East vs. West

[Joe Vancil]

Got to post this quick, because it may not stay true much longer:

CONSIDER: 

Mathematically, the worst team in the league is still in the playoff hunt.  Miami could go 18-0, giving them 29 wins and passing up New Jersey's 28.  Every team in the East is still in the playoff chase.

However, in the West, Minnesota, Memphis, Seattle, and the 21-44 LA Clippers have all been eliminated.  A mere 6.5 games stands between the Clippers and a playoff spot in the East, whereas they are eliminated in the West.  Milwaukee, Charlotte, and Indiana still have the possibility of home court advantage in the first round in the East.  In the West, they could, by winning all of their games, just edge Golden State for the 8th spot.

Mathematically, the Cavaliers, Magic, and Pistons can still theoretically catch or pass Boston for the top spot.  Every playoff team in the West as well as Denver is still mathematically in the race for the top record in the league.

The number 9 record in the West is good for home court in the First Round in the East.  The #11 record in the West makes the playoffs in the East.

Three Eastern Conference teams have .500 or better road records.  6 from the West do.  4 teams in the East have clinched winning records at home.  10 teams in the West have.

Has anyone EVER seen a tighter playoff race than the one in the West, or such a big disparity between the competitiveness of the conferences?

[Randy]

It's incredible (at least for the Western Conference) -- first round WC playoff series have the potential to be as exciting as the NBA Finals.  In the East, the first round will be snoozers.

I'm looking forward to first round playoffs -- I sure hope that LA and NO can get healthy by then -- it will set up some great basketball this year -- far better than we have seen in years (I don't EVER remember any conference being so tight from 1 to 8.

[rickortreat]

One of those snoozer teams knocked off the Jazz!

Maybe these western teams aren't so hot after all, they just have had weak schedules until now.  Now, they have to play each other and that will bring some of them down in percentage.

With the records so tight, these games will separate the real teams from the pretenders.  Who knows where LA will be in 4 weeks? SA?  Utah? Denver?

The Sixers are now only 5 games behind Cleveland for the 4th spot in the EC.  Two games from 5th, One game from 6th.

Only the 8th spot will be sub .500 in the East, and they will be sacrificed to Boston.

[Randy]

Rick,

Sometime you should sit back and read your posts -- okay, so the Nets beat the Jazz -- does that mean the Nets can take the Jazz in a series?  If that's true, you better be glad that Minnesota isn't playing the Sixers in a series, because they killed the Sixers by 16 points (and that's a team with a .231 average -- impressive, huh?).

I hope you are still around this board after the playoffs -- you are going to look mighty silly if you keep trying to prop how good the East is.

[rickortreat]

In the first place, an East Team will win the Championship.

Beyond that, the East isn't nearly as bad as you make it out to be, as the recent wins by East teams over their Western counterparts underlines.

The Spurs don't look nearly as impressive after losses to Detroit and Phila. That doesn't mean either team would beat them in a series, but it does mean they are competitive with the Spurs.

The West just has a few more good teams, but there are two in the East that are better than all of them.

Watch what happens this week when Boston faces the Spurs, Houston, Dallas and NO.

[Randy]

Well, Rick, I know we have your excellent basketball assessment but the fact is that the Jazz have already knocked off Boston and Detroit -- basically both within the last two weeks.  Since, according to you, the last 10 or 20 games are all that matters, I guess your assessment doesn't add up.

You rate the Sixers way too high -- just as you do the Eastern Conference. 

[Laker Fan]

You're right Rick, the East isn't as bad as we make them out to be, they're worse.

Too bad the playoffs aren't one game series, Philly might have a chance to get to the Conference Finals!

[WayOutWest]

Maybe these western teams aren't so hot after all, they just have had weak schedules until now.  Now, they have to play each other and that will bring some of them down in percentage.

LOL.  You are contradicting yourself with those two sentences.  You probably don't even realize it.

[Derek Bodner]

rick is the most "what have you done for me lately" person I've ever seen.

[westkoast]

As crazy as the 'a eastern conference team will win the championship' talk sounds at first after thinking about it....I wouldn't be suprised.  The WC teams are going to just beat the living crap out of each other in each round of the playoffs.  By the time any WC team gets to the finals they are going to be badly beat up.  Whereas the Celtics really only have to worry about the Pistons and vice versa.

[Lurker]

As crazy as the 'a eastern conference team will win the championship' talk sounds at first after thinking about it....I wouldn't be suprised.  The WC teams are going to just beat the living crap out of each other in each round of the playoffs.  By the time any WC team gets to the finals they are going to be badly beat up.  Whereas the Celtics really only have to worry about the Pistons and vice versa.

I agree...the idea that the East will win isn't too far fetched.  But it has more to do with energy expended to get there than strength of team.  Whereas the western teams will be fighting right down to the wire then face 3 very competitive series to get to the finals; the east leaders will be able to rest their stars more in the last week or two of the season then face maybe 2 tough series.

[rickortreat]

The only hurdle for the East teams will be Boston and Detroit going at it.  That will be as punishing a series as any team out West will face, and it will be the last series before the Finals.

They may not even have an edge in terms of rest.  Boston may dispatch the teams it's matched up against with sweeps, but they will have to wait for Detroit to win their series before they can play.

The real question is, "IF Boston was in the WC, could it get though that gauntlet of teams to get to the finals.

We'll get a partial answer this week as Boston does Texas.

[westkoast]

This about sums up how tough the Western Conference is this year....

If everything was to stay in place how it is right now...last year's Western Conference Finals is not just a first round match up.

[WayOutWest]

IMO the Celtics deserved the preseason "favorite" and they have done everything to keep that title.  IMO only the Spurs and Pistons can tuely challenge them and the Jazz would be very tough.  A healthy Lakers team has a shot as well but the Lakers haven't been healthy in years so I'm not expecting that to change.

[Reality]

IMO the Celtics deserved the preseason "favorite" and they have done everything to keep that title.  IMO only the Spurs and Pistons can tuely challenge them and the Jazz would be very tough.  A healthy Lakers team has a shot as well but the Lakers haven't been healthy in years so I'm not expecting that to change.

Really?  Because you picked the Suns over the Celtics.
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