Eastern Conference proving again how weak they are

[Darkwaters]

I pulled the NBA standings out of curiosity and found something very interesting.

http://espn.go.com/nba/standings

It appears that the claims of the East being the "Leastern" Conference are genuinely true.

So far through 22 November, the Eastern Conference only has four teams with winning records (Indiana, Miami, Atlanta and Chicago). That means that the other 11 all have losing records (over 73% of the conference). This means that if the playoffs started today 50% of the East's representation would be losers. Talk about an easy path to the Finals the East's rep. Yikes.

By comparison, the West is an entirely different story. That conference boasts nine teams with winning records, and another two that are .500 teams and the two just outside of the .500 club are only one win away. That means that only four teams in the West have losing records. Ironically, the league's worst team, Utah, is in the West. But other than that one obvious outlier, the Western Conference is vastly superior to the East. If the playoffs started today, not only would every team in the West have a winning record, one with a similar record would be left behind.

The basic analysis seems to indicate that strong records out East don't really mean much of anything. Since each team plays in-conference opponents four times per year (as opposed to two times for out of conference opponents) that means that Eastern records will naturally be inflated. Especially among the good teams. Now, that has been true for a while, as the East hasn't been worth a damn for years. But this year is especially bad. It also means that the playoffs could be very interesting this year - at least in the West.

Interestingly enough, Indiana and Miami are the elite teams in the East. But so far each has played 10 of their 12 games in-conference. Translation: they've been playing JV so far. So people that want to snipe at San Antonio for its weak strength of schedule need to include other teams in that conversation.

[RD2191]

Awesome take

[Mikeanaro]

Man, you have no idea how long I`ve been screaming out of my lungs that East doesn´t worth shit.
Miami and Indiana are already like last year with a free trip to the Conference Finals.
West this year... I feel it sucks a little more than other years but as you said just looking the standings between conferences it is very clear the East is a Turkish amateur conference.

[Arcadian]

Wow...I hadn't noticed. And I thought the West was weak this year.

:lol NBA

[PlayNando]

Man, you have no idea how long I`ve been screaming out of my lungs that East doesn´t worth shit.
Miami and Indiana are already like last year with a free trip to the Conference Finals.
West this year... I feel it sucks a little more than other years but as you said just looking the standings between conferences it is very clear the East is a Turkish amateur conference.
Honestly, the East has been inferior to the West for over a decade now, tbh. Nothing new.

[lakerhaterade]

it feels like one of those days...you know...like the one where them Spurs lose to a leastern conference team the same day this thread is created

[GB20]

wow the spurs are in their like 15th straigth year with 50+ wins playing in the west. Now imagine what the record would be if the same spurs team would have played in eastern conference the last 15 years . :wow

[Darkwaters]

it feels like one of those days...you know...like the one where them Spurs lose to a leastern conference team the same day this thread is created

Just because the East sucks doesn't mean they never win games. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. But playing a whole season against those same blind squirrels just means you're going to look great on paper and coast through a round or two of the playoffs. The irony was that people had the audacity to downgrade the Spurs' playoff run last season because it was made "easier" by a few events. Never heard any similar objections about the Miami Lebrons.

[daslicer]

The east has less talent than the West but the competition is terrible this year more so than other years because of the 2014 draft class. Supposedly this class is suppose to be loaded with talent. All these teams in the east are tanking to get a lottery pick in this draft. Its real bad that the teams ranked 4-8 are also tanking but they can't keep up with other teams who are tanking to avoid the playoffs. This is why you see so many teams in the East below .500.

[Darkwaters]

The east has less talent than the West but the competition is terrible this year more so than other years because of the 2014 draft class. Supposedly this class is suppose to be loaded with talent. All these teams in the east are tanking to get a lottery pick in this draft. Its real bad that the teams ranked 4-8 are also tanking but they can't keep up with other teams who are tanking to avoid the playoffs. This is why you see so many teams in the East below .500.

The problem with that theory is that we hear it every year. That upcoming draft is always so tantalizing and appealing.

