Is the East now the best conference?

[EGarrett]

Over the last few months, we've seen a dramatic shift in the balance of power between the East and West.

1. The East won the NBA Championship in dominating fashion.

2. The best player in the NBA has been traded East.

3. The best team in the West has been dismantled.

But, by the same token, Tracy McGrady has gone west, along with Kenyon Martin. So, which conference is better now?

Or, if you think it's too close (and you also might happen to run this site ) you can choose that option as well. I'll share my thoughts in a bit.

[Jackal]

No major power shift, East got a bit stronger, but it's pretty much obvious the West is still the strongest of two conferences.

1. The East won the NBA Championship in dominating fashion.

Yes they did, mainly due to the fact they were only playing against Shaquille O'Neal & Kobe Bryant. I think it might've not been as dominating had they played the Spurs.

2. The best player in the NBA has been traded East.

Eh? Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett > Shaquille O'Neal. He's the most dominant, no doubt, but best player? Hardly.

3. The best team in the West has been dismantled.

The Lakers haven't been the best team in the West for quite some time now, if the Lakers got weaker, other teams got stronger. Just balanced it out.

But, by the same token, Tracy McGrady has gone west, along with Kenyon Martin. So, which conference is better now?

I'll pick the West.

Or, if you think it's too close

Nah, I still think the West > the East.

Two of the leagues best big men + guards are in the Western Conference, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant & Tracy McGrady > Shaquille O'Neal & Co.

Please do not delete this post.

[Repole]

thats a fine job of quoting you've done there...

i'll just make mine simple. The west is better. Shaq and Tmac switching conferences isnt gona change much, and either is the lakers losing in the finals to a better team. The best team in the east beat the 5th? (dont remember thier seed) best team in the west, not that amazing of an acomplishment...

[kevC]

As long as Yao, KG, and TD are in the same conference West pwns.

[Full Surface]

Let's not forget McGrady went to the West also, which almost makes up 3/4 of Shaq coming to the East

[Donte Thomas]

2. The best player in the NBA has been traded East.

Eh? Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett > Shaquille O'Neal. He's the most dominant, no doubt, but best player? Hardly.

kobe is the best player in the game, shaq is the most DOMINANT, and dominant doesn't mean best.it's like this jackal ( no afffence )
michael jordan = kobe bryant, shaq < kobe, kg < kobe, t-mac < kobe, tim duncan < kobe, yao ming <<<<<< kobe, and mj, dmo wilkens,spud webb,bill russel barely > kobe.

3. The best team in the West has been dismantled.

The Lakers haven't been the best team in the West for quite some time now, if the Lakers got weaker, other teams got stronger. Just balanced it out.

okay i agree on that one, they get stronger around the playoffs

Two of the leagues best big men + guards are in the Western Conference, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant & Tracy McGrady > Shaquille O'Neal & Co.

so basically, yeah

[kevC]

Kobe's not the best (maybe at committing adultery and hogging the ball that's right I said it)

[Jackal]

Excuse me, but please, please tell me what the eff you're smoking?

Kobe Bryant wasn't the best player on his team, let alone the league. Spare me of this crap, I can't take much of it.

Michael Jordan BARELY surpasses Kobe. You lost me there.

Kobe isn't even the best two guard in the league, McGrady is.

Kobe > Tim Duncan? Puhlease, stop!!

Kobe > KG? How? KG can play the point, Kobe doesn't know the meaning of passing the ball. KG can defend Tim Duncan, Kobe couldn't stop Cutino Mobley.

Ugh,

[DipSetVC]

It's still the Western Conference due to the following reasons:

1. Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan:

Easily the two best players in the league right now, I believe they will combine to win every MVP award for the next 4 or 5 years.

2a). Tracy McGrady heading to the Lone-Star state:

He along with Yao will form Kobe and Shaq version 2.0 but I don't think they'll ever take the final step that Kobe and Shaq took by winning titles unless T-Mac makes defense his first priority under Van Gundy. Yao Ming also needs to be more aggressive and do a better job of asserting himself.

2b). And The Rest...

Tracy's not the only one who's heading to the West, All-Star Kenyon Martin is headed to Denver while future All-Star Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur are Utah-bound.

3. Carmelo:

I believe Carmelo Anthony will take the next step this season and carry his Nuggets deep into the playoffs. The potential in him is amazing, he can score in so many different ways, from the perimeter, taking it to the hole, he can get to the line, he can score with his back to the basket. When he reaches his full potential, he'll easily be a Top 5 player in the league.

4. Just Plain Ol' Depth:

The East only has three teams that could seriously contend for a title (Indiana, Detroit and Miami). In the Western Conference there are at least 4 or 5 teams with a legitimate chance at winning a championship (Minnesota, San Antonio, Sacramento, Dallas and Houston) with other up-and-coming teams like the Jazz, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Hornets and Suns.

