After LeBron James joined the Los Angeles Lakers, people began to say ‘What’s left in the Eastern Conference?’ Yes, there are multiple superstars in the Western Conference, and I do think there should be 16-team tournament versus East-West. It’s going to be a thing in the coming years. Trust me, Adam Silver wants to see more balance but at the same time, we need to give the Eastern Conference a little more credit than what they get in the national media.

One of the issues with the Eastern Conference is the dysfunction is much higher than in the Western Conference. This includes some of the former salwarts of the conference. New York still reflects on the 90’s, and they’re a complete mess on a regular basis. Chicago is rebuilding but on the rise. Detroit might be the biggest mess in the league but they have Blake Griffin. Miami is still trying to figure out their finances after LeBron left them like he just left Cleveland. That’s part of the problem with the national media’s look at the Eastern Conference.

Also, we need to recognize some of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. Toronto is going to be good again with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Boston is probably the favorite in the Eastern Conference, and that’s a great thing. Philadelphia and Milwaukee are on the rise. People like to forget about Indiana’s season, and what they’ve done to their roster in the last few years. Also if Washington ever puts their shit together with John Wall and Bradley Beal, they could be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference as well. They were one win away from being in the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals.

Sure, there are going to be some bad teams like Atlanta and Orlando who are going to rebuilding but the Western Conference has those teams too. Let’s give the Eastern Conference some credit until there are sub .500 teams in the playoffs.

Charlie.