NBA Hoops: Is There a Beast in the East that Can Beat the Best in the West?

I always say that the outlook - and immediate future - of a professional sports franchise in any sport, can change in the blink of an eye depending on circumstances, both controllable and uncontrollable. Having said that, I will admit that I have gone on record several times this season to state that there is absolutely no way that any team from the eastern conference is going to win the 2006-07 NBA championship.

With that said, let me now issue a small correction to my statement that no eastern conference team could win the NBA title this season.

While I still feel that it will be extremely difficult for an eastern conference team to win it all, I am not prepared to say that it unequivocally will not happen this season. The fact of the matter is that, although the western conference features far superior teams than their counterparts in the east, there is at least one team with a legitimate shot to win it all in the eastern conference - and it's not the Chicago Bulls - the team many so-called basketball experts picked to win it all this preseason.

The best team in the eastern conference right now and for the better part of the last half-decade, not counting last season obviously, is once again - the Detroit Pistons. That's right - with their acquisition of aging veteran Chris Webber, a player I have repeatedly ripped during his time with my hometown Philadelphia 76ers, the Pistons appear to have immediately fixed everything that was ailing this team and reinforced what is undoubtedly the strongest frontcourt in the eastern conference and possibly the entire league.

The Pistons have won five consecutive games and are now 9-2 with Webber in the starting lineup. After this week's win over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers, Webber made a comment that should scare the bejesus out of every eastern conference contender.

"It's only going to get better," Webber told reporters with a grin after the victory.
Lakers star Kobe Bryant agreed, adding that the Pistons are playing like champions again in part because of the addition of Webber.

"He's a phenomenal passer," Bryant said. "It's fun to watch him, unless you are actually trying to stop him. When he was with Sacramento, he drove us crazy with those passes. When he comes in the game, you can see all of those guys start licking their chops and cutting even harder to the basket because they know what he will be giving them."

Now, I know Webber clearly isn't the player he used to be at either end of the floor because of age and injuries, but as Bryant and everyone else around the league knows, Webber possesses a skill set uncommon with most 6-9 power forwards and can still make other players around him better with his unselfish passing.
By no means am I saying that Detroit will have a free and clear road to the championship series. They may have to face the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers and a very talented Bulls team, not to mention the defending champion Miami Heat.

However, I now, firmly believe that the Pistons, not only are the best team in the eastern conference, but the only 'beast' in the east with half a chance of beating the best the west has to offer.