The East has several question marks in the Celtics, Sixers, Raptors, Cavaliers, Knicks, Bucks and Nets. They are also weakened with the addition of the expansion Bobcats.

[Amphatoast]

No doubt the West still..
if you put all the teams together in one conference, the east will be the weaker ones. Really only Detriot, Indiana and Miami are the threats in the east at this point..
San Antonio, Sacramento, Dallas, Minnesota, and maybe Houston & Denver are the threats from the west..
6 compare to 3, west wins

[Jackal]

EAST CENTERS :

Shaquille O'Neal
Ben Wallace
Z. Ilgauskas
J. Magloire
Eddy Curry

WEST CENTERS :

Yao Ming
Brad Miller
Vlade Divac
R. Nesterovic

Advantage? Meh, with Shaq & Big Ben = East.

WEST GUARDS :
Kobe Bryant
Tracy McGrady
Gary Payton
Steve Nash
Manu Ginobili
Mike Bibby
Tony Parker
Ray Allen
Michael Finley

EAST GUARDS :
Allen Iverson
Steve Francis
Jason Kidd
LeBron James
Baron Davis
S. Marbury
Paul Pierce
Reggie Miller
C. Billups
R. Hamilton

Advantage? West.

EAST FORWARDS :
Vince Carter
J. O'Neal
Ron Artest
Scottie Pippen
S. Abdur-Rahim
Carlos Boozer
R. Jefferson
J. Mashburn
Toni Kukoc

WEST FORWARDS :
Kevin Garnett
Tim Duncan
S. Marion
Kenyon Martin
C. Anthony
Dirk Nowitzki
Karl Malone
Peja Stojakovic
Chris Webber
Pau Gasol
Antoine Walker
Malik Rose

Advantage? West.

So, yeah...West rules the roost.

http://www.nba.com/allstar2004/allstar_game/starter_040129.html

[fgrep15]

lol not even close, how can they be?

In the West these are the contenders:

San Antonio
Minnesotta
Sacramento
Maybe Dallas
Houston
Maybe Denver


East Contenders
Detroit
Indiana
Miami




The West does not have better guards (All-Star positions aren't always the players actual positions), it's actually pretty even between the East and the West.


East Guards
Allen Iverson
Vince Carter
Paul Pierce
Michael Redd
Stephon Marbury
Steve Francis
Dwyane Wade
Jason Terry
Gilbert Arenas
Jason Kidd
Chauncey Billups
Rip Hamilton
Lebron James
Cuttino Mobley
Larry Hughes
Allan Houston
Jamal Crawford
Ricky Davis
Desmond Mason
Eddie Jones
Jalen Rose
(East might have a slight advantage, it was bigger with Tmac, but the East has been about guards for a while now)



West Guards
Kobe Bryant
Tracy McGrady
Tony Parker
Baron Davis
Ray Allen
Joe Johnson
Andre Miller
Jason Richardson
Steve Nash
Gary Payton
Mike Bibby
Michael Finley
Sam Cassell
Quentin Richardson
Latrell Spreewell
Jerry Stackhouse
Nick Van Exel


I don't know why Ginobili and Reggie Miller are being counted???


The Forwards list is a little shaky there too, the West wins but it's not that simple. But the west really have the big advantage in big men, every other position is pretty equal.

Even though, that's not really what matters, it's the teams that matter.



East Small Forwards
Ron Artest
Al Harrington
Richard Jefferson
Tim Thomas
Keith Van Horn
Glenn Robinson
Antawn Jamison
Stephen Jackson (G-F)



West Small Forwards
Shawn Marion
Lamar Odom
Corey Maggette
Carmelo Anthony
Peja Stojakovic
Rashard Lewis
Wally Szczerbiak
Andrei Kirilenko
Matt Harpring
(So much more talent at SF in the West, and their's also Mashburn whenever he's alive)






East Power Forwards
Jermaine O'neal
Rasheed Wallace
Ben Wallace
Donyell Marshall
Chris Bosh
Kwame Brown
Brian Skinner
Kenny Thomas



West Power Forwards
Kevin Garnett
Tim Duncan
Elton Brand
Kenyon Martin
Amare Stoudemire
Dirk Nowitzki
Zach Randolph
Pau Gasol
Antoine Walker
Shareef Abdur Rahim
Chris Webber
Juwan Howard
Carlos Boozer
Nene
(Not even close, killed by the West, East lost Boozer and Kenyon, also Juwan Howard but...)





