treviso Benneton). This allows Tim Thomas, signed for $11 million per season two seasons ago but left on the bench, to start. Unfortunately, Karl still has the Anthony Mason problem, having given this world-class malcontent $20 million for four seasons.

Prediction: There’s way too much talent to miss the playoffs again. Then again, everyone liked the U.S. in the World Champioship.

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PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

2001-02 record: 43-39, sixth.

Offense: 91.0 (27). Defense: 89.4 (2).

Gone: Dikembe Mutombo, Matt Harpring, Raja Bell, Corie Blount.

Arriving: Keith Van Horn, Todd MacCulloch, Olden Polynice, Monty Williams, Brian Skinner, Greg Buckner.

Outlook: Larry Brown’s old friend, assistant and boss, Pacer President Donnie Walsh, once said that if you made every trade Brown wanted, you’d get rid of all your players and then get them all back. Give that man an A in abnormal psych. Brown reacquired Derrick Coleman, who’s on his best behavior now that he’s on his last, gimpy legs, and tried to bring back Jerry Stackhouse and Larry Hughes. Brown’s latest coup is trading Mutombo, then deciding he’s so short at center, he had to sign Polynice, who has been out of the game for a year. The only question in the improbable Brown-Allen Iverson alliance remains who leaves first.

Prediction: It’s one miracle per team in its Brown era and the 76ers have had theirs.

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ATLANTA HAWKS

2001-02 record: 33-49, 12th.

Offense: 94.0 (19). Defense: 98.3 (25).

Gone: Jacque Vaughn, Toni Kukoc.

Arriving: Glenn Robinson, Darvin Ham, No. 1 pick Dan Dickau.

Outlook: Since acquiring Theo Ratliff, then 27, for Dikembe Mutombo, then listed as 34 although lots of people thought he was closer to 43, Ratliff has played three games while Mutombo played 106. Go figure. Ratliff is over his hip injury, giving the Hawks a good-looking front line with Robinson and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, backed up by Nazr Mohammed and Alan Henderson. The backcourt looks OK with Jason Terry, Ira Newble, Dion Glover and Dickau. However, no matter how good they look on paper recently, they haven’t performed on the floor. Now they’re so confident, they have promised to refund $125 to each season-ticket holder if they don’t make the playoffs.

Prediction: You’ll notice they didn’t say they’d give all the money back.

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CHICAGO BULLS

2001-02 record: 21-61, 15th.

Offense: 89.5 (28). Defense: 98.0 (23).

Gone: Travis Best, Charles Oakley, Kevin Ollie.

Arriving: No. 1 pick Jay Williams, Donyell Marshall, Corie Blount.

Outlook: Williams may as well have arrived from heaven as from Duke, so perfectly does he fill their needs. Pro scouts were off him last season but he’s a big-time talent who can run the point and already has three-point range. This team, however, will rise or fall with last season’s rookies, 7-foot, 230-pound Tyson Chandler and 6-11, 285-pound Eddy Curry. Chandler wowed people with his athleticism last season but still lacks offense. Curry was soft but played tougher in exhibitions, when Celtic announcer Tom Heinsohn said, “In two years, he’ll be the center on the All-Star team.” He meant the East All-Star team, but it was still nice.

Prediction: After 66 wins in four seasons, they’re not quite ready to turn it around but if Chandler and Curry keep coming, look out.

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MIAMI HEAT

2001-02 record: 36-46, 11th.

Offense: 87.2 (29). Defense: 88.7 (1).

Gone: Alonzo Mourning, Kendall Gill.

Arriving: No. 1 pick Caron Butler, Travis Best, Malik Allen.

Outlook: So much for Pat Riley’s time in Miami. Oh, he’s still there? The loss of Mourning leaves a humbled Riley no choice but to begin rebuilding all over again after seven seasons there. A veterans’ coach who didn’t start James Worthy as a rookie, he’s now expected to start Butler along with Allen, a 6-10 free agent whose NBA experience consists of 12 games last season. Riley still has Eddie Jones, who has played well, even if he can’t carry them, and Brian Grant. After starting 5-23 last season, they went on a startling 24-6 run but faded because they weren’t sure what to expect day to day from Mourning. Now he’s gone and they’re on their own.

Prediction: Riley is never more dangerous than when everyone’s writing him off but even in the East, he’s overmatched now.

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NEW YORK KNICKS

2001-02 record: 30-52, 13th.

Offense: 91.6 (24). Defense: 95.6 (14).

Gone: Marcus Camby, Mark Jackson.

Arriving: Antonio McDyess, Michael Doleac.

Outlook: Oops. Having again spurned rebuilding the old-fashioned way -- with young players -- they watched McDyess blow out a knee in the third exhibition game and there went his/their season. Then came President Scott Layden’s farce, fining Latrell Sprewell $250,000 for not disclosing his hand injury, starting a feud that monopolized the tabloid back pages all preseason and succeeded only in making the Knicks look more pathetic. The only questions now are when Sprewell leaves, when their nine-year sellout streak ends, who gets thrown to the mob and whether David Stern, who wouldn’t throw the last lottery so they could get Yao Ming, will rig this one so they can get LeBron James.

Prediction: Sprewell leaves and the streak ends soon. Layden and Coach Don Chaney are both axed. Stern won’t rig the lottery but is tempted.

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CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

2001-02 record: 29-53, 14th.

Offense: 95.3 (16). Defense: 98.6 (26).

Gone: Andre Miller, Bryant Stith, Michael Doleac, Brian Skinner.

Arriving: Darius Miles, No. 1 pick Dajuan Wagner.

Outlook: If some teams, like the Knicks, refused to rebuild, there are the Cavaliers, who are always rebuilding. Not that that’s guaranteed, either. The Cavaliers just traded Miller, their widely admired steal from the 1999 draft, because he was two seasons away from unrestricted free agency. With attendance diving and owner Gordon Gund reportedly looking to sell, the Cavaliers don’t do big contracts any more. Nor did the fact that they had to donate Miller to the Clippers for whatever the Clippers would give them deter the Cavaliers, either. This is a naked ploy to go for the bottom and the most chances in the lottery, hoping to come up with the hotshot prep, LeBron James, who’s from nearby Akron.

Prediction: Miles, who’ll get to take 20 shots a game, happens while they lose 65 games.