OT: Have the conferences evened out?

[Sothron]

I still think the West is head and shoulders above the East, both in terms of quality teams at the top and depth, but the gap has closed a little.

Like you, I'm big on Chicago. I think if the season started tomorrow, the Bulls would coast through the Eastern Conference, even if Rose is only half the player he once was.

I'm also big on what the Hornets have done. Then you have Toronto, they'll likely stay a playoff team. I think Milwaukee and Orlando are both on the rise (albeit, it'll be a gradual and slow rise).

The Cavs getting LeBron and Wiggins obviously makes them a playoff team and contender in the East. I'm sure the Wizards will be improved. And I even think the Pacers won't miss that much of a beat. The Heat will obviously take a step back but could still be a top 6 team in the East.

I think Brooklyn and Atlanta take steps back. I'm not sure what to think of the Knicks. Depending on what happens with Embiid, Noel, Saric, etc, the Sixers could be good...in a couple years. The Celtics seem to be waiting on a couple of big moves to happen.


So, overall, I think the East has made the gap a little smaller, but the West will still be tough and deep. SAS will be great, like always. You have to imagine the Clippers and Thunder will keep it up. I could see Portland going either way. I think the Rockets take a big step back. Then you have depth with GS, Dallas, Memphis and PHX, who all could win 50, with Denver and New Orleans (maybe Minn depending on what happens) right behind.

Why would the Hawks take a step back? We were missing Horford for most of the season and still made the playoffs. Coming into this season we've added two decent rotational players in Thabo and Bazemore and Horford will be healthy. We almost beat the Pacers in the first round as an 8th seed last year while missing our best player. Not sure why we would take a step back?

But otherwise I agree with what you wrote. East definitely got a little bit better on the whole but the disparity between West and East is still a gaping chasm.

[Maefteda]

The East is a lot more balance now, but it's still a long way to go before they compete with the Western Conference. As it stands now, I expect whoever reaches the finals from the West, will win the finals 4-1 over Chicago or whoever comes out of the East. If Cleveland trade Wiggins for Love, I can see them pushing that to a 4-3 series.

Bulls, Cavs, Heat, Wizards, Hornets, Raptors, Pacers and Hawks are all decent teams, with the Knicks probably bouncing back a bit as well. I'm unsure on the Pacers, just because they were so good at the start of the season, before it all got destroyed. Not sure how much Lance Stephenson was behind that, but he might. I think the Hornets benefit greatly by having him though, and I like their team a lot, especially with the buzz they have created changing their name back to the Hornets. Lance fits like the pestering little thing in your ear, so I love that signing.

When it comes to the Rockets, I don't think they are THAT much worse. They really needed some defense on the wings and Ariza is a much better defender than Parsons. With the salary taken into account, I prefer Ariza over Parsons for them with the current makeup of their team, while Lin and Asik are not all that good, and were bad fits there last year.

[PDXKnight]

Yeah I'm gonna agree with most posters here, the west is the best still. From 1-4 the east is competitive with the west and perhaps even but the real difference comes from 5-12. Each conference is gonna have its garbae teams at the bottom 3 so I'll exclude that but in the west there are 12 teams with loads of talent that in the right scenario could be playoff teams. If New Orleans, Minnesota, phx,or Denver up their games they could make it next season. In the east I don't see there being a ton of talent below the obvious 5-6 teams that will make the post season so while at the top the east holds it's own at the bottom (from 7-15) it's incredibly weak compared to the west.