Happyfoosball wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
See, I don't think the East is as bad as it looks, or that the West is as good as it looks. I see a lot of really good teams out west but I don't see any great ones. I see good teams making trades trying to become great teams like the Suns, and the Lakers. In the East, I see Boston and Detriot as the two best teams in the nba right now, both Eastern conference teams. The Lakers will have potiential to join them if this trade works out the way most people think it will, then the Spurs will be tough around playoff time. They just seem to be slumping a little this year. Denvers like the Orlando of the East, tons of scoring, no defense, Utah doesn't strike me as a team that can win it all, Dallas sucks every year in the playoffs because defense is a foreign word to them. Yeah I see the West being better but it's more of a top to bottom team thing then it is wow they have this unstoppable team over there.
First, the mavs don't suck every year, they were 2 wins away from a championship two years ago. They just caught a bad matchup last year. It happens. Also, the Nuggets are the 5th best defensive team in the league and the 3rd best in the west. Don't compare them to us.
Yeah, the east is pretty bad, but a lot of it is unexpected. the east has 4 teams who can win 50 games this year and match up with any western team including Cleveland who hasn't really been at full strength the entire first half of the season. The 5th team, Toronto, could still catch fire if TJ and Andrea come back and play well down the stretch. That's five eastern conference teams who I think will are good enough to make the playoffs if they were in the west. That doesn't include Chicago, who decided to take the year off, New Jersey, whose best player decided to quit on them back in December, Atlanta (now that they have another shooter, and a real point guard) and Philly (check their last 10 games), who will both surge in the second half, or the Wizards who have been without their best player all year. If Gil and Caron are healthy this half, they are another team that could surge, The only truly bad teams in the east are Miami, New York, Milwaukee, Indiana and Charlotte.
As for the west's superiority, I think it may come back to earth in the second half. Kobe needs surgery, and whether or not he has it, determines whether or not they remain the favorite. Any game now, I am waiting on someone to accidentally hit it. The lakers won't be as good. the Jazz are gettign hot right now, and I think they can make the finals. the Hornets are one injury to Chris Paul away from being the Bucks. The Warriors can't compete against any team that has a dominant inside presence in the half court. The Blazers have passed their peak, and now they are back to earth. People are still waiting on San Antonio to flip the switch, but I don't think it's a guarantee.
Including the surging Rockets, I think there are 8 great to elite teams in the west (LA, Utah, Den, SA, Dal, Pho, Hou, NO) and 5 great to elite teams in the east (Bos, Det, Orl, Cle, Tor). Yes, the Finals were an embarassment, but Gibson hits some shots, and Larry Hughes plays half as good as he did against us, that series could go the other way. Teh Cavs were a great defensive team that just fell apart in the Finals. It happens, ask the Mavs. If Gil is healthy, and Kirk Hinrich doesn't play like Luke Ridnour that makes seven in the east. On the flip side, if Chris Paul goes down, and Houston hits another slump, that drops theWest to 6. I don't think that the West just has awesome teams and the East is the minors, its actually a pretty close matchup depending on who gets hurt and when.
