UPDATE! supplies you with everything you need to know about the most important Eastern Conference storylines out there. Pay attention. This is where off-season speculation and conjecture end, and basketball begins:

AGENT ZERO
It's troubling to see a budding franchise duke it out from the insides, but that's exactly what's happening in Washington. General Manager Ernie Grunfield and coach Eddie Jordan have long been at odds. Now there's rumblings that Gilbert Arenas is getting on Jordan's bad side. A slow start in a suddenly rejuvenated (somewhat) Eastern Conference could lead to a break down in Wizards organization. With a menacing trio in Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison it seems silly that infighting could derail this teams shot at the playoffs, but that's exactly the direction they're headed. And as for the fantasy ramifications, you have to wonder if anybody other than Jordan can coax such production out of three prime-time players.

LOST IN THE MIX
The induction of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to the Boston Celtics gives the slip-shod Eastern Conference an immediate powerhouse. Even with a weak bench and little depth, the Celtics have become the team to beat. But what about the fantasy fall-out? Who stand to lose out from a fantasy perspective? With K.G. on the inside and Ray Allen spreading the floor, Paul Pierce figures to run wild on offense. Even after a career year, Pierce should benefit most from the Celtics two big-time acquisitions and see a nice boost in assists while limiting turnovers. The real question is Ray Allen, whose role might be reduced to that of a standstill three-point menace. With two balky ankles, he'll be ask to be more of a sharpshooter and less of the versatile offensive threat we've seen from him over his 11 year career. Big drop-offs in rebounding, points and assists can become a quick reality for a guy who posted career numbers last season — even if he did miss 27 games.

HOT HOT HEAT
Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade followed up a surprising 2005 Championship run with a disappointing, injury-plagued 2006 campaign that saw the team barely make the playoffs. Now with Wade expected to miss the first 2-3 weeks with a bum shoulder and lingering knee issues, the Heat will face some serious adversity to open the season. Shaq will be lucky to play 50 games, Antoine Walker has fallen out of favor with coach Pat Riley for his lack of conditioning and though Smush Parker should provide some immediate scoring, he lacks the dynamic playmaking provided by the oft-injured Jason Williams. So who stands to benefit from D-Wade's extended absence? Look for the 27-year-old Udonis Haslem to step up big time and average nearly a double-double for a troublingly anemic offense. As for Wade, knock him down a few spots on your draft cheat; while he'll probably match last season's totals, he's too much of an injury risk to expect the 65-plus games required from a No. 1 draft pick.

NEW IN NEW YORK
The Knicks have a logjam of talent at the forward positions and the acquisition of Zach Randolph only makes this worse. How will Eddy Curry and Randolph, two ball hungry, turnover prone players, share the ball on the block? Neither player is an exceptional passer and the Knicks lack a pure shooter to play a strictly inside-out offense — Jamal Crawford is erratic at best and Quentin Richardson is better posting up smaller defenders. Curry will probably be left unhappy with his amount of touches, especially as he battles a shoulder tear; his game is less polished and he's a worse free-throw shooter, critical during the games waning moments. Really, the only safe fantasy pick is David Lee, who is both a high-percentage monster and rebounding fiend. That being said, Randolph might be the only real go-to guy on the Knicks and a potential candidate for a sleeper season.

100 MILLION DOLLAR MAN
On paper it's a thing of beauty: big man Dwight Howard dominates on the block while the versatile Lewis wreaks havoc from the perimeter. On the court it could be a whole different story. Lewis will no longer have his power-scoring buddy Ray Allen to draw attention away and will become the main focus of opposing defenses. Let's not kid outselves, Howard is a long way from turning into a legitimate offensive threat. And those tasty 6.6 rebounds per game fantasy owners drooled over last season could take a significant dip in the Magic's more conventional inside-out offense. Lewis is still a solid second-rounder, but his arrival in Orlando benefits the bit players a bit more than the team itself. Target Trevor Ariza and Hedo Turkoglu in later rounds; they will see definite court time and less opposition from defenses.

Lamberti is UPDATE! Editor in Chief.