May 19, 201610 yr Is it fair to say the Cavs' path to the Finals this season is less competitive than the Warriors' opponents last season? Records indicate this is a no-brainer, and recency bias is a real thing, however, I don't think this is an open and close case. The Rockets, given all we know about their intestinal fortitude, were the WCF match-up and let's be honest, can we really trust a Harden/Howard-led team? How bout a team with Patrick Beverly starting at PG? I wouldn't exactly call this a tall task for the eventual champions. The Grizzlies beat Golden State twice in the second round, including once at Oracle in Mike Conley's return from injury. Conley averaged 10 points and six assists over the last four games. This particular match-up troubles me given how old Memphis was this season. Were they really that much livelier last season? I lean toward no. The first round featured Anthony Davis' playoffs debut, and he did not disappoint, averaging 31/11 and 3 blocks in the four game sweep. 8-seeds are 8-seeds, and most all of them are in for a sweep. We know what the Cavs are doing, so I won't write obituaries for their opponents. Hopefully this will keep the Conference Finals threads on the subject of the Conference Finals games.
May 19, 201610 yr It goes in cycles...East tougher for a few years then the West is tougher. I think the dirty little secret is that the East has caught up with the West...west has more strength at the top but overall the East is just has strong. This season the West was 222-220 against the East...take out the worst team from each side and it goes to 199-199 in East vs West games.
May 20, 201610 yr It goes in cycles...East tougher for a few years then the West is tougher. I think the dirty little secret is that the East has caught up with the West...west has more strength at the top but overall the East is just has strong. This season the West was 222-220 against the East...take out the worst team from each side and it goes to 199-199 in East vs West games. The east hasn't been the best conference since Jordan retired. Maybe the one year after his retirement the East was still better even though the Spurs won. But starting with the Lakers it's been West dominance.
May 20, 201610 yr The east hasn't been the best conference since Jordan retired. Maybe the one year after his retirement the East was still better even though the Spurs won. But starting with the Lakers it's been West dominance.They have been the best but it looks like the East has caught up as a whole. East and West played virtually even against each other this season. West has the more strength at the very top, but East still played them even this season.
May 20, 201610 yr It goes in cycles...East tougher for a few years then the West is tougher. I think the dirty little secret is that the East has caught up with the West...west has more strength at the top but overall the East is just has strong. This season the West was 222-220 against the East...take out the worst team from each side and it goes to 199-199 in East vs West games. I can't remember the number, but it is something like 15 of the past 16 years the West has been better head-to-head against the East. The past couple seasons the records have evened out, but we are talking in some seasons the records were way more tilted in the West's favor, like 40+ games. I can't say is has gone in cycles. 11 of the past 16 winners have come from the West. The talent and better run organizations are in the West, that is why you see it like this. Minus the LeBron teams which has top talent (still needs more help, of course ) who else do you have? Paul George? John Wall? 1-Legged Wade? Kyle Lowry? In the West, Damian Lillard can't make the all-star team. He may start in the East. What has helped the East is the additions of some good coaches... Stan Van Gundy, Brad Stevens, etc.
May 20, 201610 yr If you just go back 12 years the Finals are just 7-5 with Cleveland having a shot at getting it to 7-6. West definitely has the "Star Power", but my point was and is that the East even going against all of that star power played them even.
May 20, 201610 yr The paths are equally bad IMO. No real challengers in their way. Last year San Antonio or OKC (if healthy) might have given Golden State a series. In the East this year a healthy Miami team was the only potential hiccup.
May 20, 201610 yr Is it fair to say the Cavs' path to the Finals this season is less competitive than the Warriors' opponents last season? Records indicate this is a no-brainer, and recency bias is a real thing, however, I don't think this is an open and close case. The Rockets, given all we know about their intestinal fortitude, were the WCF match-up and let's be honest, can we really trust a Harden/Howard-led team? How bout a team with Patrick Beverly starting at PG? I wouldn't exactly call this a tall task for the eventual champions. The Grizzlies beat Golden State twice in the second round, including once at Oracle in Mike Conley's return from injury. Conley averaged 10 points and six assists over the last four games. This particular match-up troubles me given how old Memphis was this season. Were they really that much livelier last season? I lean toward no. The first round featured Anthony Davis' playoffs debut, and he did not disappoint, averaging 31/11 and 3 blocks in the four game sweep. 8-seeds are 8-seeds, and most all of them are in for a sweep. We know what the Cavs are doing, so I won't write obituaries for their opponents. Hopefully this will keep the Conference Finals threads on the subject of the Conference Finals games. It is a legit point and why many put an asterisks by last year title. Every team they played was injury riddled or had some issues. This has been the main motivation in them winning 73 games.
May 20, 201610 yr If you just go back 12 years the Finals are just 7-5 with Cleveland having a shot at getting it to 7-6. West definitely has the "Star Power", but my point was and is that the East even going against all of that star power played them even. The past couple years, sure. But since the 2000s got underway, it is normally an annual battle to reach upper 40 wins to make the Western Conference playoffs. The same record in the East would get you a top 4 seed.
May 20, 201610 yr The past couple years, sure. But since the 2000s got underway, it is normally an annual battle to reach upper 40 wins to make the Western Conference playoffs. The same record in the East would get you a top 4 seed. And this year the 6th, 7th and 8th best records in the West wouldn't have made the playoffs in the East. I'm not talking historically or who has the most All Stars. I'm just looking at this seasons results and the East is neck and neck with the West.
May 20, 201610 yr And this year the 6th, 7th and 8th best records in the West wouldn't have made the playoffs in the East. I'm not talking historically or who has the most All Stars. I'm just looking at this seasons results and the East is neck and neck with the West. No one outside of Cleveland in the east would finished top 5 in the West and probably not top 6 if they moved West. The 7 and 8 seed were weak this year out West mostly due to injury. A healthy Memphis team finishes 2nd in the East.
May 20, 201610 yr No one outside of Cleveland in the east would finished top 5 in the West and probably not top 6 if they moved West. The 7 and 8 seed were weak this year out West mostly due to injury. A healthy Memphis team finishes 2nd in the East. Then why was the West only .500 against the East this season. I get it that everyone is invested in the West and they have been the best, all I'm saying is that the East may have caught up when no one was paying attention.
May 20, 201610 yr Then why was the West only .500 against the East this season. I get it that everyone is invested in the West and they have been the best, all I'm saying is that the East may have caught up when no one was paying attention. This year is an anamoly until I see consistency. All I know is as a betting man if the top 6 in the West were to play any team in the East not named Cleveland in a 7 game series I'm betting on the team from the West.
May 20, 201610 yr Author To me, it breaks down like this. 15 Pelicans/16 Pistons- Advantage Pistons. +1 15 Grizzlies/16 Hawks- Advantage Grizzlies. +.5 15 Rockets/16 Raptors- Even. Lowry's play and DeRozan's aloofness negate Harden/Howard clusteryouknowwhat. 15 Cavs/16 Warriors/Thunder- Advantage West. +1.5 Going to the cards, the first three rounds are pretty comparable, however, either team coming out of the west will be tougher than the less-than-full-strength Cavs of 2015. To bugatti's point, I never put an asterisk by that win, though I often wondered what could have been, and the part of me that wants to see a rematch is feuding with the much larger part of me that didn't give the Dubs a chance at getting back to the Finals.
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