[Libri]

And the two teams with the highest salaries in the NBA, Nets and Knicks, are turrible. :lol

[Bruno]

Eastern conference teams record against western conference teams is 17 wins for 41 losses this year. That's just horrible.

At that stage of the season, the East is really a 2 teams conference with Pacers and Heat. Bulls could have been good but Rose sucked and is now injured. Nets looked scary good on the paper but they have been awful.

And the west being so superior to the east doesn't change that Spurs schedule has been relatively easy so far.

[Mikeanaro]

Honestly, the East has been inferior to the West for over a decade now, tbh. Nothing new.
It was inferior of course, but now its like a team with a 12-70 record can make it to the playoffs without even sweat

[Uriel]

The most significant takeaway here is that the elite teams in the East with inflated records will be able to translate that into HCA in the NBA Finals. That's a very big deal. If Game 7 last year were in San Antonio, we would have had #5 by now.

[jimbo]

The problem with that theory is that we hear it every year. That upcoming draft is always so tantalizing and appealing.

We really don't hear that, or you just get all your basketball information from retards.

[barakz21]

I pulled the NBA standings out of curiosity and found something very interesting.

http://espn.go.com/nba/standings

It appears that the claims of the East being the "Leastern" Conference are genuinely true.

So far through 22 November, the Eastern Conference only has four teams with winning records (Indiana, Miami, Atlanta and Chicago). That means that the other 11 all have losing records (over 73% of the conference). This means that if the playoffs started today 50% of the East's representation would be losers. Talk about an easy path to the Finals the East's rep. Yikes.

By comparison, the West is an entirely different story. That conference boasts nine teams with winning records, and another two that are .500 teams and the two just outside of the .500 club are only one win away. That means that only four teams in the West have losing records. Ironically, the league's worst team, Utah, is in the West. But other than that one obvious outlier, the Western Conference is vastly superior to the East. If the playoffs started today, not only would every team in the West have a winning record, one with a similar record would be left behind.

The basic analysis seems to indicate that strong records out East don't really mean much of anything. Since each team plays in-conference opponents four times per year (as opposed to two times for out of conference opponents) that means that Eastern records will naturally be inflated. Especially among the good teams. Now, that has been true for a while, as the East hasn't been worth a damn for years. But this year is especially bad. It also means that the playoffs could be very interesting this year - at least in the West.

Interestingly enough, Indiana and Miami are the elite teams in the East. But so far each has played 10 of their 12 games in-conference. Translation: they've been playing JV so far. So people that want to snipe at San Antonio for its weak strength of schedule need to include other teams in that conversation.

An elaborate way of saying "f*** you" to those taking shots at the spurs. I like it! :toast

[Darius McCrary]

The West is always heads and shoulders above the East. Always. Thats why LeBron will never leave the EC.

[HarlemHeat37]

There are only 3 real contenders in the NBA, 2 of them are in the East and the other is the Spurs, tbh..maybe OKC if you consider their typical officiating advantage..

The East is a 2-team race, obviously, especially with Chicago being done and Brooklyn looking like a failure.. It's not really different than most years, though, each conference usually only has 1-2 real contenders per year, anyways..

2013 East- Miami and Indiana
2013 West- San Antonio and OKC(and I guess morons that considered Memphis)

2012 East- Miami
2012 West- OKC and San Antonio

2011 East- Miami and Chicago
2011 East- Dallas, Lakers, Memphis, OKC and San Antonio

2010 East- Boston, Cleveland and Orlando
2010 West- Lakers

2009 East- Boston, Cleveland and Orlando
2009 West- Lakers

2008 East- Boston
2008 West- Lakers and San Antonio

2007 East- Detroit(Cleveland won the East, but they weren't considered a real threat)
2007 West- San Antonio, Phoenix and Dallas

Etc..

[Darkwaters]

We really don't hear that, or you just get all your basketball information from retards.

Sure they do. People are talking about tanking almost every year. Surely it's more widespread some years than others. But it always exists.

Not sure what your deal is, so go pound sand.

[Darkwaters]

There are only 3 real contenders in the NBA, 2 of them are in the East and the other is the Spurs, tbh..maybe OKC if you consider their typical officiating advantage..

