How Much Stronger Was The Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference 1980's?

[ty 4191]

The Eastern Conference's winning percentage against the Western Conference 1980-1990 was .540!!!! Monumental difference!!!

If Bird/Celtics play against the West from 1980-1988, what happens? And vice versa, with Magic?

[Fencer reregistered]

In the early/mid 1980s it felt extreme. The top 3 teams in the league were in some order the Celtics, Sixers and Lakers. The Bucks were strong second-tier players at some point. So were the Hawks. The Rockets were the only other really good team in the West, when their collection of centers got far enough along; eventually the Suns joined them. The Bulls were obviously coming along. The Pistons kind of snuck up on me somehow, but turned out to be a major concern.

[LloydFree]

In the early '80s the Celtics, 76ers and Bucks were tier 1 teams. Only the Lakers were tier 1 in the West. San Antonio and Houston were decent (maybe tier 2) some years, but not really anything close to a contender. By the end of the decade the Pistons and Bulls replaced the 76ers and Bucks as the tier 1 teams, but the West never had any real contenders until the 90's.

[Lalouie]

do the math. i randomly picked 86/87
https://www.nba.com/standings?GroupBy=conf&Season=1986-87&Section=overall

i only did the top 4 or 5 teams because that's all that matters. it's close. i don't think it's enuf to matter