At least at the top end the bucks, raptors, and 76ers all got better. That's not even including the Celtics. Obviously warriors are the best team, but other than the rockets those 3 teams are better than any Western conference team.
A lot of the top 4 team's success (in terms of W/L) comes from playing other EC teams, right? East is pretty top heavy, while 1-8 in the West are all pretty competitive. I don't think Milwaukee (1, EC) can sweep the Clippers (8, WC). Warriors (1, WC) sweep the Heat (8, EC), easy. Toronto (2, EC) probably beats the Jazz (7, WC) 4-2, but I can see Denver (2, WC) sweeping the Hornets (7, EC).
Let's be honest they are better than the rockets are also right now. But denver and okc? Denver is good but are matchup weak. So I say those 3 are better. Okc seems really legit but even they seem to lack in comparison. I think the top is much better in the east. Ut the depth is obviously much better in the qest. But how inflated is the top because of the lack of eastern depth? Idk
No the East are top heavy I mean Bucks, raps, Celts, Philly thats it. If you look at the worst teams there are Knicks, Cavs, Hawks etc basically 7 of the top 10 worst teams belong to the East and thats including their wins against each other lol. East still sucks, sorry to say. Esp next year when Irving leaves the Celts, Butler leaves Philly and Kawhi leaves the Raptors.
Celts are overrated They have Tatum 1 2nd tier star (Rie) 2 3rd tier stars And a slew of good young role players who will never be stars
Philly are my picks to make it to the Finals. I think they have the exact type of roster capable of giving the Warriors fits. Every single one of their players just seems to have a lot of height and reach capable of getting a lot of deflections and blocks that could really put a wrench in the Warriors offensive attack. That and they have no measurable way of stopping Embiid from doing whatever he wants in the post. As a Rockets fan, Philly would also be my least favorite matchup if the Rockets do get to the Finals this year. I do think Capela could at least nullify statistically what Embiid does out there, but the athleticism and length of Philly could definitely cause issues in the Rockets offense as well.
I think the Nuggets are being underrated, but the Raptors/Bucks/Celtics/Sixers would certainly compete for the top 3 seeds in the West with Denver and Warriors, although the Warriors are still clearly the best team. I think Raptors are the best now. I think that Gasol move is very underrated. Mirotic and Gasol are roughly equivalent at this point, but Gasol adds a new dimension to the Raptors while Mirotic solves an incremental problem for the Bucks. The Sixers imo might not mesh well. They MIGHT mesh well. Still, those guys were on the edge about shot distribution and now added a guy who's only skill is scoring a lot. They solved some depth issues, but that roster is not going to necessarily click right away. Celtics I've always said will improve. They are younger than the rest and will keep improving as the season goes on. Hayward imo continues to improve and could very well be playable by the time the playoffs roll around. If Marcus Smart is hitting 34% of his 3's, that team is excellent. They are designed well for the grind of the playoffs, almost moreso than the regular season.
the east have finally overtaken the west as the best conference in the world. things will look clearer in the all star game when the east blows out the west.
The top of the east has an inflated record thanks to getting to fatten up on the trash east. I do think you could argue 3 of the top 6 teams are in the East, but the West is significantly better in terms of overall strength. I would like to say some of the power is finally beginning to balance out after 20 years, but the Raptors and Celtics have red flags that things could go south in a hurry this off season and most of Milwaukee's key players are FA.
The East has 3 real title contenders: Bucks, Raptors and 76ers The East has 1 "if all goes right in the playoffs" team: Celtics The West has 1 Title FAVORITE: Warriors The West has 1 Title Contender: Nuggets The West has 1 "if all goes right in the playoffs team: Rockets That's it really. I think the East has more quality at the top but the West maybe has a few more competent teams in the mid tier.
That you have to put that qualifier in answers your question. No, the East is NOT better than the West. Look at teams 5-10 in each league. Even at the top...which team in the East is better than the Warriors? No, the East is not better than the West. I think they are getting better though. But so are teams in the West.
