As a Lakers fan I am fully aware that the Western conference has been better than the Eastern conference for quite some time now and while it's allways bothered me, this upcoming season is when it (hopefully) start bothering more casual fans.
Due to the trades of Paul George, Jimmy Butler and Paul Millsap all to the West the talent disparity is now at an all-time high
Don't believe me?
As we know the NBA is one of the more star driven leagues and therefore we will take a small look at the top-35 players for the upcoming 2017-2018 NBA season. If we do so we take (for now) into account that Paul Millsap (Moved to Denver) and Kyle Lowry stays in the Eastern Conference.
For this list we have taken the following top 35 for the upcoming season.
| 1. LeBron James |
| 2. Kevin Durant |
| 3. James Harden |
| 4. Kawhi Leonard |
| 5. Russell Westbrook |
| 6. Stephen Curry |
| 7. Chris Paul |
| 8. Giannis Antetokoumpho |
| 9. Jimmy Butler |
| 10.Anthony Davis |
| 11. Paul George |
| 12. DeMarcus Cousins |
| 13. John Wall |
| 14. Isaiah Thomas |
| 15. Damian Lillard |
| 16. Marc Gasol |
| 17. Draymond Green |
| 18. Rudy Gobert |
| 19. Klay Thompson |
| 20. Mike Conley |
| 21. Kyrie Irving |
| 22. Kyle Lowry |
| 23. Blake Griffin |
| 24. Nikola Jokic |
| 25. DeMar DeRozan |
| 26. Karl-Anthony Towns |
| 27. Kemba Walker |
| 28. DeAndre Jordan |
| 29. Bradley Beal |
| 30. Joel Embiid |
| 31. CJ McCollum |
| 32. Paul Millsap |
| 33. Kevin Love |
| 34. Eric Bledsoe |
| 35. LaMarcus Aldridge |
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So 80% of the top-20 players is going to be playing in the Western Conference which is just absolutely crazy when you think about it. This means a couple of things for the upcoming season.
Not enough? Not convinced?
Let's look at the top 5 contenders in the NBA then (purely looking at roster, not conference).
1. Golden State Warriors
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Houston Rockets
5. San Antonio Spurs
6. Minnesota Timberwolves
7. Utah Jazz
So out of the top 7 teams in the NBA, 6 are in the Western conference. (85%).
So what does this talent disparity mean for the upcoming season?
1. Guys like Otto Porter, Ben Simmons, Jae Crowder are going to be making the All-star teams.
2. LeBron is going to have the easiest path to the finals in the past 7 years.
3. The 12th seed in the Western Conference (Right now DAL) might have actually been the 3rd or 4th seed in the East.
Don't be fooled by the records team post, this year or even last year as you play your own division and conference more than you do the other conference, thus inflating your win total.
The NBA should employ a 1-16 playoffs format, but first needs to change the scheduling to make sure that every team has the same amount of chance and the East records aren't inflated anymore.
I know the NBA doesn't want to lower the total amount of games played throughout the season and therefor I suggest playing each NBA team 3x a season. (total 87 games)
Then the seeding could go 1-16 at the end of the regular season, possibly making the way for a way more interesting playoffs. The seeding could look something like this.
1. Golden State Warriors - Philadelphia 76ers .16
2. Cleveland Cavaliers - Dallas Mavericks 15.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder - Denver Nuggetw14.
4. Houston Rockets - New Orleans Pelicans 13.
5. San Antonio Spurs - Portland Trailblazers 12.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves - Memphis Grizzlies 11.
7. Utah Jazz - Toronto Raptors 10.
8. Washington Wizards - Boston Celtics 9.
In this scenario only 5 teams from the Eastern Conference participate and only 2 have homecourt in the first round. This would ensure the best teams to meet in the semi-finals and finals and thus making the way for some really amazing play and matchups before the finals. It would also ensure that no team goes 12-0 before the finals, or 16-1 to win the championship in 16/17.
Yes, it would force the NBA to be a little bit more creative in travelling, scheduling and especially TV scheduling but I think it would ensure a more thrilling playoffs which will eventually generate more viewers. It would also ensure that teams like Cleveland has to actually play during the regular season to ensure that they have a favorable matchup and good seeding in the playoffs.
Or we could keep it all the same and all know that Cleveland makes the finals and the All-star team for the East will consist of IT, Wall, Beal and a bunch of Clevelan
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