OT- Western Conference more balanced than ever?

99 Problems · Post #1 » by **99 Problems** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 5:53 am

1- Phoenix
2- Dallas
3- Lakers
4- Portland
5- San Antonio
6- New Orleans
7- Denver
8- Golden State
9- Houston
10- Utah

Look at how the West is stacked. People talk about parity in the East after Boston and Detroit, but I think the West is more balanced in a positive way.. They are actually relatively good teams, not mediocre teams staying afloat merely because everybody else sucks... The 10th place team, Utah, has a .528 winning percentage, which would be good for FOURTH PLACE in the East, and Utah already won on the road against 3rd place Orlando and 2nd place Detroit this year...

The East is more about which team sucks the least, and which team can stay closest to .500. While I'm not taking anything against Boston, I don't think they would come close to 29-4 playing the West. They're padding they're record against the East...The West is more impressive, because the top ten teams are better than nearly everybody in the East aside from Boston and Detroit, which they are capable of beating on any given night...and they have to play a tougher schedule which has more games against quality opponents, each other..

This balance will make the playoffs crazy this year... I think SA can be taken down, PHO doesn't seem to have it this year, and DAL will have to prove themselves.. the road to the Finals and maybe a championship is more open than its ever been for a long time.... And you gotta love seeing these previously garbage teams in the Lakers, New Orleans, Portland, and Golden State rising up to the top of the conference.. SA, DAL, and PHO will not be the top dogs for very long..

James699 · Post #2 » by **James699** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:03 am

I dont think they are really balanced. The fact is why in the world does the Western Conference have the Grizzlies in Memphis. They belong in Vancouver. AKA VANCOUVER GRIZZLIES. I wonder what BC would have done with that franchise if he built it instead of STU BOY. Maybe he would have drafted Paul Pierce and Lamar Odom?? But the team would have been still here

inrapscity · Post #3 » by **inrapscity** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:22 am

well, you've got almost 5-6 teams that are basically tied in the east. does it get anymore balanced than that? lol

99 Problems · Post #4 » by **99 Problems** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:32 am

inrapscity wrote:well, you've got almost 5-6 teams that are basically tied in the east. does it get anymore balanced than that? lol

You completely missed the point... I'm saying the West has a 'better' balance because you've got teams all the way down at 10th place that are still considered 'good' teams, that would beat nearly every team in the East in a playoff series easily.. The East, meanwhile, is full of mediocre teams that are just trying to stay above .500. What place you are is by virtue of which other teams are on a longer losing streak than you are... And you can go on a losing streak yet stay close to the same spot.. Like I said, Utah is the 10th place team in the West, but they would be 4th in the Eas by record, and maybe 1st if they actually played in the conference.. Thats just strange...

On another note I think they should expand the playoff bracket by a couple of more teams and make it league wide instead of by conference...Because a lot of good teams in the West will miss out...

PimpHandStrong · Post #5 » by **PimpHandStrong** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:06 am

Only 6 games separate the top 10 teams in the West. All ten of those teams could compete for an Eastern Conference championship.

Post #6 » by **Harry Palmer** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:14 am

The West is still 14 games above .500 vs. the East already, including Boston and Detroit.

Take those 2 out, and it drops to -57. :0

PimpHandStrong · Post #7 » by **PimpHandStrong** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:51 pm

Also, the West has 10 teams winning between 52% and 70% of their games. The East has 1.

inrapscity · Post #8 » by **inrapscity** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 7:43 pm

Warya wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

You completely missed the point... I'm saying the West has a 'better' balance because you've got teams all the way down at 10th place that are still considered 'good' teams, that would beat nearly every team in the East in a playoff series easily.. The East, meanwhile, is full of mediocre teams that are just trying to stay above .500. What place you are is by virtue of which other teams are on a longer losing streak than you are... And you can go on a losing streak yet stay close to the same spot.. Like I said, Utah is the 10th place team in the West, but they would be 4th in the Eas by record, and maybe 1st if they actually played in the conference.. Thats just strange...

On another note I think they should expand the playoff bracket by a couple of more teams and make it league wide instead of by conference...Because a lot of good teams in the West will miss out...

chill guy, i was just playing.

LLJ · Post #9 » by **LLJ** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 7:46 pm

Wow, Utah has really plunged since I last checked the standings...

no_hops_23 · Post #10 » by **no_hops_23** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 7:51 pm

Well I figure this is good for us. I mean we could end up with homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs and still get the 19th pick in the draft b/c our record is likely worse than all 8 western conference playoff teams. So we have a solid chance to make the second round and give our guys much needed playoff experience but also have a much better chance to pick up an asset in the draft than if we were picking in the mid 20's.