Don鈥檛 look now, but the so-called Leastern Conference is holding its own. For some time derided as worse — make that much worse — than the West, it has sent to the playoffs teams that wouldn鈥檛 have come close were they on the other side. Not that excellence on top precludes poor performances at the bottom; on the other hand, the fact that the Cavaliers鈥 run of three straight Finals appearances is attributed less to ascendancy and more to lack of competition en route to the title series speaks volumes.
If conventional wisdom believes in the talent disparity, it鈥檚 in large measure fueled by the significant migration of stars to the West in the offseason. An overwhelming majority of the Top 30 in the league can be found in the conference that hosts the champion Warriors, the perennial contenders Rockets and Spurs, the upstart Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Blazers. And even with the underwhelming effort of the Thunder it鈥檚 clear that the race against an early exit figures to be hotly contested until the end of the regular season.
Meanwhile, the East has LeBron James, Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo, and a smattering of others to grace its marquees. And it鈥檚 telling that the King has his own streak of seven consecutive Finals berths going; the running tally is as much a reflection of his otherworldly nature as of the relative dearth of challengers to the throne. Sure, the Celtics have improved starring Most Valuable Player candidate Kyrie Irving, and the Raptors continue to pose a challenge. All the same, all and sundry believe the wine and gold will be left standing when the battlesmoke clears.
This season, though, the East seems to be bucking the trend. So far, it has battled the West to a draw. Moreover, it boasts of positive point differentials for all prospective playoff participants; meanwhile, the opposing conference has two with net negatives. Then again, only 30% of the schedule has been negotiated, so the momentum could shift back to recent-past tendencies. In any case, final judgment will depend on who will get to wrap their arms around the Larry O鈥橞rien Trophy. Then, and only then, can any quarter truly say the East is a beast, or the West is best.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
