Whether it is from science, business, or watching a fantasy movie it seems like most people are looking for one thing. It’s called equilibrium. This “equality of distribution” is a force in the sports world, because it keeps things interesting. Nobody wants to see the New England Patriots, or the New York Yankees, stacking up ring after ring. Likewise, nobody wants to see the NBA’s stacked Western Conference dominate the East. That, no longer is a threat.
Now I went on NBA.com like every other avid fan of trade day after I already had started this article and what do I see? Art Garcia writing a similar article about how the East is now the superior conference. I didn’t read the post, I have the utmost respect for Art, and look forward to reading what I am sure is a stellar article, but I didn’t want that to influence my opinion. And my opinion is this: The NBA is the one Big Four sport where each conference is now equal. Here’s why:
1. The Point Guard position was always considered to be much stronger in the West. The Nets recent addition of Deron Williams gives the East 3 elite point guards (with Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo). This is still West dominated, in terms of quantity (Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd). This new 3-5 ratio totally changes the perception of this position in both conferences, and it makes them much more equitable.
2. The four best offensive players in the league are Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James. After Melo came to the East, now each conference has two of them.
3. Look at the number of legit, good teams in each Conference now. Boston is still good (Kendrick Perkins gone, they still have tons of stockpiled bigs and now Jeff Green), Miami, Chicago, Orland0 (as long as Dwight stays happy), Atlanta (better with the acquisition of Kirk Hinrich), New York (once Melo settles in) and possibly even New Jersey now (Deron Williams). In the West, Denver (still a playoff contender) and Utah have fallen from grace and now only the Spurs, Lakers, New Orleans, Dallas, Oklahoma City (possibly Memphis and Portland) are now the legit playoff threats in the West. That’s approximately 7 a piece.
I’m excited as a Spurs fan, because while the teams get a breath of fresh air, teams like Miami are going to be feeling some extra heat.
