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TSN Raptors Reporter

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ATLANTA - The balance of power in the NBA has shifted and the Eastern Conference's top two clubs, both of them standing pat at Thursday's trade deadline, believe they're in prime position to take advantage.

For most of the last decade, the blueprint for success in this league was relatively basic in theory, but far more complex in execution, at least for small to mid-market organizations - scoop up a superstar, or two, or three, build around them best you can and reap the benefits.

Miami's LeBron-led Big Three made four-straight Finals appearances, winning two. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol won a pair of championships for the Lakers before them, taking the baton from Boston's title-winning trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

Through all of this, the well-balanced Spurs remained relevant, ultimately winning it all last year, but most teams lacking in high-end talent found it difficult to maintain success or contend at the highest level. The fast-paced Nuggets thrived in the post-'Melo era, even winning 57 games in 2012-13, but failed to make it past the first round. The defensive-minded Grizzlies have found it difficult to translate their regular season dominance into a deep playoff run. 

Then there's the Atlanta Hawks. They've qualified for the playoffs in each of the last seven seasons without the benefit of a superstar player - depending on your opinion of Joe Johnson - and without advancing past the second round.

As the first-place Hawks and second-seeded Raptors opened the stretch run of the season facing off against one another on Friday, it would appear the tides have turned.

"Their team is a model of teams of the future," Dwane Casey said moments before he's team's impressive 105-80 rout of the hosting Hawks. "With the new collective bargaining agreement, there are very few teams that are going to have a team full of superstars. They have a team full of very good players, a lot like us, that have bought in."

Atlanta has taken the league by storm with their balanced attacked on both ends of the court, ranking in the top six in offence and defence. Offensively, they share the ball and spread the floor with versatile shooters. On defence, they pack the paint, switch and get in the passing lanes. All five Hawks starters average between 12.0 and 17.0 points per game.

Toronto's defence has been far less reliable, but their abundance of scorers has kept them among the NBA's top offensive teams all season. On Friday, they beat the Hawks at their own game.

Team A shot 45 per cent from the field, hitting 13 of 30 three-point attempts, recording 27 assists to only 14 turnovers.

Team B was held to 33 per-cent shooting, connecting on just eight of 38 threes with 19 assists and 23 turnovers on the night.

Which is which? Going into the game, most would have assumed Team A was the Hawks and with good reason.

Atlanta had won 12 straight at home, its most in 18 years, and 22 of 25 games overall. They ranked second in assists and led the league in three-point accuracy. In their latest meeting in Toronto last month, the Hawks handed the Raptors a 21-point defeat, matching their most lopsided of the season.

"We lost to them big at home, on our floor - they were able to have a lot of success," said Lou Williams, who led Toronto with 26 points on just 14 shots in 24 minutes Friday. "They're a very accomplished team, but it was just one of those games where we felt like we were embarrassed on our home court, so we wanted to come out and play with that on our minds."

Although the Hawks missed a number of shots they're used to see falling - particularly Kyle Korver, a 51 per cent three-point shooter, who missed nine of his 11 tries from long distance - Toronto's defence was on point all night. They communicated, they rotated, they were active and ran out at Atlanta's shooters, causing chaos in the third quarter when the game was broken open.

As Kyle Lowry struggled through most of the game, it was Williams and DeMar DeRozan that stepped up offensively while others dug in on defence. That's become their calling card, one they share with the Hawks.

"That's how it goes," said DeRozan, who scored 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting. "There's going to be a lot of nights like that. That's why we have the personnel like we do, because any given night any guy, whether it's a bench player or a starter, can carry us."

With all their weapons, both teams are a nightmare to game plan for. Focusing in on one or even two players won't guarantee your victory. While they differ in several facets of the game - no team has executed with the precision of the Hawks over the last two months - they share this quality, something that has assured their success in the midst of the league's transition to parity.

When the new CBA was agreed upon out of the lockout in 2011, coming into effect over a year later, it became more difficult to accumulate multiple stars under max contracts without taking an increasingly punishing tax hit.

The Cavs, struggling to find chemistry with James and their new Big Three early in the season, could very well peak at the right time and go on a run through the playoffs. Oklahoma City, losing Kevin Durant to injury out of the gate, should squeeze into the postseason in the loaded Western Conference and could upset one of the top seeds. But through more than half the campaign, it's been the Hawks, the Raptors, the Warriors and the Grizzlies that have set the tone. Outside of Golden State's Stephen Curry and, perhaps, Memphis' Marc Gasol, there's not a top 10 player among those big four teams.

"I think the league is coming to that, which is a good thing," Casey said. "I think the days of the super-superstars, conglomerate teams, with the new CBA is moving towards team-first, which is great, I think. We're that way and I think a lot of teams are going to be that way. I think Atlanta, Golden State, ourselves are good examples of not having a superstar, but what you can do if you play together and play committed and you buy in to what you're doing. You can get some things done."

BOSH'S UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Less than 24 hours after re-establishing themselves as a threat in the Eastern Conference, the immediate future of the Miami Heat and their best player hung in the balance on Friday.

Heat forward and former Raptors star Chris Bosh could be forced to miss the remainder of this season, pending the results of further testing on his lungs.

Feeling ill over the NBA's All-Star break, the 30-year-old was admitted to a Miami-area hospital on Thursday. Initial tests were inconclusive, but the fear is that he may have blood clots on his lungs, which would keep him out of basketball for the rest of the campaign and beyond.

"It’s a sad thing about Chris," DeMar DeRozan said shortly after hearing the news about his former teammate. "I hope all the best for him. One of these days I’m going to try to reach out to him."

The concerning news comes directly after Miami made a big trade deadline day splash in acquiring point guard Goran Dragic from the Suns. The Heat, a potential first-round matchup for Toronto, are currently in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference, but the addition of Dragic was expected to put them over the top and make them a formidable opponent come playoff time.

Charles Barkley had just called them "a legit contender to win the Eastern Conference," while, locally, Dwane Casey referenced them as the East's most improved club coming out of the deadline.

Bosh signed a contract extension to stay in Miami this past summer. The 10-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion is 13th in the league in scoring, averaging 21.1 points this season.

With Bosh's health in question and Dwyane Wade's status unclear, the Heat have gone from Eastern Conference dark horse to a possible lottery team overnight.