East vs West

[PoppaFritz]

One thing that Hawks fans will find out soon enough is how weak the Eastern Conference is. The only team that could compete in the Western Conference is New Jersey and they would probably finish 4-5th. The Hawks and every other Eastern team will take their lumps on these West coast road trips. Teams like Pheonix and the Clippers would be contenders in the East but will struggle to just make the playoffs in the West, the balance of power is just so skewed right now.

What the Hawks can't do is let any win on the road slip away, especially against Western Conference teams. Then they have to take care of business at home regardless of the team. One thing I have noticed is that the Hawks don't draw many fans for home games. Does the Atlanta community not support their team? It's hard to have a home court advantage when no one is at the Arena.

Anyways, I wouldn't get to worked up over a few road losses, especially to teams in the Western conference, everybody is going to struggle for wins.

[Diesel]

Eastern Teams are destroying their Western Counterparts....

Look at Cleveland over the Lakers.

Orlando and NY over the Kings.

Everybody over the Timberwolves.

Etc, Etc....

The East might be better than the West this yr.

The West still has Duncan, Shaq, and KG, but for the most part, they are being outplayed by the Eastern teams for now...

Here's why, Eastern teams have Better Gaurds. Kobe is the only really good 2 gaurd in the West.

In the East, you have:

Tmac, Iverson, Carter, Pierce, Terry, Davis, etc, etc...

The West will have to worry about these Eastern teams being able to run and fill it up.

For instance, you said NJ would be the only one who can compete... Well, NJ is the only one built like a West team... However, I bet New Orleans will put a spank down on every West Playoff team and the team that every west team fears is the Hornets. Another team that they should fear is Milwaukee. Last night, I saw a team in Milwaukee that if they ever reached their true potential, could beat the best of the league.

There's not the gap there was between West and East anymore. The East is proving that defense matters. With that said, watch New Orleans, Milwaukee, and the Dynamic Duo of Orlando put the hurt on Western Contenders.

[PoppaFritz]

You don't honestly believe that New Orleans, Milwaukee, or Orlando could consistently compete with any of the top 4 teams in the West?

The Kings, Spurs, Mavs, and Lakers would destroy any of them in a seven game series, shoot it would probably only take them 5 games, to win. The balance of power is in the West because they have the best big men. The East has some talented individuals but still their teams don't have the depth or size to compete in a series.

As for the miracle Cavs and NY wins, it really doesn't mean much. The Lakers and Kings are veteran teams that won't start playing their best basketball until it matters most.

And it seems that Minnesota who looses to everybody, beat your precious Magic, Wizards and played Indiana tough, not bad for being such a horrible team.

[Diesel]

I believe that the top west teams are susceptible to Athletic teams. That's why the Lakers had problems with the Kings. That's why the Lakers lost to the Cavs.

San Antonio same problem. San Antonio would dominate everybody they played if they could force them into a half court game. Duncan is too complete. However, if a team can get into an up and down game with San Antonio, S.A. is susceptible.

About the Kings. The Kings have no defense. They are susceptible to Athletic teams who can score alot.

The Mavericks on the other hand, have the same problem, however, they are susceptible to teams that can score alot and play good defense. Out of all these teams, dallas presents the most problems because they are slowly learning to be defensive. The Kings are regressing. The Lakers will have problems with any athletic team that can't force into a half court game with (once Shaq gets back).

So when you point to NJ, I point to New Orleans, Milwaukee, and Orlando. These three teams have what it takes... The wild card team is the Wiz. Brown has come on of late and he makes the Wiz look good. They can score and play defense... However, they don't want to run too much either.

[PoppaFritz]

Diesel, just thought I would bring your attention to the game tonight and some previous comments.

"Everybody over the Timberwolves."

"Another team that they should fear is Milwaukee. Last night, I saw a team in Milwaukee that if they ever reached their true potential, could beat the best of the league."

The easts athletism is no match for the west in the playoffs, when it becomes more of a half court game. I'll leave it at that.

[Diesel]

The thing about the twolves are that they are a team that executes the best. IN a halfcourt set, they will win. They are very athletic too. Which is why Minn. has won about 50 games and made the playoffs for the last few yrs, but have exited in the first round. They play teams like PTL, LAL who are better in the halfcourt game than they...

But since you want to call names...

Celtics over Lakers.

again, an Athletic team that likes to get up and down the floor with 2 dominating players.

On tonight, watch these games...

LAL vs. Washington. I would expect the Lakers to have half a chance here. Washington hasn't started running yet. However, Stackhouse does... I say Lakers win.

LAC vs. NJ. This is the opposite. The Clipps bring a running game into NJ who is like a west team. This depends on who controls the tempo. The higher the score, the more I lean toward the Clipps. The More physical the game, the more I lean towards the Nts.

Seattle vs. Orlando. Probably the best game of the night. Both teams like to run. I say in a running game, if Seattle doesn't play much defense, orlando wins. If Seattle can muster up some defense, Seattle will win.

So far, Eastern teams are 17-9 vs. the West.

[ATLien_]

Actually I have never really thought the west was better. In the past the top 3 teams in the NBA were in the west, but the east has really caught up.

I believe this is because we play Defense in the east, and as I'm watching the games, it seems the eastern conference teams are getting better at scoring without being 1 on 1. I am seeing a lot more motion in the offenses.

Defense+ Offense= Trouble for west.