Dwight Howard (Photo : Doug Pensinger | Getty Images Sport)
In yet another noteworthy quote, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has pushed himself on the NBA headlines.
In a statement he made to Tim McMahon as recounted on Twitter, Cuban declared that:
"The East is the better conference right now. That's a good thing."
Even during the time of the Miami Heat's dominance, the West has already been stamping its superiority. The structure that the East has one or two good teams while the West has a horde of contenders held true for the past half decade.
It was predicted that the same status would hold this season, especially since the Oklahoma City Thunder was expected to make a leap back to contender status.
However, the latest NBA Power Rankings support Cuban's claim. There are actually less contenders in the West although they still have the stronger ones.
The defending champions Golden State Warriors are still at the top with their immaculate record while East champion Cleveland Cavaliers are at no.2. The rest of the Great Western Powers round out the top 5 with the Spurs, Thunder and Clippers.
The next six slots were occupied by the Eastern teams. Some surprises include the Pacers and Heat although they were expected to make the leap back to the playoffs. Playoff teams Bulls, Celtics, Hawks and Raptors round out the 6-11.
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the upper half of the rankings was the Charlotte Hornets who were all but written off when Michael Kidd-Gilchrist got injured.
All in all, there were 9 Eastern teams on the upper half of the rankings as opposed to only 6 from the West. The story is actually less about the rise of the East than the downfall of the West.
Playoff teams like the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans were at the lower end of the list, even out of the top 20. The Rockets were listed as a title contender but are on the cusp of yet another losing streak (4th straight loss against the Celtics just concluded).
The next few weeks are critical as the NBA started with mostly intra-conference games, there will be more West vs. East games and then we could get a clearer picture of which conference is better. Still, teams like the Celtics are beating the Rockets.
