love the Kings this year…I really do I’m salty tho Kings are the 2 seed in the West and are currently on pace to win just 49-50 games…this is the weakest WC in decades some years, 50 wins was barely the 8th seed Denver is supposedly the best team the West has to offer this year? 17-18 Rockets would absolutely crush them in 5. Hell, the 18-19 Rockets with a diminished CP3 would beat the brakes of them too. Smh, why did our contending days have to coincide with the KD Warriors? Why!!
I think you're misinterpreting records. The West isn't weak, it's just much more competitive from top to bottom. Parity. If you make a list of the most elite players across the league, most of them are in the West. A lot more of them. The West is much deeper than the East, which is why the records are more even.
the West having more individual talent than the East and being competitive top to bottom has always been the case…not sure why you’re acting like that’s something new it’s just that now instead of 52-55 wins getting u the 4th or 5th seed in the West, it gets u the 1st or 2nd seed the West is the weakest it’s ever been when it comes to team quality
Bucks: 19-5 vs the West, 29-14 vs the East Celtics: 18-5 vs the West, 29-16 vs the East Sixers: 19-7 vs the West, 25-15 vs the East Nuggets: 32-13 vs the West, 14-8 vs the East Kings; 27-14 vs the West, 13-12 vs the East Suns: 24-16 vs the West, 13-14 vs the East Clippers: 20-21 vs the West, 16-12 vs the East Warriors: 22-18 vs the West, 13-15 vs the East Twolves: 25-20 vs the West, 9-14 vs the East Mavs: 25-20 vs the West, 9-14 vs the East
This is the first year for I don't know how long the inter-conference records are in favor of the East. The East has 3 contending teams. The West has only 1. The East is definitely better this year. If not for the Durant to Phoenix trade, the West is very much like the East of yesteryears. (Well, who knows if Durant will be healthy enough to make an impact in the playoffs.)
Halliburton is a top 5 playmaker I’ll grant you that but in a guard talent laden league guys like Hali are easier to find then a incredible talented big man like Sabonis who is so skilled on both ends of the ball. Kings hit the jackpot with this trade
No LeBron, Zion, JA, Durant, Luka. The West is injured. Make all those guys healthy and I think the West looks pretty normal.
Ja has been playing all year…the Grizzlies been nothing special the entire season…same with Luka and the Mavs Lakers with Lebron were garbage pre-trade deadline, and after the Russ trade they are better, but they’re not some elite level team Pelicans healthy with Zion were on the level of the Kings at best all those guys healthy and the West is still extremely subpar compared to the past
there’s only 1 team in the West that’s above .500 on the road When have u ever seen something like that before?
You’re missing a lot of context there. One, you’ve listed the top 3 teams in the East. Who we all know are good. It’s beyond that which makes my point. The West is deeper from top to bottom and has a lot more of the top tier players. That’s one of the reasons there’s so much parity. Also, there’s been a lot of injuries out West. Steph Curry has missed 26 games and Klay has missed 12 for the Warriors. LBJ has missed 23 games and AD 27 for the LA LeBrons. KAT has missed 50 games for Minny. PHX hasn’t had KD and lost Booker and CP3 for 20+ games each. Zion has missed 40 games for the Pelicans. Luka has missed 13 games for Dallas. Kawhi missed 30 games for the Clips and PG has missed 17 games. Ja Morant has missed 15 games for the Griz, with Adams, Jackson, and Clarke missing more than that SGA has missed 11 games for OKC ^^The above largely explains these outlier records against the East. As someone else said, the West historically dominates the East. The vast majority of the top players are in the West, even before KD was traded. The variable and context you aren’t considering is what I just outlined above. The West is far deeper and better than the East. IDK how any knowledgeable fan could try to argue otherwise with a straight face. That said, BOS, MIL, and PHI are certainly as good as any team out West and could very well be the best 3 overall. Who knows. But don’t pretend the rest of the East is anywhere on par. Cleveland and New York are ok, but wouldn’t be doing near as well in a healthy West.
Again, you seem to be oblivious to all the injuries and missed time by upper-tier stars out West. Those are not an insignificant amount of games. That’s why you think you haven’t seen anything like this before and why it’s an anomaly. Look at the overarching trend of the past decade and not this current season in a vacuum. Things don’t change drastically over one season. Especially when you recognize the vast majority of the top talent is out West and has been for some time.
I agree with a lot of what you said, but Cleveland by some estimations is a top3 team in the league. They're a lot better than their record shows. #9 offense and #2 defense... and #1 Net Rating.
