The East vs West stats during the 1980s.

[coastalmarker99]

Here are some things to consider


The Lakers had a .67,2 winning percentage against the Eastern Conference between 1980-1989.

The Celtics had a .75,4 winning percentage against the Western Conference the same years.

The entire Western Conference had a .53,2 winning percentage against the Eastern Conference during the 1980s.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Yeah everybody sucked besides Magic\Bird pretty much is that what you're getting at right? There was only ONE rivalry in the 80s and that was obviously Magic\Bird and nobody else. 2010\2020 era is a different story, there's numerous rivalrys:

kawhi vs curry

kawhi vs durant

lebron vs curry

lebron vs kawhi

lebron vs durant

other potential rivalrys:

kawhi vs giannis if they play 1 more time

kawhi vs luka if luka ever stops getting his ass kicked

[coastalmarker99]

There is no doubt in my mind as a Lakers fan that Showtime benefitted a lot from playing in the Weaker conference.

In the 1987 playoffs, we didn't have to face a single team in the Western playoffs that had a winning playoff record before the finals.




The East, on the other hand, had a gauntlet comprising the dynastic Celtics, Malone's and Erving's Sixers, the Bad Boy Pistons, and Jordan's emergent Bulls.


Possibly the best Bucks teams of all time played that decade as well, yet they never broke through because the conference was that dominant.

[Sulico]

I like your posts. Breath of fresh air on this board.

[coastalmarker99]

I like your posts. Breath of fresh air on this board.


I like your posts as well Sulico

:cheers:

[dankok8]

Don't forget the Dominique Hawks in the 80's East who were quite good as well for a few years there.

The 80's West only really had the Sonics in 1980, Rockets in 1986, Blazers in 1989 as good teams. That decade in the West was pretty damn bad.

[mr4speed]

Here are some things to consider


The Lakers had a .67,2 winning percentage against the Eastern Conference between 1980-1989.

The Celtics had a .75,4 winning percentage against the Western Conference the same years.

The entire Western Conference had a .53,2 winning percentage against the Eastern Conference during the 1980s.
Very interesting and here are a few more things to consider: The Lakers in 9 finals won 5 rings and lost 4 times, but if you look at the total games played LA had a losing record. LA won 24 games but lost 27 games (of the 51 total played). They were the best team of the 80's but the East was the much stronger conference.
Here are the teams LA faced in the playoffs in 87 = 37 win Denver and 43 win Golden St and then 39 win Seattle. In 88 it was 31 win Spurs and 47 win Utah and 53 win Dallas. Dave Hereen's "Basketball Abstract " compared the East vs West matchups ( all teams for the entire year ) and found the East dominated the West head to head in win % for every year = all 10 years of the 80's. LA could only play the teams they were supposed to play but context is important.