East Centers
Shaquille O'neal
Zydrunas Ilguaskas
Eddy Curry
Mark Blount
(Ben and Rasheed were put as PF's)
Etan Thomas
Kelvin Cato?
Brendan Haywood?
Samuel Dalmbert?



West Centers
Yao Ming
Marcus Camby
Lorenzen Wright
Stromile Swift
Jamaal Magloire
Michael Olowokandi
Theo Ratliff
Erick Dampier (for now)
Adonal Foyle
Chris Kaman
Vlade Divac
Rasho Nesterovic I guess
(No need to compare)



Yup destroyance in big men, in terms of skill and quantity of at least decent big men

[Matt]

I'll still say West, but I feel that the NBA Champ will be from the East!!!!

anyways, the West have the top 2 players in the league at PF (Duncan and KG) and SG (Kobe and T-Mac).

However, in about 2yrs i think the best SG will be Lebron James and the best C will Yao Ming.

[fgrep15]

.....but you said center, so Yao isn't overtaking KG and Duncan in their positions anyways
The West also have the best SF's
Really, SF's in the East just plain suck.

[matmat8]

It's not only a question of having the better players in the conference at that or that position, it's about having several on a team.
It's simple, better teams and more contenders in the west so west>east.

[Andrew]

kobe is the best player in the game, shaq is the most DOMINANT, and dominant doesn't mean best.it's like this jackal ( no afffence )
michael jordan = kobe bryant, shaq < kobe, kg < kobe, t-mac < kobe, tim duncan < kobe, yao ming <<<<<< kobe, and mj, dmo wilkens,spud webb,bill russel barely > kobe.

I'm sorry, but I strongly disagree. I don't think you're giving the players of yesteryear enough credit while giving Kobe far too much. But that's your opinion and you're entitled to it.

I actually still think the West is still the superior conference top to bottom, but of course that could change depending on what happens between now and the time that the 2004/2005 season begins. I certainly think that the East looks better, especially the teams that can be considered legitimate title contenders. Shaq's move East shifts the balance of power a little, but ultimately the East doesn't have quite so many talented teams and fewer teams that have a serious shot (barring some sort of "unlikely moment in sports history") at winning it all.

I think the main difference is that the East looks capable of producing a champion, that we cannot take the whole conference for granted. But the West still seems a little tougher at the moment.

[Ben-le-ouf]

The West is still better than the East, even though the East is looking better.

But the West can lose its supremacy soon.

West contenders
-if Webber or Divac leaves Sacramento
-if Dallas doesn't get a new point-guard
-if Kobe plays basket-ball alone and ignores his teammates
-Sprewell and Sam Cassell are getting older

East contenders
-Indiana takes one step forward every season
-Rasheed is still in Detroit, and McDyess has come to Detroit too
-Everybody wants to play with Shaq, and Shaq knows how to bring good players in his team

[Donyell]

West is better, but overal I enjoy watching the East the most.
Argh, Tim Duncan, I hate that guy, can't he just crawl in a hole and die sparing us from more sissy moves.

[Jackal]

Fundamental basketball is sissy moves these days?

Glad to know it, now I'm all up-to-date.

[MVP]

2. The best player in the NBA has been traded East.

Eh? Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett > Shaquille O'Neal. He's the most dominant, no doubt, but best player? Hardly.

kobe is the best player in the game, shaq is the most DOMINANT, and dominant doesn't mean best.it's like this jackal ( no afffence )
michael jordan = kobe bryant, shaq < kobe, kg < kobe, t-mac < kobe, tim duncan < kobe, yao ming <<<<<< kobe, and mj, dmo wilkens,spud webb,bill russel barely > kobe.

Yes, you give Kobe far too much credit at this point in his career. He's still got a lot to learn and prove. Can he lead a team without Shaq? Has he won MVP's, defensive player of year awards, Final's MVP's? MJ is NOT BARELY better than Kobe, but....is a lot better than Kobe when Jordan was at his best. That doesn't mean Kobe can not be better...he may or may not. But the reality is, he's got to prove it.

[FanOfAll]

I think with the Hornets moving West and the Bobcats entering the fray, the West remains stronger.

[Bill Russell]

I choose the special Begley option

But I think the West is still the best conference... McGrady is there now, Martin too... But the East has the best rookies.

[j.23]

West is better, but overal I enjoy watching the East the most.
Argh, Tim Duncan, I hate that guy, can't he just crawl in a hole and die sparing us from more sissy moves.

yeah well his "sissy moves" have won him two championships in addition to his own personal accolades. (NBA All First Team Selections, NBA All Defensive First Team, All Star, Olympian, MVP, Finals MVP . . . )

[Jay-Peso]

You know the saying: "You're only good as your last game"?

Well that's why I voted for east.

[fgrep15]

^^
.......and you're alone, very very alone