LOS ANGELES – The NBA’s Eastern Conference has been the butt of jokes and the subject of ridicule for what seems like forever, but particularly during the past decade, when the league’s inferior half has commonly seen teams reach the playoffs despite sporting losing records. That’s unheard of in the West, where last season, for example, Oklahoma City went 45-37 and still didn’t qualify for the postseason.
It’s roughly a month into the 2015-16 regular season, but things may finally be changing. Most of the surprise teams have been in the East, while many of the teams who’ve not met expectations are in the West.