One long-running plotline in the NBA is the Western Conference’s utter domination of the East. The West has been superior in just about every season in the 21st century, and in the past few seasons, that divide has only grown larger. In a given year, it’ll take about 48 wins to grab the final seed in the West — about 10 games more than it takes to do it in the East. But this season, a sea change may be in the works. The Eastern Conference could be significantly better than it was last season, while the mighty West is poised to take a step back.
The most obvious candidate to take a step forward in the East is the Knicks, who won just 17 games last year. With a healthy Carmelo Anthony, and a much improved supporting cast, including Robin Lopez and Arron Afflalo, they look to be a far more respectable team this season, perhaps even a playoff contender. Similar things could be said about the Miami Heat, who finished 37-45, just out of the playoffs, but are in a position to establish themselves as a top team in the East. With Chris Bosh back, a full season of Hassan Whiteside, and rookie Justise Winslow as an intriguing player off the bench, the Heat should be far better than they were last season.
The Heat and Knicks are the two most obvious choices, but there are teams throughout the East who have the potential to make great strides from their ’14-15 performances. Consider the Pacers, who welcome Paul George back to the lineup, along with free agent acquisition Monta Ellis. Will that be enough to carry them back to the No. 1 seed in the East? Probably not, but it’s hard not to imagine them contending for a playoff spot.
Elsewhere, we’re left to wonder if this is the year the Magic finally re-assert themselves as a competitive NBA franchise. With Elfrid Payton entering his second year, Victor Oladipo going into his third, and Tobias Harris locked up long term, this team has a lot of intriguing players, and if they finally put it together, a .500 record is certainly not out of the question. The Wizards may have lost Paul Pierce, but Kris Humphries and Drew Gooden are knocking down three-pointers with abandon after Randy Wittman opened up their offense into a high-octane muscle car, with Wall and Beal as the supercharger.
Of course, closing that gap will rely on downswing in the West. The Blazers are a pretty obvious candidate for a serious regression, considering every starter other than Damian Lillard left in the offseason. The team is relying on intriguing-but-unproven players like C.J. McCollum, Noah Vonleh, and Moe Harkless, and while all of those players could make strides, it doesn’t seem like the lineup of a playoff team. Similarly, after losing out on DeAndre Jordan, the Mavs look weak and uninspired, as poor Dirk Nowitzki will apparently have to play out the last years of his glorious career on a mediocre team with an underwhelming supporting cast. With the Mavs and Blazers likely to tail off considerably, expect some of those wins to migrate to the East. Additionally, while the Warriors are likely to be a juggernaut once again, another 67-win campaign could be quite difficult, especially with every team in the league gunning for them. Even a 58-win season would present a nine-win drop off, which would hardly be insignificant.
The West should still be the superior conference, especially with the Jazz and Timberwolves, but not by as much as they have been the past few years. There are simply too many Eastern teams in a position to make vast improvements for the conference to remain the joke it has been in recent seasons. It’ll take a few years before the East would have a realistic chance to unseat the West as the better conference, but if nothing else, 2015-16 should represent a long overdue return to respectability for the NBA’s historically weaker conference.
