Here's are 2 statements I can make that sum it up best: 1) You take any team from the West and move them to the East and they will make the playoffs (yes, even Golden State and Memphis with a healthy Gasol) 2) Except for Cleveland, Miami and Detroit, any other team in the East is capable of finishing below .500 What happened?
Look no further than the Knicks and Celtics -- two storied franchises who seem deadset on ruining the organizations. They personify the failed management of most teams in the East, whereas the West has visionary owners (e.g. Cuban), savvy personnel guys, and have avoided team crippling mistakes (see Celtics, Sixers and Knicks.) I suspect a lot of those mistakes were knee jerk overreactions to the West's dominance, when they just decided to offer big contracts to average to terrible players. The Knicks and Sixers are perfect examples.
Those kneejerk reactions you speak of has made this divide that much wider. This is akin to the AFL/NFL days when they finally merged.
