by Makoy

Created on: March 11, 2009

Eastern Conference vs Western Conference. Gone are the days when Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan would used to dominate the Finals. In the late 90's until the middle part of the first decade of the 20th century, Western Conference teams have dominated the NBA in most part highlighted by the San Antonio Spurs winning 4 titles in the last 10 years and the Lakers 3 and making it to the NBA Finals 5 times. But when Boston acquired West juggernauts Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen which eventually led to title number 17 and brought back some pride to the East, the NBA has started to reestablish balance. But how balanced is balanced? Let's break down both conferences of the 2008-09 season.

Eastern Conference. Three teams has got the serious shot at the title from the East this season, the defending champs Boston, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Orlando Magic. As of this writing, Orlando is the third best team in the East and leads 4th seeded Atlanta by a far 14.0 games, pretty sure the top 3 spots has already been settled between these 3 teams. The reality is, the Eastern Conference is still not as star studded as the Western Conference but East teams make it up by playing good team basketball. Two of the top defensive teams in the NBA belong to the East namely Cleveland and Boston while both teams also lead the NBA in point difference margin while Orlando placed 4th overall, two key ingredients that teams definitely need in the playoffs. Arguably, it's safe to say that these 3 teams are the only teams that are strong enough to survive the intensity of the playoffs. But hold on, Miami and Detroit might just take a strong stint in the playoffs.

Western Conference. The Lakers and the Spurs are still in contention but other teams like the New Orleans Hornets and Denver Nuggets are making strong campaigns. Both the Lakers and the Spurs arguably has the best roster and team chemistry in the NBA as of the moment. It's already an icing on the cake for the Lakers as they lead the second running Spurs by 8.0 games. But the real thrill in the West is from the 2nd seed down to the 9th seed. Everything has not been settled yet as second seeded Spurs leads the 9th seeded Phoenix Suns by only 9.0 games and everybody else is close in between. Just like in the last 2 seasons, the West has always been this close and always goes down the wire, it's settled at the last game of the season. If the East boasts of the top defensive teams in the NBA, the West has 3 of the top scoring teams. The defending Western Conference champions Los Angeles Lakers leads the 29 other teams in scoring while Golden State and Phoenix placed next respectively.

Now speaking of chances, only 7 teams has the greater potential to make it far, Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando in the East and the Lakers, San Antonio, New Orleans, and Denver in the West. What's the common denominator? All those 7 teams have well established stars and each team plays terrific team basketball. It's going to be a very tough call but indeed both conferences has something to prove. The East and West are in balanced power.

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