Shoals Unlimited: East Meets West

Welcome to Shoals Unlimited, where Bethlehem will post a long-form piece on basketball once a week.

This is hardly the most interesting or glamorous question to ask at this point in the season, but it is, naturally, one of the most important: Have we finally witnessed the end of conference imbalance?

Yes, the Celtics walked away with last year's ring in convincing fashion, whupping the living crap out of an accomplished Lakers team. But to get there, they had to slog through any number of Eastern foes that ranged from horribly overmatched (Atlanta Hawks) to notably shy of elite (last year's Cavs). Those series were tough, hard-fought, and anything but the convincing romp through the field that Boston's assault on the Lakers was. In fact, in a weird way, it made the East look stronger than the West.

Anyone with three-fifths of a brain knew, at the time, that this wasn't the case. But perhaps it's time to revisit this issue, arguably the biggest thorn in the side of David Stern's quest for quality product. Last spring may have been a kind of optical illusion, and yet it paved the way for this season -- when, it's pretty clear, the tide is at least turning.

Top-to-bottom, the West is still probably the stronger assemblage. The East, though, is no longer the Celtics at the top and everyone else looking up at them. Maybe the Pistons, perennial conference powerhouses, are working through some issues; maybe Allen Iverson's indomitable spirit will eventually put them back in the hunt. Yet ironically, even with one of its institutions in shambles, the East has managed to piece together an elite that's not just respectable: They can actually compete with the West's best.

The Celtics, who need no introduction, appear even hungrier than last season, when The Big Three played as if their lives depended on it. Now they're not only more intense, they're better. And the continued growth of Rajon Rondo has made up for whatever small declines adrenaline can't mask in the nucleus of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. They're bigger, badder, more cohesive, and somehow got a chip on their shoulder from winning a championship. Go figure.

But it's not just about Boston. LeBron James has made another one of those leaps, which have become regular and commonplace as named off-shore storms. We expect nothing less than the impossible of him every night; yet back on planet earth, James has clearly found a way to build on the hyper-active exuberance of the Team USA experience (as have Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh). Factor in Mo Williams's shooting and ballhandling, slightly lesser versions of the same from Delonte West and Mike Brown's willingness to mix it up a little on offense, and this is that Cavs team we all knew would come: James realized, the rest giving just enough to buoy him.

Rounding out the top five are the Magic, who with super-stud Dwight Howard, their host of shooters and ace coach Stan Van Gundy can never be counted out; those pesky Hawks, a team that found itself in the Celtics series and now is posed to finally make the most of its mess of young talent; and the Nets, who might not hold at No. 5, and still, they've got the backcourt of Devin Harris and Vince Carter playing as well as any in the league, as well as Brook Lopez providing a spark in the paint. Even if they falter, there's a good chance that the underachieving Raptors, Sixers or aforementioned Pistons will eventually step up and play like we'd expected they would.

If you go on percentages alone, the West still reins supreme. In the past, this has been taken as double-evidence that said conference is the stronger. The East has only four teams over .600; the West, seven. But if you're looking for that hardcore of competitiveness, the teams that feel like legitimate contenders, I'm not so sure the deeper West with its impressive records can claim absolutely superiority over the aforementioned five. Especially if you give the East some credit, and figure they've had to beat up on each other.

The Lakers have had some ups and downs within any given game, and yet ultimately win almost everything in sight. With Andrew Bynum back, Trevor Ariza in the rotation, and Lamar Odom trying to find his comfort zone, Phil Jackson has fine-tuning left to do. They should be more of a force than last season, seemingly on a collision course with Boston. But then again, look how that turned out last Finals. The Nuggets and Portland, while both quality outfits, are currently second and third in the conference without either screaming out "conference imbalance." Denver's played tremendously well since obtaining Chauncey Billups, and Portland's a team on the rise. I'd say, though, that the Cavs could take either out in seven games, as could the Magic (who rallied to beat the Blazers on Tuesday). Point being, the contrast is no longer so stark.

Chris Paul and company will rise in the standings, and the Rockets will either fall into the lottery or get everyone healthy, find their rhythm, and finish near the top while inspiring zero confidence. Utah is dealing with injuries; like NOLA (of course), the Jazz will pick up as Deron Williams rounds into shape and they get Carlos Boozer back (though Paul Milsap's no slouch). The Spurs have injury issues, which should dissipate, and the Suns can't stay this rumpled forever, can they?

But in this mess of qualifiers, we find the real message of the season. The East, for the first time in years, inspires confidence. The West, on the other hand, has question marks and best-case scenarios surrounding it. The gap between good and bad remains more daunting in the East; there will be Eastern playoff teams that have no business being there. However, there's power being consolidated up at the top, while the West's top-to-bottom onslaught is looking increasingly mortal. In the past, we've heard the theory that a Western field could exhaust itself between the grueling regular season and the playoffs—somehow, the Celtics almost accomplished this last year.

In 2008-09, the East is in the unique position of having enough legit teams to matter, while still fielding plenty of dross. It's too simplistic to say the balance has shifted. Certainly, though, the East is no longer a second-rate bunch. And in the end, a conference is judged by the teams at the top, provided there's enough them. The East has several that could sniff that No. 1 spot; the West, maybe fewer, and a bunch of deadly nuisances. This may still mean the West is best, but at very least we've got to take a good chunk of the East seriously again.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.