The East is a 2-team race, obviously, especially with Chicago being done and Brooklyn looking like a failure.. It's not really different than most years, though, each conference usually only has 1-2 real contenders per year, anyways..

2013 East- Miami and Indiana
2013 West- San Antonio and OKC(and I guess morons that considered Memphis)

2012 East- Miami
2012 West- OKC and San Antonio

2011 East- Miami and Chicago
2011 East- Dallas, Lakers, Memphis, OKC and San Antonio

2010 East- Boston, Cleveland and Orlando
2010 West- Lakers

2009 East- Boston, Cleveland and Orlando
2009 West- Lakers

2008 East- Boston
2008 West- Lakers and San Antonio

2007 East- Detroit(Cleveland won the East, but they weren't considered a real threat)
2007 West- San Antonio, Phoenix and Dallas

Etc..

You're right of course. But that doesn't change the fact that Indiana/Miami can coast the entire season and never be in doubt of having at minimum a 3 seed (probably even a 2 seed). Playing four games a season against the Wizards, Knicks and Bobcats has that effect.

[racm]

You're right of course. But that doesn't change the fact that Indiana/Miami can coast the entire season and never be in doubt of having at minimum a 3 seed (probably even a 2 seed). Playing four games a season against the Wizards, Knicks and Bobcats has that effect.

Bobcats aren't really pushovers compared to the two. They're .500. Granted, even they are exploiting the Leastern Conference.

[HarlemHeat37]

I completely agree, but I think it sucks more for the teams in the West that will be competing from the 5th to 10th seed, since they would all make the playoffs if they were in the East, especially with Rose's injury killing the Bulls..

For the contenders in the playoffs, the best team usually wins the Finals, regardless of path IMO..

The 3 to 8 in the East this year could be the shittiest in any conference in NBA history, though:lol..

[Darkwaters]

Bobcats aren't really pushovers compared to the two. They're .500. Granted, even they are exploiting the Leastern Conference.

True. But now we're saying a .500 team is a quality opponent? In all fairness, just consider what that means. The east is least.

[TrainOfThought5]

The most significant takeaway here is that the elite teams in the East with inflated records will be able to translate that into HCA in the NBA Finals. That's a very big deal. If Game 7 last year were in San Antonio, we would have had #5 by now.

[Prime Time]

Remember when everyone was saying how much "harder" it would be for Miami to reach the finals.... :lol

To be fair, :lmao Brooklyn Nets :lmao

[TampaDude]

Spurs and Heat Finals rematch. Spurs in 5.

[Kool Bob Love]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xjJXGIeY6G0/UIR9f1ujDpI/AAAAAAAAApU/BF5eLAuDJ8U/s320/The+Rock+Clapping.gif

[smaka]

Eastern conference teams record against western conference teams is 17 wins for 41 losses this year. That's just horrible.

18-1 for west in last 19 games...

[Splits]

If the Eastern Conference hoped to gain any credibility against the mighty Western Conference on Saturday night, it flew out the window about a minute into the second quarter in San Antonio.One of the many disappointing teams in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers had no chance keeping up with the Spurs, falling behind 37-23 with 10:18 to go in the first half. By the time the merciful halftime buzzer sounded, San Antonio had pasted the Cavs with a 35-11 period for a 65-32 lead.

Good night.

The West’s superiority over its Eastern brethren in the opening month of the season is astounding: 42-17. In the last eight days alone the West’s record stands at 18-1. A hearty congratulations goes out to the Washington Wizards for its 104-100 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves last Tuesday. It’s the Wizards’ lone win against the West in four tries.

Before then, the last East victories came on Nov. 15 on what proved to be a banner night: Miami squeaked past Dallas, Brooklyn beat Phoenix on Joe Johnson’s buzzer-beater and Detroit motored past Sacramento. So nearly one-fifth of the East’s win total against the West came on one night.

The East’s only early West conquerors are their top two teams. The Pacers and Heat are both 2-0. Indiana beat New Orleans by five and thumped the slow-starting Grizzlies. Miami got by Dallas by six and the Clippers by five.

