FAKE RONJAN!!Yes, the East really is that bad
The NBA Playoffs have been great! That is, if you have been following the Western Conference, with its compelling matchups, parade of game-winning shots, and record-breaking overtime contests. The Eastern playoffs have been okay, I guess, but they haven't been close to the West in terms of intrigue, competitiveness, or sheer entertainment value.
This has wreaked havoc on my already-questionable sleep schedule (which has been disrupted by a three-month-old). These games are just so fun to watch, they're close so you have to be focused, and they keep going to overtime which means routinely going to sleep after 1:00 AM. Come on! Hasn't it been established that catering to those on Eastern Daylight Time is the right practice?!
If it were just one season, that'd be fine, but doesn't it seem like the East is always the weaker conference, or at least has been for a while? Let's take a quick look. Here's the average winning % for the Eastern Conference in each season since 1977 (regular season only, of course):
Not only has the East been underwater for every season but one since Michael Jordan's 2nd retirement, but 2014 was actually the worst season on record for the East, ever! And that's with multiple teams, like Toronto, Washington, Brooklyn, and Charlotte, turning their seasons around to end up with winning records.
All told, the six worst seasons for the Eastern Conference ever have been in this millennium.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the Miami Heat will lose the championship because they're not battle tested. The previous worst season for the East (2004) saw the Pistons destroy the Lakers in the Finals, and Miami won the championship last year in the 5th-worst Eastern Conference ever.
-rj