A Sorry State of Affairs
A few years ago, there were two things that I didn't think could get any worse. The first was Hollywood movies and the second was the Eastern Conference. Astonishingly, this year has us facing what appears to be the nadir for both. Name a best picture nominee for 2006. The Departed? Little Miss Sunshine? The Prestige? Not much there. Name a great team in the East. Cleveland? Orlando? Miami? So far not so good.
The mighty have fallen in the East and nobody has stepped up to take their place. Cleveland, Chicago and Orlando are the best candidates but they are still a player or two away from truly contending in the West. Cleveland supporting cast is more Pips than Pippen, Chicago can't score (yet somehow felt it wise to dump J.R. Smith for nothing), and Orlando is too young. Meanwhile, Miami is looking a step slower, Detroit is a champion on the verge of rebuilding, and Indiana is a mess of similarly talent players and bad contracts. Perhaps most surprising of all is the New Jersey Nets, a team that could easily implode if they don't get things together. Vince is a free agent and Kidd's never been afraid to wonder aloud about more victorious pastures. Somehow, the "elite" of the Eastern Conference has turned into a mix of Has Beens and Not Quites.
However, even in its darkest days, the East always seemed to have one thing going for it and that was superior coaching. But even this has shifted. Over the last decade, five coaches have led an Eastern Conference team to the NBA Finals, one is Pat Riley, one is Larry Brown, and the other three now coach in the West (Byron Scott, Jeff Van Gundy, and Phil Jackson). The first coach fired in the Western Conference would probably have a good shot at being the best coach in the Atlantic Division. (Dwayne Casey being the obvious exception).
I'm not sure what can be done to remedy this problem but the simple fact is this; whoever just misses the playoffs in the West could have had a shot to make the Finals in the East.