The Bobcats (0-3), Knicks (0-3) and Bucks (0-3) are all winless against the West and only the Raptors (2-2) and Magic (2-2) can boast .500 records. No East team can claim more than two wins against the West and 10 of the 15 can’t even claim that. Of course the East’s biggest — and most unexpected culprits — are New York’s expensive clunkers. The Knicks and Nets are both 3-9 overall and a combined 2-7 against the West.

Today’s Eastern Conference hopes: Bulls at Clippers (3:30 p.m. ET, League Pass) and Suns at Magic (6 p.m. ET, NBA TV).
More East-West perspective:
*The West has 11 teams with six or fewer losses; the East has 12 teams with six or more losses.
* The West has nine teams with seven or more wins; the East has four.
* The West has 12 teams that are .500 or better; The East has four, plus an entire division (the Atlantic) under .500
* The West’s top three teams — Spurs (5-0), Trail Blazers (6-0) and Thunder (3-0) — are a combined 14-0 against the East (The Warriors, Nuggets and Lakers are a combined 6-0)
* The West’s bottom seven teams are 14-11 against the East and that includes Utah’s 0-4 mark.
* The only West teams with a losing record against the East are the Clippers (1-2), Kings (1-2) and Jazz (0-4)
* The Mavericks are 5-1 against the East and 9-5 overall
* The Timberwolves are 5-2 against the East and 8-7 overall.
* The 76ers are 6-9 overall and 1-4 against the West
* The Pistons are 4-8 overall and 1-5 against the West

[jimbo]

Sure they do. People are talking about tanking almost every year. Surely it's more widespread some years than others. But it always exists.

Not sure what your deal is, so go pound sand.

Backpedaling per par. Now you're reinforcing what Daslicer (the guy you quoted in your original post) said.

The tanking this year is much more widespread than it had been previously, and that's an understatement at that. What teams dismantled their roster in the preseason for the "so tantalizing and appealing" 2011 draft class?

[Darkwaters]

Nice find Splitman4evah

[Darkwaters]

Backpedaling per par. Now you're reinforcing what Daslicer (the guy you quoted in your original post) said.

The tanking this year is much more widespread than it had been previously, and that's an understatement at that. What teams dismantled their roster in the preseason for the "so tantalizing and appealing" 2011 draft class?

Backpedaling? Hardly. But indeed clarifying.

Teams are always needing to retool and rebuild. Sometimes it's a complete demolition, other times it's a more deliberate and calculated move. But one of the strongest ways for teams to (theoretically) improve is through the draft. Now obviously, some draft classes are stronger than others, and that drives interest (kind of like the stock market). But there are always teams salivating at the possibilities and thinking they can beat the oddds. And so tanking happens a lot. This definitely becomes more profound as the season wears on (eg, once you've been eliminated from contention). But it isn't limited to that. The East was supposed to have a bunch of super teams this year (Miami, Indiana, New York, Brooklyn, Chicago) and that hasn't really materialized. Factor in a strong draft and I could see more tanking than is normal. Some Eastern teams didn't feel that they had a chance. But those teams not panning out actually created an opportunity for teams like the Bobcats, the perennial bottom-dwellers, to potentially claim a playoff birth for the 2nd time in franchise history. So it can go both ways. Regardless, GM's that are trying to save their jobs and extend their longevity, usually look to the draft as the most obvious winning angle. That and big-name free agent signings. But sometimes you just need a spare year to get some of those nasty contracts off your books before you can make that run. Might as well tank an cash in at the draft as well. And so putting a year in the trash with the hope of upgrading happens a lot.

Anyways, I refuse to get into juvenile arguments with people like you. I wasted enough of my own time already as it is. Besides, you proved your quality with your first post. So say whatever you want. I don't really care. You win the internet.

[KaiRMD1]

The east has always been weak but this year takes the cake. I think coupled with the many high expectations, so far the east has just been an absolute bust and it sucks that when the playoffs roll around (unless some teams turn it on) there are going to be a couple teams not making the playoffs that should and a bunch of teams that shouldn't make it will be getting swept in the first round. There's a good chance you can consider the first round a bye for the eastern conference

[jimbo]

Backpedaling? Hardly. But indeed clarifying.

