Dwyane Wade (photo. Chad Griffith)

In the same conference call earlier today during which Doug Collins broke down the Western Conference, TNT analyst Reggie Miller previewed the East. Along with Collins and Marv Albert, Reggie believes the East is back, and that we’re in the middle of a power shift in the League. Reggie’s observations on the East, among other things:

ATLANTIC DIVISION
* “You have to start at the top with the world champion Boston Celtics. Losing James Posey would be my only question mark. Who’s gonna be that guy coming off the bench, providing defense and big shots for the C’s?”

* With Elton Brand in Philly, “Now you have a player who, in the closing moments, you can throw the ball into and he can make big plays.”

* Toronto has “twin towers” in Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Bosh. “The question is, how many games will they play?”

* “New Jersey is a brand new team. Will Vince finally be able to lead this team on his own?”

* Reggie asked if the Knicks are ready to run, especially Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry. And, “obviously you have drama with Stephon Marbury.”

CENTRAL DIVISION
* “My MVP this year is LeBron James. You can just see his maturation process.” Reggie also said Mo Williams was a “huge” pickup.

* He wondered if Michael Curry can follow Flip Saunders’ act, if he’s ready to handle the pressure. “If Rasheed shows up, they could make the conference finals again.”

* The Bucks and Pacers are two of Reggie’s sleeper teams. Last year was a “breakout year” for Mike Dunleavy Jr.

* “Is Derrick Rose ready to lead the Bulls?”

SOUTHEAST DIVISION
* Orlando is his second-best team in the East. And he referred to Dwight Howard as “Superman,” not “Dwight Howard.”

* Reggie wondered if the Hawks were a fluke last year. “There’s already rumblings that Josh Smith and Mike Woodson are at odds with each other.”

* “I hear Larry Brown wants to trade everyone except Jared Dudley, so everything’s going normal in Charlotte.”

* “I don’t think the Wizards make the playoffs,” since they’re missing Gilbert Arenas until December or January and with Brendan Haywood out.

* Michael Beasley should have been the No. 1 pick and “seems to be picking it up pretty good.” If D-Wade plays 70-75 games, “the Heat possibly sneak into the playoffs.”

THE WEST
* Reggie picked the Rockets to win the West, but it depends on, “Which Ron Artest is gonna show up? The one who will do anything to win, who’s all about winning, or the one where if anything triggers him, he’s gonna be in left field. I’ve seen both sides of Ron. If the Good Ron shows up, they can be one of the best teams out there. They have enough scoring, and with him and Shane Battier, you’ve got two players you can put on Kobe to shut him down.”

* On another of his former teammates, Stephen Jackson being The Man (temporarily) for the Warriors: “Stephen, as well as Al Harrington, they’re gonna have to plaay key roles for a young Golden State team. We all know that, at times, Stephen can wear his emotions on his sleeve. But what I always tell people about Ron and Stephen, while they are guys that sometimes let their emotions get the best of them, if you want to go into a foxhole, there’s not two guys who wanna win more than Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson. Sometimes their anger gets misplaced, but all they wanna do is win. Stephen is gonna have to show that leadership without Monta Ellis. They’ll take their lumps early and look for him to be that guy — and I’m sure you’re gonna be scratching your head — who’s a calming influence.”

* He thinks Carmelo learned something from hanging with Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade over the summer and that ‘Melo is ready to be the leader Denver needs. But Reggie also added, “You can see the drain on [George Karl's] face.”

RECRUITING
* Reggie also shared a story about how when he was in high school, none other than Doug Collins tried to recruit him to Arizona State. He said Collins (”with that Jheri curl”) took him to a Carl’s Jr. burger joint to make his pitch. Marv Albert quipped, “Doug, you should have taken him to In-and-Out Burger.”