RealGM

Strong playoff teams in East:

Boston
Chicago
Knicks
Indiana
Miami

All of these teams play / will play elite defense.

Other sleeper teams:

Brooklyn and Philly (with Bynum).

Just because Miami matches up well in the East doesn't mean its an "unfair" advantage.

If you put any contender team from the West in put them in the East, its no guarantee they'll make the finals.

Wouldn't say unfair but they do look to have an easier run to the Finals. Not their fault though.

Last year they were in a 2-1 hole against Indiana and were 3-2 down against Boston.

Better question is, who cares? The outcome of the finals will most certainly not depend on this. The better team is going to win. And for the record, Miami probably had a harder run last year simply because they lost Bosh (who was still slightly injured when he recovered) and Wade was injured.

But like I said, who cares about that either? They won 4-1, clearly the better team won. People overthink this stuff.

jami0528 wrote:1. It is not the Heat's fault they are in the East.

2. There is no cakewalk in this league. Whether you are in the east or west, you have to win 16 games in order to win.

3. Injuries can change everything.

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There's a difference between beating Philly, New York, and Boston en route to the finals and beating Denver, San Antonio, and the Lakers en route to the finals. (Hypothetical choice of teams)

Of course they have an advantage. The Heat can pretty much coast to the 1 or 2 seed. But that is far from "unfair" or in their control. Any more than they control the 76ers and Pacers being bad.

And I'd be hesitant to call it an "advantage" -- constantly playing more competitive talent in the west will probably serve them better, whoever it is, come championship, than the team that never really had to assert itself or see what their made of, be reshapped etc --- not that I think that will be the case for the Heat..

I suppose it can have real benefits in being able to rest players etc... But the Heat would be a top team no matter what conference..... Your idea is more relevant to the boarder line playoff teams in the west that would be sure things in the east. That's more impacting.

I_Socrates wrote:

ROballer wrote:

BadWolf wrote:Dont firget about lat year, Thunder had an easier way to the finals and then Heat destroyed them.

Mavs(defending champs) -Lakers-Spurs easier way than Knicks-Pacers-Celtics?

Seriously ?:roll:

Yeah, other than the Knicks getting steamrolled, the other 2 were great series vs. the Pacers and C's.
Meanwhile OKC beat everyone out West quite easily, other than the SA series, I don't think there was ever a question whether they'd make it to the Finals (EARLY in the Dallas series, but after deflating them in the first 2 games, it wasn't a question).

OKC definitely had the easier way to the Finals however you'd like to dice it. Maybe they were too good (and came down to earth in the Finals), maybe their competition was off (definitely the case with the Mavs/Lakers) but their series were quick and easy meanwhile Miami nearly got knocked out more than once (and should have been had the ref's not awarded them games vs. the C's).

Ok,they had the easier way in the sense that they beat their opponents more convincingly....but c'mon
the level of competition they faced was higher...props to them for making a statement and winning clearly
The fact that Miami beat Boston 4-3 does not make Boston(crippled by injuries btw) a juggernaut,on the contrary

I'd bet serious money that the Lakers reach the finals if they'd play the Knicks/Pacers and Celtics last year....and everybody knew they were a 2nd round team at best in the west(can't compete with OKC and Spurs)

It's an advantage but not an unfair advantage because they aren't breaking any rules or anything that's just life

I_Socrates wrote:OKC definitely had the easier way to the Finals however you'd like to dice it.

Can I have some of your drugs? You are overdosing.

jami0528 wrote:

[GR] wrote:Miami might just be a weaker team than last year's.

hmm. not so sure if serious

when you look at how they're playing you'd know its true

Miami is still pretty damn good but I think last year's team was better

Not a huge difference between conferences anymore

Really started to even out the past couple years

its an advantage any team would take, myself included if i were in their shoes. less wear and tear over the course of the year and in the first couple of playoff rounds.

Did the Lakers have an unfair advantage over Eastern teams in the 80's ?

as far as regular season wins go, it's pretty even.. but the east doesn't have any real contenders outside of miami.

TheGarden wrote:

jami0528 wrote:

[GR] wrote:Miami might just be a weaker team than last year's.

hmm. not so sure if serious

when you look at how they're playing you'd know its true

Miami is still pretty damn good but I think last year's team was better

How does a team who replaces Eddy Curry and Juwan Howard with Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis get worse?

How does a team who replaces Eddy Curry and Juwan Howard with Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis get worse?

Exactly

Just because the D isn't consistent yet doesn't mean much. Our bench is legit thanks to these two. Ray is like having another starter.

rcontador wrote:

I_Socrates wrote:OKC definitely had the easier way to the Finals however you'd like to dice it.

Can I have some of your drugs? You are overdosing.

Common Sense hasn't been around since the 90's so I don't know where you can get some of it.

As another person mentioned, the path/competition is weaker in the East. Last season Lakers, Griz, Spurs, Clippers all would have been CLEAR #2s in the east.

Miami only played 2 series at full health, Knicks and Thunder. both series went 5 games. the other two rounds Miami was without their 2nd most valuable player and still won both series, one in 6, the other in 7.

Miami happens to match up VERY well with the Thunder. As I have explained, Perk's role is to be a stopper. He slows down/tires/wears out opposing bigs allowing Durant/Westbrook to do their thing.

Vs Miami he has NO ONE to stop/slow down. He becomes entirely pointless. His defensive value is overshadowed entirely by the canyon-esque void left on the offensive end.

If Miami had to face ANY other contender last season the outcome likely would have been different.

Aki wrote:

Tim_Hardawayy wrote:This idea that you have to somehow "work harder" to beat better teams is ridiculous, because its based on the assumption that teams are only going 80% normally in the playoffs, which couldn't be further from the truth.

Its also dumb reasoning, based on who wins in the Finals. If the West team wins, instead of saying the West team was exhausted, you'd say the superior competition prepared them for any challenge they might face. See how that works?

its true, the lakers circa 2007/08 didn't face anyone of note until boston, and then got quite the rude awakening

They did play the defending champs with their best player on an injured ankle, get outta here with that revisionist history. Wasn't that the year the Rockets pushed them to 7 as well?

Not only is the competition pathetic compared to the West but I believe the travelling is a hell of a lot easier too. Makes no sense that Memphis is in the SW division

The franchises closer to the east coast have been perennial jokes compared to the west, home of the best

Rest is overrated. The Raptors had 3 days off, and even 4 days off, and lost both times. In other words, if you're a good team, then you're a good team and you're going to win. If you're a bad team, then you're a bad team, and you're going to lose. No amount of rest or unrest is going to change the inevitable results.

jami0528 wrote:

[GR] wrote:Miami might just be a weaker team than last year's.

hmm. not so sure if serious

Actually i might agree, the heat are exposed with big front courts, i remember the grizzly game and thought its just is not fair to the heat.