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The Eastern Conference definitely isn’t as loaded top to bottom as the west, but the current NBA champion resides in Boston and has a solid window to add another ring in the next year or two. Now that Paul George is in Philly to play alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, and after the Knicks got Mikal Bridges from the Nets (albeit for a surfeit of future picks) to pair alongside Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and their terrier-like role players, there is enormous pressure on two Eastern Conference mainstays to keep up: Milwaukee and Miami.

The Bucks pushed all their chips in on getting Damian Lillard just before the start of training camp last season, but didn’t get the immediate results they’d hoped. They had to trade the ultimate glue guy in Jrue Holiday to get Lillard from the Blazers, only to see Portland flip Holiday to the Celtics days later. Holiday’s soldering skills were just as impactful in Boston as they’d been in Milwaukee in helping the Cs hang Banner 18. Meanwhile, the Bucks fired first-year head coach Adrian Griffin despite his getting his team off to a 30-11 record, and rousted Doc Rivers from the ESPN booth to step in as coach. With Giannis Antetokounmpo injured late in the season, the Bucks were beaten by Indiana in six games, the second straight season Milwaukee went out in the first round.

Miami didn’t fare any better in the postseason, needing a historic night on 3s in Game 2 of its first-round series with Boston to avoid being swept, with the Heat’s playoff lodestar, Jimmy Butler, on the sidelines after spraining his MCL in the Play-In round.

Both the Bucks and Heat face significant challenges to dramatically improving their rosters this summer. The Bucks’ first-round picks from 2025 to 2027 are not in their control due to the Holiday trade in 2021 – an unprotected first to New Orleans in ’27, and a pick swap with the Pels in ’26. (Milwaukee sent its ’25 first to the Pels, too, in the Holiday trade, but that first has been flipped a couple of times, and now belongs to the Nets) Miami has held onto slightly more draft stock, but not much more. And the Bucks, currently, face a steep luxury tax bill next season – more than $21 million, per Spotrac, based on current estimates.

Nor do Milwaukee or Miami have many players that could bring back significant roster upgrades. Milwaukee will need one or more of its young role players like MarJon Beauchamp, A.J. Green or Andre Jackson to make a big jump next season behind Giannis, Dame and Khris Middleton. Miami’s core of Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Butler can still be formidable, and the Heat still has a solid supporting cast with Terry Rozier, Jaime Jaquez, Jr., Kevin Love and others. But the Heat needs to get Butler to the playoff line healthy.

Butler opted in for next season, taking the pressure off of Miami internally to address his immediate future. But Pat Riley, in his post-playoffs news conference with local reporters, was non-committal on an extension for Butler. And while Riley praised during much of his remarks, he had strong words for Butler for saying on social media that if he had been healthy, the Heat would have beaten either the Celtics or Knicks in the playoffs.

“If you’re not on the court playing against Boston or on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut on the criticism of those teams,” Riley said.

The Heat are still ….the Heat, with Erik Spoelstra’s chops as strong as ever, and internal development always likely. But Butler is 34, and there were uncomfortable moments between him and the organization last season. Giannis will turn 30 next season; Lillard is 33. It’s not too late for any of the three to write another memorable act in their already-sterling careers.

But the East is getting tougher at the top. The Celtics are the reigning kings; the Knicks and Sixers are going for it now; Indiana just made the East finals; Orlando is loading up. Time is not on Milwaukee’s or Miami’s side.