This is a thread devoted to the massive improvement that the Eastern conference has made since MJ retired.
I'm watching the Pistons vs the Magic from the 2003 playoffs and I don't know the respective records but Orlando is fielding Declerc, Garrity, Armstrong, and Gooden around Tmac - truly a disgusting team if ever there was one. The Pistons were very good even then (what a remarkable franchise) but with their experience (and Sheed) I think them better now.
It's taken a long time for the East to regain a competitive stature, regardless of a couple of titles, but I think the East, as a playoff group anyway, are ready to take on the Western powers on a night by night basis.
Detroit has been doing it for a long time and Boston are the reigning champs. The Magic ran up a huge season with a young team, having the best big center in the game. The Raps might have the best frontcourt in the L and can go toe to toe with anyone. The Sixers are absolutely sick on paper and have proven it on the court since the Answer left town. Lebron is arguably the best player in the universe and the East is host to many other talent laden teams with the potential to do serious damage.
And man T-mac had some horrible teams to carry. The Rockets are going to be a beast in the West next season.
:smoothcriminal:
When did the Raptors add an All-Star caliber small forward ?
The East overall is still a lot worse, some teams have added talent for the future, but that's not going to pay off immediately. It seems like there is always the same talk before the season how the East is catching up, once again I don't see it.
I'd say the East is just as good as the West as far as champions go, but the West is overall better.
The East has less quantity of good teams but more quality champions. The last 6 championships have gone Spurs-Pistons-Spurs-Heat-Spurs-Celtics - 3 West are all the San Antonio Spurs, 3 East are 3 different teams.
This is the neverending see-saw of power. The WEST sucked mostly during the 90's Chicago Bulls runs. The Eastern Conference was the better conference, and players started heading out West to be able to avoid Jordan and the Bulls. The Western teams then were set to dominate the 2000's and the East is experiencing the rebuilding mode after the 90's.
Now you have players going to the EAST conference because it's easier to make the playoffs and compete. Same thing that happened in the 90's with the WEST during the Bulls years.
Once this generation passes, Kobe retires, Duncan retires, etc... then you will have the Eastern conference dominating (LeBron, Dwight, Wade, etc..) while the West goes back to rebuild mode.
The East is going to be a lot more competitive than they were last season. Boston improved a lot and furthered the gap between them and the rest of the league. Philadelphia, a 7th seed last season, is now a contender and top 5 team in the league. Detroit, who had the second best record in the league, is essentially the same. Miami, who had the worst record in the league, will win their division. Orlando, who had a great season, got a legit starter at SG this season, their biggest weakness. Cleveland actually has a legit scoring option who can create his own shot now that they have Mo Williams. Washington will have a healthy Gilbert this season. Toronto added a former All-Star big man and improved their D and rebounding a lot, plus Calderon is gonna be running the show.
The last four spots are gonna be competitive as hell, and the eighth seed is gonna be well over .500. The East won't be quite good as the West this season, but they'll be pretty damn close.
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2008-2009 Celtics
PG- Rajon Rondo, Stephon Marbury, Gabe Pruitt
SG- Ray Allen, Eddie House, J.R. Giddens
SF- Paul Pierce, Tony Allen, Bill Walker
PF- Kevin Garnett, Mikki Moore,Leon Powe
C- Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, Brian Scalabrine
For the last decade, the top 2 - 3 teams in the East have been able to compete with the best teams in the West. The difference is, and has been, in the 4 - 10 positions. The West has traditionally been VERY strong in these positions and the East has been very week.
You have to go back all the way to 1996-97 to find a Western Conference team that made the play-offs with a loosing record. The East has one or two sub-.500 teams in the play-offs almost every year.
Over the last decade, it's not uncommon for teams in the East to make the play-offs with 35 or 36 wins. Over the same time period, it's not uncommon for teams in the West with 44, 45 or 46 wins to miss the play-offs.
Last year, the Warriors won 48 games, but missed the play-offs in the West. If they had played in the East they would have not only made the play-offs, they would have had home court advantage in the first round.
So, the difference is, and has been, the depth of good teams in the West vs. the East. Some of the 4 - 8 teams in the East look to be better in 2008-09, but the West will still be superior. I think we're still several years away from the time when the 8th seed in the East has a better record than the 8th seed in the West. Keep in mind, last years' 10th seed in the West had the same record as the 6th seed in the East. And the 11th best team in the West would have made the play-offs in the East. So, while the East may be a little more competitive this season, they still have a long way to go. And, while some teams in the West will be down (Nuggets and Warriors), other will be better (Blazers, Clippers). While the balance of power may shift very slightly to the East. it's still clearly in the West for the foreseeable future.
