The Purple and Blues Mailbag
- Thread starter Greg Foster
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Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
Perhaps. But about the only team that has been in the lottery consistently of late (on prurpose) is Philadelphia. What I think is FAR more prevalent is EC teams - and probably because they ARE in larger markets - have more frequently gone for quick fixes by overpaying or trading for veteran players, many of whom have not returned full value on the dollar. What worked for Boston one time has not worked in New York, New Jersey, etc. Of course it did work for Miami a couple of times and is working in Cleveland. Teams trading for vets have given up a lot of young assets and picks to get those players.
Second part of the equation is ownership and management. Teams in the WC have longer stretches of eliteness than do teams in the EC. Detroit, Chicago, Boston: those empires rose and fell quickly. SA, LA, Utah: they maintained a high level of excellence for decades.
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
To follow up, I would ask if there really IS a problem with the current EC/WC imbalance?
Are you kidding me? Aside from the few elite teams at the top being equal there is clearly an imbalance. Look at the records.
Just look at last season. 3 teams in the east won 50+ games (ATL, CLE and CHI). In the west 7 teams won 50+ (SAS, GSW, HOU, Clips, MEM, DAL and POR).
The 8th team in the east finished 38-44. The 9th, 10th and 11th seeds in the west tied or beat that record.
But let us look at 2013 season for a larger sample size:
In 2013 2 EC teams won 50+ games (Heat and Pacers). 7 WC teams won 50+ (Thunder, Blazers, Clips, Warriors, Spurs, Rockets and Grizzlies). The 8th seeded EC team had a record of 38-44. The 10th seeded WC team had a record of 40-42.
So if you take out the trash and elite teams from each side you have a much larger base of good to average teams in the western conference.
For further proof look at the EC v WC head to head records over the last several seasons. So right now, and for the last several seasons, the west is clearly better. It's not even really a debate.
Solid. Repped.
I don't think so. I don't care to fix the alleged playoff problem either. 2nd place is first loser. If there is an advantage to this structure then let the best of the best figure out how to use/neutralize it.
When I said there is a clear imbalance right now in favor of the west it was not to argue for changes to the system to balance out the east and west. Nothing to fix. It just so happens that there are currently a higher number of good teams in the west. It won't always be that way.
Last year the Nets finished with the same record as the Jazz and got the eighth seed in the East. The Thunder, Suns, and Jazz ended with as good or better records than the Nets, but the West teams ended up in the lottery.
Now granted your are not getting any superstars with those picks. But you are getting better role players. In one year time frame it really is not going to make much of a difference. But doing this year after after year is making the middle of the pack west teams stronger, and hurting the East, and widing the gap between the East and the West.
I think this theory has some value, it is not the full story. I think there is more.
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
But is it a problem that needs to be fixed? What are the implications of the imbalance? And why should or does the league need to address the "problem"? If NJ or NY screw themselves by trading away picks, is that a league problem? If some teams in the WC make better FA or draft choices, is that a problem for the league to address?
I haven't had time to go back and research the last 30-40 years, but there have been many seasons where the EC/WC records were close or flip-flopped over the space of several years. It's a recent phenomenon that the WC has been overwhelmingly dominant. With shorter contracts, an even playing field in terms of salary cap and luxury tax thresholds, it's something that could reverse itself quickly. But as I argued, that gets down to having the best ownership and management. Purely seat of the pants observation, but many of the EC teams have been mismanaged into the ground - far more than WC organizations.
IMO, only ONE change should be made - and JazzTalk brought it up. Draft picks should be awarded on the basis of record. Teams that fight for the last playoff spots in the EC shouldn't be penalized by drafting behind WC teams that miss the playoffs with a record above .500 and get a lottery pick.
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I guess this question stumped him?
Joe Bagadonuts
Well-Known Member
Lol.
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
Give him a break. At least he's trying to write interesting articles about the Jazz. More than the rest of us. And kudos to him for trying to appeal to what his target audience wants.
Let he (or she) who has already been published on SC Hoops or Purple and Blues cast the first literary stone.