NBA: Is the East really that much worse than the Western Conference?

The champs until further notice

The Golden State Warriors have won the Western Conference in each of the last four seasons. They have three NBA Championships over that span, and only got better this offseason.

In addition to returning every key piece from their back-to-back championships, the Warriors somehow managed to add DeMarcus Cousins, who when healthy is a top 3 center in the NBA. He can stretch the floor, play inside and even run the floor with the best bigs in the league.

The big question, of course, when it comes the Cousins is his health. He’s coming of a torn Achilles and there’s no guarantee that he’s going to be the same player that he was last season.

But even if he’s 60 or 70 percent, the Warriors will be a better team than they were last season. And let’s remember that the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept in the NBA Finals.