Best in the west means least for the east

The trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to the Boston Celtics seem like an afterthought with the way transactions are being made in the Western Conference.

Danny Ainge’s inspiring business move has prompted other teams – most in the west – to step up their game and acquire big-time performers. The Los Angeles Lakers’ trade for former Memphis Grizzly Pau Gasol has been the steal of this season. Any talented big man playing alongside Kobe Bryant is flat-out robbery, but what sealed the fate of the already-weakened Eastern Conference is The Big Aristotle’s move back to the Pacific Division.

Just not for the Lakers.

Shaquille O’Neal’s trade to the Suns just about does it for the Western Conference established dominance over its little brother conference. The Eastern Conference, despite Miami getting a franchise-type player in Shawn Marion, has lost an edge that has been out of its grasp since the Detroit Pistons fell out of the NBA Finals scene two years ago.

Shaq is not the same man he was when he was in Los Angeles, but he still makes a huge difference in games. His presence and on-court savvy gives Phoenix a presumed advantage over many teams out east, including the Celtics and Pistons, the latter having problems defending in previous years.

And when you consider the Lakers’ young core of promising contributors, adding an young, primed Gasol to a lineup featuring the best player in basketball creates what was once in Los Angeles – a Shaq/Kobe inside and out dominance of three years. Now Gasol is definitely not O’Neal, but Kobe can make him that good. Gasol was already a great player in Memphis, but he was counted on too much to lead the team. He is not a franchise player who can single-handedly change the way a team will be approached, that’s Kobe Bryant’s job. Gasol is in a comfort zone as a Laker, and his on-court intelligence matches head coach Phil Jackson’s strategies almost completely.

The San Antonio Spurs are still the class of the NBA, but with rising talents like the New Orleans Hornets, Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors, the Western Conference Finals is now the NBA Finals, with little offense to the Pistons and Celtics.

Boston and Detroit are the best in the Eastern Conference, but that is where it stops. LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers don’t have the firepower to make a comeback bid for the NBA Finals this year, and I am not sold on the Orlando Magic. This team is a winning squad battling with inconsistency night-in and night-out. Add this to pessimism – the Eastern Conference only has five teams with winning records. The Washington Wizards, at 24-26, are sixth in the conference. The Spurs, at 33-17, are sixth in the Western Conference.

Picking an Eastern Conference team to win the NBA Finals is like picking Mike Tyson to be a spokesman against drug abuse. He has no chance of qualifying, much like the Pistons and Celtics have little to no chance of besting one of five top Western Conference teams. Kyle Korver got the idea quick and was traded to the Jazz.

The balance of power has made a home in the Western Conference, while the Eastern Conference remains without a guiding light to shine on its chances.