Is the power balance of the NBA shifting?

[Dex]

Despite the Warriors' 19-0 start, the East currently has more wins than the West, 134-132.

Has the East really improved? Are the teams in the West just shitting the bed? Or is the sample size just too small?

Discuss.

[BatManu20]

Sample size is certainly too small at this point, but the West has been a disappointment overall this year with the drop-off of Houston and the Clippers (still early though). And East teams like Miami, Indy, Toronto, Orlando, and Charlotte are playing better than expected.

[Red Hawk #21]

Didn't a lot of players from the Western Conference go to the East this season? (Lin, Batum, Ellis, Gerald Green etc)

[Robz4000]

Eh, the East went from having a lot of mediocre to bad teams to having good ones. Outside of Cleveland there's no elite (or potential elite) while the West has GS, SA, OKC, and LAC.

[Dex]

Eh, the East went from having a lot of mediocre to bad teams to having good ones. Outside of Cleveland there's no elite (or potential elite) while the West has GS, SA, OKC, and LAC.

Pretty much my thoughts on the subject. The East has a number of teams playing surprisingly well (Indiana, Toronto, Miami) along with the three that most people expected in Cleveland, Atlanta, and Chicago. Meanwhile, the West lost a power when Portland disbanded, and several other teams are underachieving (Houston, Clippers, Memphis, New Orleans).

It could even out of over the course of the season, but the end result is the same: The only elite team in the East that is a serious threat to topple an elite team in the West in a seven-game series is the Cavs, and even they look questionable right now.