Back in the 1990s, the Eastern Conference was filled with teams that were ready to dominate. It is a fact that seven of the 10 championship winning teams came from the East during the decade, with the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls winning six of those.
The competition was tough then. Michael Jordan had to deal with it, but emerged victorious most of the times. The Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks and Orlando Magic were above average teams, too. But they had to exit the playoffs early because they were witnesses to his “Airness” greatness.
Now enter the new millennium. Things have changed and the power has clearly shifted to the other side of the United States.
Since 2000, 13 of the last 19 NBA titleholders were from the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, and Golden State Warriors all became multiple championship winning teams. It is a narrow road just to get into the playoffs recently in that conference. Teams with respectable records end up packing for home early because they lost the race for the 8th seed.
The 2007-08 Golden State Warriors and the 2008-09 Phoenix Suns were edged out in the race for 8th the final days of the regular season. They possessed competitive win-loss records with 48-34 and 46-36, respectively. The 2009-10 Oklahoma City Thunder, led by the superstar duo of Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook only settled for 8th, despite the fact that they went 50-32 for the season.
All of the above shows how stacked the West has been.
The East meanwhile, were the opposites. Nine Eastern Conference teams qualified for the playoffs despite having losing records since 2000. The worst of those were the 2003-04 Boston Celtics who earned the 8th and final spot.
LeBron James was a dominating force in the East. He had led his team that he plays for eight straight times in the Finals. King James developed as the player everyone envisioned him to be. As a result, competition in the East was quickly swallowed by him. Teams that they faced in the playoffs were witnesses to his greatness.
James gave Miami two more titles and Cleveland their lone trophy since 1948. He rightfully earned the “King James” moniker with his ability to dominate competition. Now that James left for the Western Conference. A new door of opportunity has opened for a number of Eastern Conference teams.
The Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, and Milwaukee Bucks were the heavy favorites to compete in the Finals. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyrie Irving, Kyle Lowry, and Joel Embiid are expected to take over his reigns as kings of the East.
But let us not forget that the West is already stacked with good teams. Not to mention All-star caliber players. Adding James to the mix would just ignite the competition to a new level in the said Conference.
The Warriors already posses a big five. The Rockets have Chris Paul and James Harden. The Lakers now have LeBron so expect the months of April and May to be grueling as the season enters the playoffs. The East have their share of big stars, but the West right now is simply a conference to fear.
In the past few years, teams who missed the playoffs in the West could qualify in case they play for the East. LeBron leaving doesn’t change the fact that teams in the East continue to struggle.
Right now six teams in the East have sub-par win-loss records. The Washington Wizards, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and the reigning conference champions, Cleveland Cavaliers. all won six games or less at this point (at the time of this writing).
In the West meanwhile, the top seed Portland Trail Blazers were only up by 2.5 games from the 8th seed Los Angeles Lakers. Seven of its teams has now 10 wins or more.
With that all being said, the West is still the big deal. If someone is looking for real competition, try competing against the guns of the West.
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