The Western Conference has been regarded as the NBA’s power conference pretty much since Michael Jordan retired after the Chicago Bulls’ sixth championship in 1998.
Next season, at last, should force a rethink.
West teams have won 15 of the league’s 23 championships since Jordan’s final Chicago crown, but the Miami Heat and the Bulls have loaded up in the first 48 hours of free agency. The Milwaukee Bucks are the NBA’s reigning champions and the star-laden Brooklyn Nets have to be healthier (and thus better) next season.
Knee injuries that will sideline the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard and the Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray for most or all of the season certainly factor into the debate, but the East’s top eight figures to be the tougher to crack than the West’s for the first time in ages.
Agree? Disagree? Let’s discuss. Is the East finally about to shed its Leastern Conference label?
MarkieMarc … I believe Ime Udoka will be a difference maker for Boston. They have talent but never made their opponents “feel” them. I think that will be a big improvement for them moving forward.
So 7, 8, and 9 in the West last year were the Lakers, GS, and Memphis. 5 and 6 were the Mavericks. I don’t see that the bottom 2 or 3 in the East can crack that
Massive Lakers fan here but watching the team casting a sequel to Uncle Drew this week has been intriguing and not sure where they are headed. The East definitely has some strong depth at this stage of FA and the rosters of Chicago and Heat has been crazy to watch. Hopefully the Knicks can lock down someone else to lead them beyond Randle and the Celtics can work out how to rebuild after a disappointing last season. Depending on what the Nets get back for Dinwiddie, and player health, they would have to be my favourites going into this season but I am really excited to watch the Heat and Bulls and see if their recent moves can translate towards a championship run
Gotta go east for this year too much health questions in the west(clippers Denver suns Lakers warriors) and the two best NBA teams are in the east(bucks nets)
I hope you're right, Steiny Mo. I feel like the Eastern conference has teased us with this 4-5 times since MJ, but by December the whole notion is a distant memory. I like what John said about depth. My sense is that if the 7th and 8th seeds are considerably better in the west than in the east, it's going to be hard to say the east is back / not still the leastern conference. I'm taking an "I'll believe it when I see it approach" to this one
Are we discussing title only, or overall strength of playoff teams (1-8?) I think the West is likely deeper in "good" teams (West 8 better than East 8, etc.), but they should be pretty even as far as legitimate title contenders.
I think for this upcoming season, yes, the East is probably better. More serious championship contenders (Nets, Bucks, Heat, Sixers) and some solid teams in the middle (Hawks, Celtics, Pacers, Knicks, Hornets, etc.). Though I would probably still take the West if Kawhi & Murray were healthy.
Rohan didnt even mention Chicago. It will be fascinating to watch them try to gel with Lonzo, LaVine, Vuc, and Derozen. If they get growth from Coby White, Pat Williams, Markkanen [if they keep him] and anyone else on their team...they may be giving the league fits after a few weeks of playing together.
In the west, I wouldnt be so quick to count out the Clippers even without Leonard. They got to the WCF without him, and were a couple PG13 Free Throws away from making that a much closer series. Look for Reggie to be the starter all year. As well, They just need to get a bit more from Terrance Mann, Kennard; a healthy Serge and Zubac; and bring back Boogie for the whole year.
Plus I think there are few teams at the top of the league poised to reap more benefits from their rookies than the Clippers. Keon is an athletic freak of nature who plays defense. I cant wait to see him slash to the basket for some nasty poster dunks, and drop his mid range game on teams that are so focused on the Clippers 3 ball. If he adds 10-15lbs and gets the 3 ball going... look out league. As well, They finally got a legit point guard in Preston. 7/3 assist to turn over, and %40 from 3. He also plays D. Those two should take a lot of pressure of the Clippers other guys. Especially on the 2nd unit, but look for them to contribute with some of the starters early in the season.
Plus BJ Boston should be healed from the wrist and hopefully has his head together better after watching his teammate die in front of him. That guy was preseason projected to go top 5 in this draft. Of course he needs another 20lbs to play the 3, but if he gets his head together and his shot going he should be be fine as a 2 for this season.
Agreed. I’m a Celtics fan so I’m biased, but I think a fully healthy Celtics team will end up being a much better team than many league observers are predicting now, even without adding big names. It depends on Tatum becoming an first-team All-NBA level player next year, but I don’t think that’s out of the question.
I’ll go out on a limb and say we finish back ahead of New York and Atlanta, battling with Philly and Miami for the third/fourth/fifth spots. If the injury breaks go our way, no reason we can’t end up back in the conference finals.
The Bulls have had a very successful and rather surprising few days. They should finally be a fun team to watch and root for.
Glad to see the Nets sign Patty Mills.....a bit concerning about the center spot tho perhaps they are counting on yet another move with Dinwiddie going to Washington and perhaps they pry away another big. Hopefully they can stay healthy and make a serious run. I have waited almost 20 years for the Nets to come back to the NBA finals.
In any regard yes the East seems to be back with some exciting teams of course as you say including Miami and I think Toronto will be surprisingly competitive. And Philly if they stay healthy which is a big if.
There will be no shortage of wait-and-see when it comes to how the players actually fit, but the Bulls have been synonymous for years with inaction. It's a welcome sight to see Chicago so aggressive.
