How The Bucks Compare: An Early Eastern Conference Primer

May 26, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert celebrates with the Eastern Conference trophy after the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve been doing a lot of talking about the Milwaukee Bucks, and trying to project just how they might fare in the NBA’s Eastern Conference in this upcoming season. And as much as we all hope that the team can shape its own destiny, there are going to be other factors that will come into play.

14 of them to be specific.

I am, of course, talking about the rest of the Eastern Conference teams who are going to be contending with the Bucks for those eight precious playoff spots.

We all know about the moves the Bucks have made this offseason, but what have their rivals done?

How do they match up with Milwaukee?

Let’s look a little closer and start to answer these questions and much more with our Eastern Conference primer.

Next: Last Year's Benchmark