the goodbye of Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls ended almost a decade of hegemony of the Eastern Conference according to the West. The beginning of the new century brought with it a change in the competitiveness, relevance and presence of candidates for the ring, the vast majority being at the other geographical end of the country. A trend that in recent years seemed to be beginning to several, which has culminated in the present course 2022-2023.
A simple look at the leaderboard will offer a simple but equally correct reading: the best teams are in the East.
If the 30 sets of the league were ordered based on their winning percentage, only 5 from the West would directly enter the current Playoff zone and occupy another 3 of the 4 places reserved for a hypothetical Play-In.
Things get complicated when you look at the top of the table. Among the top five only 2 teams appear (Nuggets and Grizzlies), but relatively far from the first two places they occupy Bucks y Celtics. In fact, Denver would tie with the 76ers, against whom they lost their only game so far. Besides, Memphis would be 7 games away from the Milwaukee Bucks despite being the second Best in the West right now.
raise a reconfiguration of the Conferencesas well as a Playoff format with the top 16 teams It is something that has been on the table for decades. Ironically, this was something that came from the mind of Mark Cuban, owner of the Mavericks, who would be left out under this qualifying regime. The implementation of a change of this magnitude would be tremendously complicated, especially at the logistical level (travel, calendars, etc).
MORE | What’s wrong with the Mavs? His crisis, explained
The 2019-2020 season was the first since 1997 in which a team from the West entered the Playoffs with a negative balance, something that was common in the East, and was repeated last season.
The change in the trend is real and it could be the circumstance in this 2022-2023 that the East presented 8 teams with a winning percentage greater than 50%something that has not happened since 2003.
The comparison until the meetings that took place on March 24 is as follows:
| matches vs. another conference | victories | defeats | win % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| It is | 420 | 221 | 199 | 52,6% |
| West | 420 | 199 | 221 | 47,3% |
subscribe to NBA League Pass to see all the games: United States | Rest of the world
The Eastern Conference franchises have won 52.6% of the duels they have had against their infield rivals. The performance of the West in some cases has been extremely surprising, which is a reflection of the moment of loss of relevance in this part of the NBA.
Golden State Warriors they have only managed to win 46.7% of their games despite being the 6th classified in the West. Similar case to Minnesota Timberwolves, with a very low 41.4%, Dallas Mavericks, with 37.5% or New Orleans Pelicans with 41.4%. And it is that there are only 6 teams with a winning record against the other Conference.
In contrast, in the East the number rises to 8, with up to 11 franchises with 48% for the 7 in the West. In addition, the Bucks, Celtics and 76ers have a winning percentage of 70% or more against the other Conference. In the West? None.
Fans in the United Statesyou can watch the best games of the 2022-2023 NBA season at Sling TV. Register by clicking here.
What is the reason for this loss of relevance and hegemony of the West over the East?
One of the reasons has to do with the player movement. The departures of Donovan Mitchell, Jrue Holiday, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan or even Jalen Brunson have had a notable effect on the performance of their previous teams. Kevin Durant could be added to this list, who despite being in the Suns right now, has not played more than three games with them after spending the last 4 seasons in the Brooklyn Nets.
Another key should not be overlooked, such as the aging of some of the stars of the past decade. LeBron James has only played 47 games, Stephen Curry has missed 26 games, Chris Paul is still at a good level in May he will be 38 years old. Not to mention the KD case again. To which we must add young people or those who should be at their peak of performance have suffered injuries or have been in and out (Leonard, Booker, Towns, Davis, Jackson, Williamson, Doncic, etc).
MORE | The complicated future of Ben Simmons after his last injury
Saying that the three main candidates for the ring are in the Eastern Conference should not surprise anyone. From among Bucks, Celtics and 76ers should come out the NBA champion taking as a reference what has been seen to date in the Regular Phase.
That’s not to say the Nuggets, Grizzlies, Clippers, Suns or Warriors don’t have a choice or are going to get trampled by their infield rivals, but so far they haven’t shown they’re willing to do otherwise. Without going any further, the Denver’s 67.1% win rate would be the lowest in the last 39 years of history, since the 1984 Lakers (65.9%), when there were barely 12 teams in the West.
Something has changed in the NBA and the Eastern Conference is now the strongest in the league. At least in what has to do with the Regular Phase.
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
