Though there has been a fair amount of moving and shaking around the NBA franchises since last season, the essential questions surrounding the NBA will be a similar story to the last few years.

The three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers are making many wonder if they can be beaten.

Every coach has to use the Lakers as a measuring stick when looking at his team to determine if they can be contenders.

But no team has found the right formula in the last three years.

So the next best step is giving your team a chance to beat the Lakers by making the playoffs. Many teams have worked hard in the off-season to put themselves in better positions to win, particularly in the Eastern Conference.

Eastern Conference

The New Jersey Nets, the defending Eastern Conference champions, didn’t do much to beef up their team except pick up veteran center Dikembe Mutombo.

Losing Keith Van Horn, however, may hurt them down the stretch especially if the team has any big injuries.

The Detroit Pistons raised a lot of eyebrows last season, especially with the great play from forward Ben Wallace. Losing Jerry Stackhouse but gaining Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton might be a pretty fair trade-off.

Wallace will have to step up as team leader and rookie Tayshaun Prince from Kentucky will have to put some meat on his bones if he expects to play for the Pistons or in this league.

When the best basketball player ever, Michael Jordan, said his Washington Wizards will be making the playoffs this coming season, many may have laughed it off. But Jordan must have learned something on how to put together a good all-around team from his years in Chicago.

By picking up veterans Jerry Stackhouse, Larry Hughes, Bryon Russell and Charles Oakley and mixing them with rookie Juan Dixon from Maryland, rookie Jared Jeffries from Indiana and the other solid young players on the team, the Wizards have the perfect playoff potion with Jordan running the show.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a big off-season picking up rookies Carlos Boozer from Duke and Dajuan Wagner from Memphis along with snatching up Darius Miles from the Los Angeles Clippers.

A healthy Zydrunas Ilgauskas and solid play from Ricky Davis can help keep the young guys strong. You might see the Cavs have their best year in a while.

Teams like the Cavs and Wizards may be knocking such teams as the Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Hornets from the playoffs this season, as these teams will be struggling for talent as the year drags out.

The Boston Celtics are slightly improved with the addition of Vin Baker, but they will need to play as a team as much as possible and trudge through the East down the stretch.

The Chicago Bulls got rookies Jay Williams of Duke and Lonny Baxter from Maryland and picked up Donyell Marshall. But even with these players and Jalen Rose, the Bulls need the best coaching around and new ownership to restore their winning ways.

Western Conference

The Lakers didn’t need to pick up anyone in particular in the off-season but did manage to acquire rookie Kareem Rush from Missouri. But perhaps a name you will be hearing come playoff time is Tracy Murray, a big-situation veteran who shoots a dagger from downtown.

The Sacramento Kings, the Lakers’ largest competition from last season, grabbed big man Keon Clark in order to attack the Lakers’ weakest position, power forward.

The Dallas Mavericks will continue to challenge right near the top of the West as Dirk Nowitzki is getting better every time he sets foot on a basketball court.

In Houston, if the Rockets’ Juan Dixon stays healthy and number one draft pick Yao Ming plays up to potential, all they will need to be playoff-bound is a third punch, what Glen Rice would have been for them before injuries got the best of him. Someone else, Moochie Norris perhaps, needs to step it up.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are another team missing the third punch. Kevin Garnett and Wally Szczerbiak can’t get it done alone. And Terrell Brandon needs to stay healthy for them now that Billups is gone.

The Los Angeles Clippers have had a lot of talent in the last few years but have been missing a leader in a great point guard. They have that in Andre Miller now, but may be hurting with the loss of Darius Miles.

Quentin Richardson and Elton Brand have to make more big plays for them to advance from the bottom.

So with the NBA finding a new TV home with ESPN, and a few teams doing their best to try and shake things up it should be a fun season.

If the Lakers continue to float through the season and don’t apply themselves until playoff time like they did last year, Shaquille O’Neal and friends may not recover this time.