Conference conundrum

The gap between teams in the East and West is huge

I almost made a horrible mistake earlier in this NBA season (which wouldn't have been a first). Having surveyed the early returns, I was certain that the Eastern Conference, after a couple of bumpy seasons, was righting itself and -- the Los Angeles Lakers notwithstanding -- could stack up reasonably well against the West. The Nets, Celtics, Pacers, Pistons and Hawks would all clearly be better than last year; the Bucks, Magic, Raptors and Hornets would all be at least as good; and that's not to say anything about the magic Michael could pull off in Washington. That was my early opinion anyway.

Well, I'm glad I never wrote that, because as we head near the midseason point of the season, the Eastern Conference is -- in a word -- awful. (Those who see the glass as half full are free to proclaim the Western Conference as wonderful.) Through games played as of Jan. 21, there are five Western Conference teams with winning percentages above .700 and only three Eastern clubs in the .600s, including Boston, which is right at the mark. There's a long way to go, of course, but in the last 20 seasons no more than three teams in a single conference have finished above .700. Keep in mind, too, that winning percentages would be better in the West (and worse in the East) were each not playing conference-heavy schedules. It seems difficult to leave the Jordan influence out of any trend discussion and, well, this one started in the 1999-00 season, after Jordan quit for the second time. The West had five splendid teams (the champion Lakers, who had an .817 mark, Portland, Utah, San Antonio and Phoenix) while the best in the East were the not-so-great Indiana Pacers. Perhaps the East stopped preparing for Jordan and let down a little. Last season, the Spurs finished with a .707 percentage and six other Western teams were above .600. The Eastern champ, Philadelphia, performed admirably in the Finals, but is there any doubt that two middle-of-the-pack Western teams -- say, Seattle and Minnesota -- were as good as the Iversons?

Quick: Name a disappointing team in the West this season. The Trail Blazers perhaps, but an implosion was predictable there and, anyway, Portland has started to play better of late. (Heaven help us all.) The Houston Rockets, who as of right now have a better record than only two Western teams (Denver and Memphis), would be a definite playoff team in the East with a healthy Stevie Francis. Ah, but disappointing teams in the East? Take your pick. Any team in the Central Division qualifies with the possible exception of the Milwaukee Bucks, who despite having won two-thirds of their games are always sniping at each other and know in their heart of hearts they're no better than, say, the Utah Jazz (.537). Most of the East's new energy (and I use those two words carefully) comes from the Atlantic Division, where the Nets are a legitimate surprise and a feel-good story, the Celtics are pretty solid, and the Wizards are better than many expected (though running into trouble lately). Other than that, it's bad news, particularly in Miami and New York, where Don Chaney will soon be gone.

Now, this is not exactly a hot topic in pro sports, the NBA not being as conference-conscious a game as is college basketball. But it must be at least a minor topic of concern in the league office when the mediocre and weaker teams in one conference have such a difficult road. How would you like to be, say, the Grizzlies, who are trying to dig themselves out of a hole in a new city? How much better would their record be if they could feast on a Vitamin C diet of Charlotte, Cleveland and Chicago rather than playing 54 of their 82 games against the powers in the West?

The teams I really feel sorry for, though, are Sacramento, Minnesota and Dallas. They are clearly superior to any team in the East and would be a worthy representative in the Finals, except that they're probably not going to get there. I don't feel as bad for San Antonio, which won a championship (albeit in the strike-shortened season of '99) and should stand up to the Lakers better than it has.

Everything is cyclical, of course, and the East is bound to bounce back sometime. But no conference has ever had such a long way to go.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Jack McCallum covers the NBA beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his NBA Mailbag.

 

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