BNM
Last edited by Boob-No-More : 09-07-2008 at 11:46 AM.
The east is DEFINITLEY much better this year. It will be much more competitive and i'm really looking forward to watching it. If Wade is fully healthy and Miami continues to improve with their team (that is loads better), the 1-8 in the east is going to be very strong.
But, like others said, the West is still stronger because of the depth. The east isn't as top heavy as last year though. But the West has a real legit 1-11 (Blazers, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers i put at 8-11 in no specific order).
Should be interesting. I think the NBA as a whole is going to be extremely competitive next year. It seems like the talent is much more spread out and balanced between the East and West. Should be a great season.
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PG - Steve Blake | Jerryd Bayless | Sergio Rodriguez
SG - Brandon Roy | Rudy Fernandez
SF - Martell Webster | Travis Outlaw | Nicolas Batum
PF - LaMarcus Aldridge | Channing Frye | Ike Diogu
C - Greg Oden | Joel Pryzbilla | Raef LaFrentz
Quote:
"They said NBA players couldn't play well together in the Olympics. Well, it's not about the names on the back (of our jerseys), it's about the 3 letters on the front."
The East is going to be a lot more competitive than they were last season. Boston improved a lot and furthered the gap between them and the rest of the league. Philadelphia, a 7th seed last season, is now a contender and top 5 team in the league. Detroit, who had the second best record in the league, is essentially the same. Miami, who had the worst record in the league, will win their division. Orlando, who had a great season, got a legit starter at SG this season, their biggest weakness. Cleveland actually has a legit scoring option who can create his own shot now that they have Mo Williams. Washington will have a healthy Gilbert this season. Toronto added a former All-Star big man and improved their D and rebounding a lot, plus Calderon is gonna be running the show.
The last four spots are gonna be competitive as hell, and the eighth seed is gonna be well over .500. The East won't be quite good as the West this season, but they'll be pretty damn close.
How has Boston improved this summer ? They have lost James Posey. Also, how is Philly now a Top 5 team in the league ? They still have a lot of holes. I'm also not sure why you think Miami will win 50 games, they will need that to win their division.
They didn't. They added a All-Star PF/C. At small forward they've got one of the most athletic roleplayers in the league though.
Jermaine O'Neal hasn't played at an All-Star level for at least two years, why should he now ? He might be more motivated than in Indy, but that's not going to make him healty either.
Jermaine O'Neal hasn't played at an All-Star level for at least two years, why should he now ? He might be more motivated than in Indy, but that's not going to make him healty either.
do a little research on the amount time he's had to rehab (writing off last season) and the work he's put in this summer in vegas to get back to allstar form. he's good to go and looking to dominate. you really think BC would have given up so much if he didn't have a lot of confidence that JO is healthy?
(Blazers, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers i put at 8-11 in no specific order).
you don't have to put them in no specific order. the blazers are clearly the best of those 4 teams. had the nuggets not given away camby, the warriors not lost baron and had the injury to ellis, and the clippers not lost brand and maggette(the additions of baron and camby may offset those losses, but keeping brand and maggette without those additions wouldn't have made them a playoff team anyway) then i could understand but all of those things happened.
They didn't. They added a All-Star PF/C. At small forward they've got one of the most athletic roleplayers in the league though.
A role player who is one of the lowest scoring starting small forwards in the entire league hardly qualifies your front court as:
"The Raps might have the best frontcourt in the L"
Not even close. I like Moon's energy, but he has no handle and can't dribble penetrate to save his life. He was 15th on his own team in PTS/36 minutes.
It is also yet to be seen if Jermaine O'Neal can return to his pre-injury all-star form. I hope he can, but it's not a given. Even if he is, the Raps, with Moon at small forward aren't close to the best front court in the league. IF Jermaine is healthy and playing like he did two years ago, they MIGHT be top 10 (even that's debatable), but best in the league? No way. With Moon's lack of offense, they give up 15 - 20 points at the SF spot every time they play Cleveland, Denver, Washington, Boston, etc. and 10+ points even when they play teams with 2nd tier small forwards. You can't be that weak offensively at the SF spot and call yourself the best front court in the entire league.
The team that crushed you in the 1st round is just one of several that has an obviously superior front court. And, even if Jermaine is healthy, at this point in his career, he's no "Superman". Just look at all the teams that had better regular season records that you did (all 15 team of them) and all of the teams that went further than you in the play-offs (all 8 of them) and you can see many better front courts. Even other 1st round losers like Atlanta and now Philadelphia, have arguably better front courts - and those teams are getting better - as are teams like Portland, who didn't even make the play-offs last year. I'm not saying ALL those teams have better front courts than the Raptors, but many of them do and several more have the potential to be.
How far the East has come
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