While the West has had a dominant run, it seems the teams are beginning to even out. There may be a possibility to see a change in hierarchy.
The Eastern Conference has become more competitive over the years. According to guard Tyrese Haliburton, the Eastern Conference can really compete with the West.
He believes with the massive shake-up over the last few years, the teams have a more competitive conference. For the Philadelphia 76ers, they may have the biggest shakeup among all teams in the NBA. Haliburton believes any number of teams could win the championship.
This theory has some basis solely because the New York Knicks are the current champions. However, over the last ten years, the Western Conference has won six of the last ten NBA Finals. Maybe the addition of LeBron James could help with Haliburton’s narrative.
While there is better competition in the East, it stands that only two teams are truly poised to win the title. Those two would be the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers. Philadelphia has added star wing Jaylen Brown, and former MVP Joel Embiid is looking healthier than ever. James also has a great track record for going through fellow East opponents with a career record of 746-359. This bodes well for a Philadelphia team that struggles during the postseason.
When competing against teams like the Heat, the Cavaliers, and the New York Knicks, it’s going to take an offensive powerhouse to beat them. The 76ers have just that, as Tyrese Maxey and Brown have the ability to shoot these teams out of the gym. While the East is formidable, they struggle against teams in the West because of their ability to score at a high rate while being aggressive defenders. Many of the East teams have a problem with teams that have competent wing defenders.
This is what made the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets tough to beat during their respective championship runs. Golden State had defenders like Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, while the Nuggets had Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Christian Braun to handle the perimeter. One of those players in particular is now a part of the 76er roster in Caldwell-Pope.
These kinds of players are what give the old adage “offense sells tickets, defense wins championships” its due.
Brown and Caldwell-Pope could see quite a bit of action together when it’s time to get into their best defensive lineup. The Knicks won with hustle and grit, and that’s what embodies this Philadelphia team. The offense will balance out with their defensive pieces. So, while the East has become more competitive, it’s only a matter of time before Philadelphia stakes their claim as kings of the East.