Teams are always needing to retool and rebuild. Sometimes it's a complete demolition, other times it's a more deliberate and calculated move. But one of the strongest ways for teams to (theoretically) improve is through the draft. Now obviously, some draft classes are stronger than others, and that drives interest (kind of like the stock market). But there are always teams salivating at the possibilities and thinking they can beat the oddds. And so tanking happens a lot. This definitely becomes more profound as the season wears on (eg, once you've been eliminated from contention). But it isn't limited to that. The East was supposed to have a bunch of super teams this year (Miami, Indiana, New York, Brooklyn, Chicago) and that hasn't really materialized. Factor in a strong draft and I could see more tanking than is normal. Some Eastern teams didn't feel that they had a chance. But those teams not panning out actually created an opportunity for teams like the Bobcats, the perennial bottom-dwellers, to potentially claim a playoff birth for the 2nd time in franchise history. So it can go both ways. Regardless, GM's that are trying to save their jobs and extend their longevity, usually look to the draft as the most obvious winning angle. That and big-name free agent signings. But sometimes you just need a spare year to get some of those nasty contracts off your books before you can make that run. Might as well tank an cash in at the draft as well. And so putting a year in the trash with the hope of upgrading happens a lot.

Anyways, I refuse to get into juvenile arguments with people like you. I wasted enough of my own time already as it is. Besides, you proved your quality with your first post. So say whatever you want. I don't really care. You win the internet.

You wrote a whole lot without saying a whole lot. If you're looking to save time, I suggest not writing out 6+ sentences of garbage.

Tbh, there's no argument here. (and there never was) In reality, in the past few years there have not been multiple teams literally trading off all the good talent they have in order to lose games. The 2011 draft was lauded as the worst one since the Mike Miller "Rookie of the Year" draft. (And this was around the time of the draft itself, not in hindsight)

It doesn't take Einstein to tell us that there are gonna be more teams tanking when you've got Wiggins/Parker/Randle/Smart/+ all of Kentucky's one and dones vs when you have Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams.

[cd021]

The East may get even worse...

According to Espn

Derrick Rose may have an invasive surgery that would keep him out to at least March or possibly June. It would essentially wipe out a 2nd straight season. The Bulls are 6-6. If they opt to go that route. They wind up tanking and retooling for next season. They could amnesty Boozer, trade Deng at the deadline (or resign, or let walk) And they have a pick swap this season. If the Bobcats pick is 11th or lower they can swap their pick if its worse.

[rastaspur]

As of today, the east has three teams with a record greater than .500 ans the west has two teams with a record below .500

[Darkwaters]

As of today, the east has three teams with a record greater than .500 ans the west has two teams with a record below .500

Obviously some of this will sort itself out as the season plays on. We're only talking about 12 or 13 games per team now. A small sample size when laid against an 82 game season. But so far the parity in the league is disastrous.

[heyheymymy]

was kinda hoping rose would come on strong and the nets would've worked out this season. i just want a little bit tougher road for mia

[BillMc]

was kinda hoping rose would come on strong and the nets would've worked out this season. i just want a little bit tougher road for mia

Sadly I don't think MIA will even have to sweat until the Pacers in the conference finals. While they would never do it, they could probably get away with resting D-wade in a few games in the first two rounds so he's healthy and fresh for the East Finals and NBA Finals. The East is that weak below the top 2 teams.

Meanwhile, there will be a few half way decent teams not even make the playoffs in the west, as well as some damn good teams that will go out in the first round.

It kind of reminds me of the 80's only in reverse from a conference perspective where the Lakers really had no worthy opponents in the west playoffs (except Houston every once in a while) while the 76ers, Celtics, Pistons, and young Bulls all beat the hell out of each other every year.

[hooperflash]

With Rondo and D.Rose out, this just sad....

https://fbcdn-photos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1471343_10151952847338463_53578279_n.jpg