I lived in Chicago during some of the Jordan years so it is nice to see the management finally spend some money and field a team than can generate some excitement
I agree, friend! https://substack.com/
MarkieMarc … I believe Ime Udoka will be a difference maker for Boston. They have talent but never made their opponents “feel” them. I think that will be a big improvement for them moving forward.
So 7, 8, and 9 in the West last year were the Lakers, GS, and Memphis. 5 and 6 were the Mavericks. I don’t see that the bottom 2 or 3 in the East can crack that
Massive Lakers fan here but watching the team casting a sequel to Uncle Drew this week has been intriguing and not sure where they are headed. The East definitely has some strong depth at this stage of FA and the rosters of Chicago and Heat has been crazy to watch. Hopefully the Knicks can lock down someone else to lead them beyond Randle and the Celtics can work out how to rebuild after a disappointing last season. Depending on what the Nets get back for Dinwiddie, and player health, they would have to be my favourites going into this season but I am really excited to watch the Heat and Bulls and see if their recent moves can translate towards a championship run
Gotta go east for this year too much health questions in the west(clippers Denver suns Lakers warriors) and the two best NBA teams are in the east(bucks nets)
Feels like the East has been trending upwards for a while now. That coincides with the front offices getting much more analytical than prior regimes.
If Dame or Beal head to Philly this season, I think they are right there being equal!
The top of the East has been trending up.
I hope you're right, Steiny Mo. I feel like the Eastern conference has teased us with this 4-5 times since MJ, but by December the whole notion is a distant memory. I like what John said about depth. My sense is that if the 7th and 8th seeds are considerably better in the west than in the east, it's going to be hard to say the east is back / not still the leastern conference. I'm taking an "I'll believe it when I see it approach" to this one
Justified approach. The West has had a better record in interconference games for 21 of the last 22 seasons.
Are we discussing title only, or overall strength of playoff teams (1-8?) I think the West is likely deeper in "good" teams (West 8 better than East 8, etc.), but they should be pretty even as far as legitimate title contenders.
Overall strength. I've never thought one great team, even if it wins the championship, should be equated with how we look at the whole conference.
I think for this upcoming season, yes, the East is probably better. More serious championship contenders (Nets, Bucks, Heat, Sixers) and some solid teams in the middle (Hawks, Celtics, Pacers, Knicks, Hornets, etc.). Though I would probably still take the West if Kawhi & Murray were healthy.
Right. This is the rub. Would this argument hold if Leonard and Murray could play?
Rohan didnt even mention Chicago. It will be fascinating to watch them try to gel with Lonzo, LaVine, Vuc, and Derozen. If they get growth from Coby White, Pat Williams, Markkanen [if they keep him] and anyone else on their team...they may be giving the league fits after a few weeks of playing together.
In the west, I wouldnt be so quick to count out the Clippers even without Leonard. They got to the WCF without him, and were a couple PG13 Free Throws away from making that a much closer series. Look for Reggie to be the starter all year. As well, They just need to get a bit more from Terrance Mann, Kennard; a healthy Serge and Zubac; and bring back Boogie for the whole year.
Plus I think there are few teams at the top of the league poised to reap more benefits from their rookies than the Clippers. Keon is an athletic freak of nature who plays defense. I cant wait to see him slash to the basket for some nasty poster dunks, and drop his mid range game on teams that are so focused on the Clippers 3 ball. If he adds 10-15lbs and gets the 3 ball going... look out league. As well, They finally got a legit point guard in Preston. 7/3 assist to turn over, and %40 from 3. He also plays D. Those two should take a lot of pressure of the Clippers other guys. Especially on the 2nd unit, but look for them to contribute with some of the starters early in the season.
Plus BJ Boston should be healed from the wrist and hopefully has his head together better after watching his teammate die in front of him. That guy was preseason projected to go top 5 in this draft. Of course he needs another 20lbs to play the 3, but if he gets his head together and his shot going he should be be fine as a 2 for this season.
That's my $.02
Agreed. I’m a Celtics fan so I’m biased, but I think a fully healthy Celtics team will end up being a much better team than many league observers are predicting now, even without adding big names. It depends on Tatum becoming an first-team All-NBA level player next year, but I don’t think that’s out of the question.
So where do the Celtics finish? They will be picked to land outside the top four.
I’ll go out on a limb and say we finish back ahead of New York and Atlanta, battling with Philly and Miami for the third/fourth/fifth spots. If the injury breaks go our way, no reason we can’t end up back in the conference finals.
But even short of that, when healthy, our squad will be a total pain in the ass to play against.
The Bulls have had a very successful and rather surprising few days. They should finally be a fun team to watch and root for.
Glad to see the Nets sign Patty Mills.....a bit concerning about the center spot tho perhaps they are counting on yet another move with Dinwiddie going to Washington and perhaps they pry away another big. Hopefully they can stay healthy and make a serious run. I have waited almost 20 years for the Nets to come back to the NBA finals.
In any regard yes the East seems to be back with some exciting teams of course as you say including Miami and I think Toronto will be surprisingly competitive. And Philly if they stay healthy which is a big if.
There will be no shortage of wait-and-see when it comes to how the players actually fit, but the Bulls have been synonymous for years with inaction. It's a welcome sight to see Chicago so aggressive.
I lived in Chicago during some of the Jordan years so it is nice to see the management finally spend some money and field a team than can generate some excitement