Welcoming viewers to his Sunday NBA broadcast, ABC announcer Mike Breen proclaimed "this is one of the best seasons in NBA history."
Who wouldn't agree with that statement? The NBA and each of its 15 teams are having an amazing year, thanks to the groundbreaking decision to finally ditch the flawed concept that was the Eastern Conference.
Oh, it had a good run. Those Celtic teams in the 60s sure were powerful, and that Jordan kid made the Bulls exciting to watch, but other than that, the conference had run its course. After the decade of struggles to open the new millennium, it was finally time to take it off life support.
For the past several years, the now-defunct Eastern Conference served as nothing more than practice fodder for the vastly superior teams in the West. In the decade after Jordan retired (the second time) the West won eight championships as the Eastern Conference spiraled out of control, with franchises being managed into the ground and conference standings looking uglier than Sam Cassell. Things got so bad, the Hornets even switched conferences.
Michael Ray Richardson was right. "The ship be sinking."
Thankfully, though, the Eastern Conference is no more, and as a result we've been treated to "one of the best seasons in NBA history."
What's that? The East is still around? Ooh ... this is awkward.
OK, fine. So the Eastern Conference is still here, and the NBA has been doing everything in its power to hide this fact. For as good as the West has been this year (nine teams with more than 45 wins), the East has been equally as dismal, with the Indiana Pacers still in the playoff hunt despite being 33-44.
This is not something to be proud of, and the NBA marketing scheme has reflected that, treating the West like it's their golden child and the East like the disowned son. The East is the Ishmael to the West's Isaac.
"Have you met my son, The Western Conference? He has 10 teams .500 or better! In fact, he's so good, a team with more than 45 wins actually won't make the playoffs! Oh, and this is the Eastern Conference, my other son."
Of course, the Celtics are having a phenomenal year, but that success is backfiring by showing just how piss-poor the rest of the conference is. Therefore, ashamed, the NBA shifts the focus away from the East.
There are plenty of reasons to be ashamed, too, not the least of which is the fact that franchises like New York, Chicago and Miami have a combined 166 losses this season. Forget East Coast bias, this is some East Coast B.S.
With this continual conference mediocrity, it's a wonder that the NBA doesn't actually take steps to remove the thing altogether (actually, maybe they're trying: They did let Isaiah Thomas run the Knicks). Instead, the league is doing the next best thing: Closing its eyes and pretending it isn't there. The NBA thinks that by pushing all the focus on the unprecedented dominance of the Western Conference, we won't be able to witness the ongoing degradation of the other half of the league. Sure, East teams' attendance is in the tank, the quality of the Eastern Conference teams is rocketing toward rock-bottom and teams with pathetic records are being allowed into the playoffs every year, but just don't look at it and maybe it will go away. Hey! Have you seen the West? It's fan-tastic!
The wool is being pulled over the eyes of NBA fans, and until something can be done to fix it, every year we will continue to be treated to "one of the best seasons in NBA history."
Pay no attention to the little conference behind the curtain.
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