In all regular-season matchups in the regular season, the east was a pitiful 161-259 vs. The west. That's a stunning .383 winning percentage. In the entire eastern conferece, three teams had a winning record vs. the west, while the #2 seeded Bucks were a dead-even .500. Philly, Miami, and NY all had a dominating 16-12 record with the western conference. To review, the 4-8 seeds that went to the playoffs in the east did not have a winning percentage vs. the west in the regular season! Only the worst four teams in the entire western conference teams didn't have a winning record vs. the east. Denver, Clippers, Grizz, and Warriors. Everyone else had a winning or dominating record against them, and our beloved Rockets went 25-5 against them but still didn't make the playoffs over here. If you match all teams up in the league by their regular season records, Magic and Pacers aren't even in the top 16 in the league but did make the playoffs in the east. Rockets and Seattle were 15th and 16th, but didn't make the playoffs. With their record the #2 seeded Bucks would have been the 7th seed in the west, while the Blazers could have been 3rd seed in the east. And this is without any mathematical weighting system to reflect that each team plays four matchups with conference opponents and 2 against each team from the other conference.
I wish the East would win a title in the next year or two. I'm so #*$^ing sick and tired of everyone saying "the West is going to kill the East" year, after freakin' year. It's driving me insane.
It's not about the Rox, especially considering the Rockets probably won't get past the Conference Finals, if they make it that far (sorry, but this is how I feel). Since the Lakers will probably come out of the West, I'm hoping some team absolutely destroys them. Also, I like a couple teams in the East, as well, soo..
I don't think the East is quite as bad as people think, though Nolen's stats don't help my case AT ALL! I see 5 teams in the East capable of winning a championship or getting to the Finals. Milwaukee, Charlotte (they will shock people), Toronto, Orlando (if their big men hold up and get to the boards, and Hill is healthy), and Philadelphia, especially if they can get a big man, especially Mason who they are in the running for.
So...does this take a little of the impact away from our good record against the East, since it's so common, or is it still a solid achievement? Personally, I really would like to see a little more parity again...the league is getting boring in its current, one-sided state.
