Imbalance Between East and West Is Ridiculous and Unfair

[BusSport]

West: 10 teams above .500, and 12 teams at .500 or better

East: 2 teams above .500, and 3 teams at .500 or better

There are 5 (!) times as many winning teams in the West as in the East. In the West, the teams are fighting tooth and nail; in the East, Indiana and Miami can just coast to the conference championships.

 

[LogicMan]

Its a horrible situation. Young teams like the Clippers, Thunder, Pacers and Rockets Rule the day, while the older teams in both leagues suffer. That said, there are exceptions, and the Heat are one.

Still the east is full of bad decision makers.

The Nets look like purgatory will be their home for the next few years with no draft picks

 

[Heatles84]

Blame others who make horrible decisions regarding personnel and coaching (Knicks and Nets specifically).

 

[BOTSLAYER]

I think a better solution is abolish divisions or conferences, ever improving travel methods are rendering localized matchups moot.

Today I think the bigger reason for divisions is to ensure a team is represented from each part of the US to aid in revenue.


The only thing that would change about the playoffs is it would be fair.

16 teams make it into 4 playoff brackets (current) and reseed the final 4 (or not). Or you could make it 2 8 team brackets.

 

[LAKERSUSCBAM]

It's been imbalanced ever since Shaq signed with LA. Champ has come out of the west 10 out of last 14 years.

 

[Black Adam]

Blame others who make horrible decisions regarding personnel and coaching (Knicks and Nets specifically).

Lol, yeah i'll be the first to admit I thought the Nets would be better than this...

 

[mr.hockey4242]

I think a better solution is abolish divisions or conferences, ever improving travel methods are rendering localized matchups moot.

Today I think the bigger reason for divisions is to ensure a team is represented from each part of the US to aid in revenue.


The only thing that would change about the playoffs is it would be fair.

16 teams make it into 4 playoff brackets (current) and reseed the final 4 (or not). Or you could make it 2 8 team brackets.

I think you would have to do the two 8 team brackets but yeah it should just be top 16 and everyone plays all over.

The imbalance is the same in hockey. Just two weeks ago the top 8 teams in the power rankings were in the west.

Wtf.

 

[BusSport]

The NBA should look at the NFL for a league that has done a much better job at balancing between East and West.

Now, you could say that the NFL is more built for parity, with the hard salary caps, while the NBA's soft caps strongly advantage large-market teams. But then the dominance of the West is still surprising, since the largest US population centers are in the East. Many of those Eastern big market teams are just not playing up to the level their payroll/market would suggest.

 

[trojanfan12]

Looking at the standings, the Lakers are 9-8. That puts them in a 3 way tie for the #8 spot in the West.


In the Atlantic Division in the East, they would be in 1st place with about a 2 game lead. The current first place team in that division is 6-9!!

 

[True Lakers Fan]

West: 10 teams above .500, and 12 teams at .500 or better

East: 2 teams above .500, and 3 teams at .500 or better

There are 5 (!) times as many winning teams in the West as in the East. In the West, the teams are fighting tooth and nail; in the East, Indiana and Miami can just coast to the conference championships.

That's a mirage because more championship titles in the last ten years came out of the Eastern Conference.

 

[LALakersboy24.7]

West: 10 teams above .500, and 12 teams at .500 or better

East: 2 teams above .500, and 3 teams at .500 or better

There are 5 (!) times as many winning teams in the West as in the East. In the West, the teams are fighting tooth and nail; in the East, Indiana and Miami can just coast to the conference championships.

The West is a little weaker talent wise then other season's, but teams do beat each other up a lot IN the West it's been like that for over a decade.

I don't think if the Heat had been in the West that they would of had a long winning streak like they did last season, yes they beat some good west teams in the process but, they face way more teams being in the east then in the west on a consistent basis.

 

[Am I Blue Through it All?]

Well, if the Pacers can play like shit and win against the Clippers, I am very hopeful about the rest of their journey though the best of the west.

 

[Cobiemonster]

It's the same thing in the NHL - West is superior to the East - you have a couple of great teams in the East in the NHL(Pittsburgh and Boston) and in the NBA(Heat and Pacers) but everyone is not very good and you have so many more great teams in the West

 

[BOTSLAYER]

West may have the best talent from 1-6 seed but in the league East has had the best top tier talent for a few years now.

 

[Cobiemonster]

West may have the best talent from 1-6 seed but in the league East has had the best top tier talent for a few years now.

So KD-Russ, CP3-Blake, Timmy-Tony, James Harden-Dwight Howard and Steph-Klay isn't better than any of those top tier guys in the East? Eh, I think I'd go with the West, I think what makes those guys in the West great is that they get to face great talent every night - in the East, teams like the Heat feast on the bad teams all too often

 

[BOTSLAYER]

Many of those Eastern big market teams are just not playing up to the level their payroll/market would suggest.

There is also a much higher concentration of teams in the east so that market is much more divided.

Also with revenue sharing and luxury tax this is a non factor.

There are several teams not living up to their pay roll.

Larger markets will always have better teams because players will want to play there and will be able to make more money there. The cream will get first dibs on these opportunities.

But something that is greatly over looked is that is the same for Owners and GMs. The best Owners and GMs are a lot more likely to be able to afford those premium teams in the premium locations and are also business savvy enough to realize some cities are doomed. Cleveland, Milwaukee, the State of Utah.

Anomalies exist when great GMs and owners just enjoy being close to home, Bird in Indy, LBJ's 9 years in purgatory are examples.

 

[TheDangerousKitchen]

The OP's post brings up an interesting question: How much of a hit should LeBron's legacy take considering he's playing in an era where the EC is without question weaker than it's ever been?

In other words, would James and the Heat have made the Finals 4 straight years if he/they played in the WC... or if they had to beat the competition in the EC during the 80's and 90's year-in-year-out?

Discuss

 

[JahiiCarson_SqodGeneral]

Suns would be 3rd in east put it that way.

 

[Logicallylethal]

It's crazy when you look at the actual numbers. I brought this up to a group of friends a few days ago

The East has 5 playoff teams under .500. The #4 seed in the West would be the 14th seed.

Conference disparity has to do with East teams making bad financial investments.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

The OP's post brings up an interesting question: How much of a hit should LeBron's legacy take considering he's playing in an era where the EC is without question weaker than it's ever been?

In other words, would James and the Heat have made the Finals 4 straight years if he/they played in the WC... or if they had to beat the competition in the EC during the 80's and 90's year-in-year-out?

Discuss

start a new thread troll