LeBron James' move from Cleveland to Los Angeles this summer appeared to exacerbate the NBA's conference imbalance. With the Western Conference having had a better record than the East in interconference games in 18 of the previous 19 seasons, the best player in the world was going from weaker conference to the stronger one.
And wouldn't you know it, the West has been dominant thus far this season, having won 49 of the 74 interconference games through Sunday. After a 31-22 start, the West has won 18 of its last 21 games against the East and is on pace for 298 interconference wins, 32 more than its had in any of the last 20 seasons.
It helps that the two West teams that have played the most games against the Eastare the Golden State Warriors (6-1) and Portland Trail Blazers (5-2), who are a combined 11-3 against the other conference. The two East teams that have played the most games against the West are the Brooklyn Nets (2-6) and Washington Wizards (1-7), so things haven't exactly been even in that regard.
Still, the imbalance has 10 West teams and only seven East teams with winning records. Six of the league's seven worst records belong to Eastern Conference teams and as the season goes on, calls for a 1-16 playoff format could get louder than ever.
A new format isn't happening this year, and the increased imbalance will likely make for another crazy playoff race in the West. Maybe Jimmy Butler's move from Minnesota to Philadelphia will help the East's record, though the Wolves might be better than they were 10 days ago, having added depth and subtracted a headache.
Previously...
Plus-Minus Players of the Week
Teams of the Week
East vs. West
Schedule strength through Week 5
Movement in the Rankings
Week 6 Team to Watch
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Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
NetRtg: Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)
The league has averaged 101.5 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 107.9 points scored per 100 possessions this season.
Any stats marked with an * below are based on an estimate for possessions. All other stats are based on true possession counts.
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NBA.com's Power Rankings, released every Monday during the season, are just one man's opinion. If you have an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, send him an e-mail or contact him via Twitter.
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