LeBron James has finally got something right: The balance of power in the NBA has definitely swung to the East.
I’ve been one to rag on the dethroned King for the past while now (and with good reason, I mean the Decision? Come on) but saying that the East is now the powerhouse of the NBA is dead-on.
Just look at last weekend’s all-star game rosters and consider that one of the West’s starters and its second-best point guard just crossed coasts. Can you imagine the East’s all-star squad next season? If there’s a season that is…
Derrick Rose, D-Wade, LeBron, Carmelo and Dwight? Couldn’t that be the starting lineup for Team USA in 2012?
More importantly, it’s the beginning of adding a little more parity in the East. The Knicks should step forward as a contender, the Nets now have a rock-solid building block, Atlanta is a piece or two away for being excellent and the top-three teams in the conference are legit title contenders. At the bottom of the playoff race, Philly and Indiana both have their moments and, in the right matchups, could prove to be a bit of trouble for a top team.
Out west, two teams have now basically ceded away their seasons and for that, we’ll have one of the weakest post-season fields in the West for years. Denver and Utah aren’t going to do anything relevant for a couple of seasons probably, although the Jazz could potentially unretired Jerry Sloan now. The Suns will only go as far as Steve Nash can take them, and he’s getting way up there in the years. Then there are Portland’s hopes, which rest on Brandon Roy’s cartilage-less knees.
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It seems that the West is really going to be a four-team race for the foreseeable future, with the Spurs, Lakers and Mavericks potentially dying off sooner rather than later. Seriously, it seems that the Thunder is set for a nice run of success.
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Whatever happens from here on out though, it can’t be denied that the East is now the beast in of the NBA.