As much as I hate to see the college basketball season end, spring brings with it the promise of more hoops glory in the form of the NBA playoffs. Now, say what you wish about the NBA--I myself am guilty of berating the professional league's culture of seemingly lackadaisical regular season effort--but the NBA postseason showcases the world's best players in an oftentimes awe-inspiring and motivated display of athletic prowess. Ever since I was a young Hoosier watching Reggie Miller and the Pacers duke it out against the likes of the Knicks' John Starks and Patrick Ewing and the Bulls' legendary MJ, the NBA playoffs have consistently captured my attention and demanded my respect.
And alas, this year's version of the NBA playoffs features a storyline that has been developing for nearly the past decade: Is this the season where the Eastern Conference restores respect in the conference by winning a championship, or will the West once more prevail in convincing fashion? The West has been far and away the more competitive conference for years.
Ineptitude at sports and life in general has led the Eastern Conference to be popularly dubbed the "Least." Most telling is the Least's abysmal playoff resume of late; after the Bulls dominated in the early and mid-90s, the Western Conference has won seven of the last nine championships behind the Spurs and Lakers (with the exceptions being the Pistons in '04 and the Heat in '06). This season, the West's No. 9 best team--only eight teams from each conference make the playoffs--is posting a record roughly equivalent to the Least's No. 3 seed, the Orlando Magic. While the Least's eighth seed in the playoffs will finish the season with a losing record, at least one team from the West will miss the playoffs while finishing more than 10 games over .500.
All history, overall competitiveness and familial relations aside, a conference needs but one team to carry the torch and win the NBA Finals, and the Least will shed it's 'L' in this year's postseason by winning the championship, thanks ultimately to either the Boston Celtics (64-16) or the Detroit Pistons (57-23), the teams with the two best records in the NBA. Both teams have a legitimate shot at winning the championship, something last year's LeBron James-led Cavaliers did not have against the Spurs in the finals, and this year's finals will show the country once and for all that the East can play with the West.
Boston has received much media hype for its "Big Three" players - Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, yet not many people expected the Celtics to have such a dominant season. Boston has coasted through league play, locking up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and winning its division by a margin of more than 20 games. Not since the scintillating '96-'97 Bulls posted the second best record ever at 69-13 (.841) has an Eastern Conference team won 80 percent of its games. Most impressive is Boston's record against the all-powerful West: an incredible 25-6 (.806) against all Western foes and an even more impressive 6-2 mark against the West's top four teams, New Orleans, San Antonio, Los Angeles Lakers and Utah. The Celtics have proven able to compete with and defeat the West's best, something a team from the Least hasn't been able to do consistently for a while. They get my vote as the team that has the best chance to win the NBA Finals (despite my moral objection and overall annoyance towards Boston sports teams in general).
To get to the Finals, however, Boston would most likely have to go through Detroit, a formidable foe. Despite not having a single All-NBA-caliber player on the roster, the Pistons have quietly amassed the second best record in basketball and appear well-rested and ready to avenge last year's Eastern Finals loss to LeBron James and the Cavaliers (remember James' 25 straight points late to single-handedly defeat and demoralize the Pistons in Game Five, anyone?). The Pistons haven't changed much over the years, and the squad will boast plenty of playoff experience to aid in its quest for its second championship in five years.
All-in-all, the Western teams may be more prepared for playoff play due to the ultra-competitive regular-season, yes. But whatever team makes it to the finals will likely not be prepared for the Big Three and Boston's stifling defense. McGrady and the Rockets weren't prepared when their 22-game streak was snapped by Boston. The West's top four teams weren't prepared for the Celtics 6 of 8 times. The defending champion Spurs weren't prepared in either of their two meetings with Boston (0-2). Why should anyone believe that the West is still better? Boston, assuming they get past the Cavs and Pistons, will put the discussion to rest for the time being by winning the NBA Finals in 2008.
