If you’re a fan of either of the two superpowers knocking each other silly with haymakers in the Western Conference finals this week, I have good news and bad news.
The good news: Even in our current era of aprons and free agency and whatnot, your team is built to stay this good for a very, very long time.
The bad news: So is your rival just across the state border.
And if you’re a fan of any of the 13 West teams that aren’t the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma Thunder, well … I have bad news and bad news.
The bad news is that the Spurs and Thunder seem set to win 60-plus games a year well into the next decade. The other bad news is that only one of those 13 teams can move to the East when expansion hits.
I’m not sure what you do if you’re a middling-to-good, veteran West playoff team right now. If you’re, say, the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers or Minnesota Timberwolves, you can talk yourself into being a conference champion in the East. (Um, especially the Wolves, given their geography. Is it 2028 yet?)
But in the West, stacked up against these two teams? And having to beat both of them, consecutively, at literally any time in the next half-decade? Good luck with that.
