The Eastern Conference in the NBA this season is just awful. So bad that Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki called a game against the Charlotte Bobcats a ‘must win.’ Not because their season is on the brink, but because the Western Conference is so tough that you need to collect as many wins against Eastern Conference opponents as possible to remain competitive.
“The way the West is shaping out, you need to win all your games against the Eastern Conference teams and steal a few here and there in the West,” Nowitzki said, via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. “If you look at the West record against the East, everybody’s kind of beating up on the lower teams in the East. That’s why the Atlanta loss was tough for us, where we had it in the bag and had a horrible fourth quarter.
“The way it shapes up in November, those are kind of must-wins. And against the West, the teams are so stacked up and so good that you’re going to lose some here and there. That’s just how it goes.”
The Portland Trail Blazers took the east-west rivalry further with this tweet.
Is it too late to join the Eastern Conference? Asking for a friend.
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 4, 2013
The Phoenix Suns got in on it as well.
@trailblazers We asked you to keep that on the down low. That eager to get rid of us already?
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) December 4, 2013
And the Trail Blazers responded.
@Suns Well played
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 4, 2013