The Comfort Rooms

East Is The New West (On NBA That Is)

Melo's tranfer to the East could have tipped the balance

For more than a decade, NBA's Western Conference kicked the East so hard that from the onset of the post-Michael Jordan era, their teams (Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs) have won 9 of the last 12 championships, with the Detroit Pistons (2004), Miami Heat (2006), and the Boston Celtics (2008) snatching in one championships apiece to stop the Western Conference stranglehold.

However, that is certainly not quite the case for 2011. If asked who would end up winning the Western Conference this year, the answer would either be the San Antonio Spurs or the Lakers. But if asked who would end up winning the Eastern Conference, any person would have a hard time guessing who would end up winning it. Boston Celtics? Miami Heat? Chicago Bulls? Orlando Magic? Or New York Knicks?

Here's how I rate all of teams concerned:

1. Miami Heat - though I obviously dislike this team (though they got a Filipino coach in Coach Spo), I think they got the best chance of winning the Eastern Conference title.

2. Boston Celtics - time is not with this team, they'll eventually be run over by younger knees.

3. Chicago Bulls - I want them to win in the East actually. I thought the Derick Rose-Carlos Boozer-Luol Deng-Joachim Noah combination is a formula for (future) success.

4. New York Knicks - 3 names my friend. Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and Amar'e Stoudamire.

5. Orlando Magic - I feel bad for Dwight Howard cos he does not deserve a lowly ranking here. He needs back-ups!