In recent memory, the Western Conference has been the home to a lot of powerhouse teams. There is no doubt that there have been many championship winners from the Western Conference over the course of the last 10-12 seasons.
However, it seems as though some believe that the tides are shifting in terms of which of the two NBA conferences is more competitive. Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon has recently claimed that the Eastern Conference is actually tougher this year, claiming that it was going to be a “grind”.
"[The Eastern Conference] is the stronger conference by far."@MalcolmBrogdon7 explains why the East is going to be such a challenge to win this season.@TheFrankIsola | @Scalabrine | @celtics | @NBA pic.twitter.com/ti8XAQONjW
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) October 15, 2022
It’s the stronger conference by far. A few years ago, we said “The West was hands down the better conference.”
Now, the East is hands down (better). I think we’ve taken a lot of their better talent, now, and it’s spread across the East coast. People weren’t thinking about the Cavs 3-4 years ago, that were a lottery team… now they’re top 6, definite playoff team.
It definitely makes it harder for us, makes it harder for those top teams, Milwaukee, Boston, Philly. It’s going to be tough, it’s going to be a grind. But I think that the teams that can put together the longest streaks of wins, that can minimize their losses in a row, I think those are going to be the teams that come out on top.
There is no doubt that Malcolm Brogdon makes a good point about talent from the West heading over to the East. For example, just this summer, we saw Donovan Mitchell get moved to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Jalen Brunson go to the New York Knicks in free agency. Kevin Durant notably left the Golden State Warriors in 2019 to join an East team, the Brooklyn Nets.
Obviously, the Eastern Conference is tough in terms of top-tier teams, and we’ll see which teams end up getting a home-court advantage. Based on what Malcolm Brogdon is saying, he understands that it won’t be an easy task for the Celtics to finish as one of the best teams in the East.
Malcolm Brogdon Is An Elite Addition For The Celtics
There is no doubt that Malcolm Brogdon is a needle mover for the Boston Celtics. He was brought in to give the team’s offense a spark and give the team an experienced veteran ballhandler. It was notably reported that Brad Stevens expects Brogdon to be a sixth man for the team.
The Boston Celtics lost in the Finals to the Golden State Warriors in six games, and the franchise clearly added Brogdon in the hopes that this sort of defeat won’t happen again. The Boston Celtics definitely have the chance to win a championship next year, and we’ll see if they are able to in the future.