The Associated Press

Whoever coined the phrase "the rich only get richer" could have been talking about the NBA.

Look at what the top five teams in the West did in the offseason:

The Spurs added two starters and a couple of key reserves to a team that won the title. The Lakers added a pair of future Hall of Famers to play alongside Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.

The Mavericks brought in two 20-point scorers, the Timberwolves surrounded Kevin Garnett with plenty of talent, and the Kings got an All-Star center.

"The top teams are still the top teams - San Antonio, L.A., Dallas. Minnesota's real good, Portland's good, Sacramento," new Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "If you start naming them, and you're not one of those coaches, you get scared because you have to play them all."

West success

The West is so good that the ninth-, 10th- and 11th-best teams in the conference could be playoff-caliber teams in the East. Only one Eastern Conference team, the Detroit Pistons, won 50 games last season, whereas six Western Conference teams did.

And while many of the top teams in the West improved by adding better players, their counterparts in the East often made their biggest changes at the top.

Of the eight Eastern teams that went to the playoffs, five - Detroit, Indiana, Milwaukee, New Orleans and Philadelphia - switched head coaches. The Cavaliers, Clippers, Wizards, Rockets and Raptors also have new head coaches.

Glitzy opener

The NBA begins its 57th season Tuesday - a night highlighted by a Lakers matchup with the reloaded Mavericks, the league's highest-scoring team even before they added Antawn Jamison and Antoine Walker to their core of Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and Michael Finley.

Los Angeles, ousted from the second round of the playoffs in six games by the Spurs, signed free agents Karl Malone and Gary Payton to try to bring the title to Los Angeles for the fourth time in five years.

If he wins another championship, Phil Jackson will break a tie with Red Auerbach for most titles as a coach (nine).

"We may struggle early," said Jackson, whose team started last season 11-19 before winning 39 of its final 52 games. "We've got a much tougher start this year than we did last year. I think our opponents are more high-quality opponents."

The Kings-Lakers rivalry has been the NBA's best over the past few seasons, and a new twist has been added through Sacramento's acquisition of center Brad Miller - an All-Star with the Indiana Pacers last season.

It was back in January 2002 that O'Neal threw a roundhouse punch at Miller - then with the Bulls - that fortunately missed its target. It led to a three-game suspension for O'Neal.

What about the East?

Well, the region that produced the utterly unwatchable Pistons-Nets conference final has undergone some changes, too.

Perhaps the biggest move was the addition of Alonzo Mourning to New Jersey, the East team for the past two NBA Finals.

Though they did not improve their biggest weakness - outside shooting - the Nets still have a lineup that includes Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson.

"Obviously, the way we look at it here this year is that we want to win a championship," Nets coach Byron Scott said. "The bar has been raised."

Questions, questions

Can the Spurs win another title with Rasho Nesterovic, Ron Mercer, Robert Horry and Hedo Turkoglu as Tim Duncan's new supporting cast? Can Latrell Sprewell, Sam Cassell, Michael Olowokandi and Mark Madsen help Garnett finally get out of the first round of the playoffs?

Will the early-season absence of injured Chris Webber doom the Kings?

Can Don Nelson harness the power of five potential 20-point scorers and turn them into a cohesive unit?

And what about the East? Can Tracy McGrady lead the NBA in scoring again? Is Cleveland's LeBron James worthy of the hype? Can Scottie Pippen lead the Chicago Bulls back to the playoffs? Are the knees of Vince Carter and Antonio McDyess OK?

The answers start coming Tuesday night.

Must-see games

Every NBA team will play 82 games, each equally important, but some with greater significance. Here are some that should be among the best:

Oct. 28, Mavericks at Lakers: Kobe Bryant's regular-season debut, which Mavs owner Mark Cuban predicted would draw a massive TV audience.

Oct. 29, Cavaliers at Kings: LeBron James' first regular-season game, and Cleveland's first national TV appearance in five years. Is Gerald Wallace the first LeBron-stopper?

Nov. 5, Denver at Cleveland: Matchup of two of the best rookies, the Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony and James.

Nov. 26, Detroit at Philadelphia: Larry Brown returns to the First Union Center, and he should have insight into how to defend Allen Iverson.

Dec. 17, Dallas at Boston: Antoine Walker will want to put on a show in front of Danny Ainge, the man who recently traded him to the Mavericks.

Dec. 23, Minnesota at New York: The very popular Latrell Sprewell returns to Madison Square Garden.

Jan. 8, Houston at New York: Jeff Van Gundy makes his Garden return, putting Yao Ming up against the Knicks' Dikembe Mutombo.

Jan. 24, Lakers at Utah: Karl Malone plays in Salt Lake City as a visitor for the first time. Who will cry first: Malone or Jazz owner Larry Miller?

April 4, Indiana at Detroit: Matchup of teams likely vying for the Central Division lead, which Indiana's Rick Carlisle won the past two years with the Pistons.