When the New York Knicks swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the playoffs in dominating fashion, fans debated whether the Knicks’ nine days off before the Conference Finals would cause rust to build or if the rest would give them an advantage. Sportico’s analysis determined that rust was not a significant factor, and the Knicks backed that up by sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the next round.The rest vs. rust debate has revved back up prior to the Finals, but the benefits of rest may be less pronounced in the Finals because there is more time off before the games start and between each game. The bigger discussion this time around: Are the Knicks actually as good as their 11-game win streak would suggest, or is the Eastern Conference just weak?
The Western Conference has been stronger for most of the 21st century, with a winning record over the East in interconference games in 24 of the past 27 seasons. This year, though, the East was, on paper, the fourth strongest it has been since the 1999-00 season. East teams won 49% of their games against West teams.
The East’s competitiveness wasn’t just about depth of talent masking a lack of strength at the top. The top four teams in the East went 18-15 versus the top four teams in the West.
