2011 East vs 2019 East

[Primetime]

Tougher conference top to bottom?

I've considered 2011 one of the top years in the NBA not just bc of how stacked the West was (and what Dallas/Dirk did) but also how strong the East looked. This 2019 East was pretty strong too tho.

I wouldn't list all the teams other than the top 4 and starters for both years, as quick reference.

2011 (top 4)

Bulls
Rose
Brewer
Deng
Boozer
Noah

Miami
Bron
Wade
Bosh
Bibby
Ilgauskas

Celtics
Pierce
KG
Allen
Rondo
O'Neal

Magic
Dwight
Bass
Turkoglu
Richardson
Nelson

2019 (top 4)

Bucks
Giannis
Middleton
Bledsoe
Lopez
Brogdon

Raptors
Kawhi
Lowry
Siakam
Gasol
Green

Sixers
Embiid
Butler
Simmons
Reddikk
Harris

Celtics
Kyrie
Horford
Tatum
Morris
Smart


Bonus:

If Tor and Mia swapped places, do they both still make it to the Finals?

MVP Rose and his Bulls vs MVP Giannis and his Bucks?

 

[UberEatsDriver]

People who still say the east is weak don’t actually say it with proof. It’s usually more ranting than pulling out receipts to prove it.

The eastern conference finals was def more tough and entertaining than the western conference finals this year.

There’s always that weirdo who makes absurd claims to front like the west is tough by saying silly things like “Portland would destroy both Bucks and Raps” or “Clippers would be 3rd seed in the east”.

 

[ultraflexed]

Miami would of swept everyone

Toronto would lose in the second round

 

[IllmaticDelta]

2011 east was better. Shyt, even the 2017 version of Indiana, Boston and Philly were better than they were in 2018

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

2011 was real uncommon with how many legit contenders there were. We had 3-4 in each conference, maybe 7 overall. The contenders from then out of the east ran outdated offenses compared to today. The heat had 1 player in the starting g lineup who warranted attention behind the arc and one guy who didn’t warrant any. Boston had spare parts at center and only 2 shooters in the starting 5. The bulls had just 1-2 shooters in the starting lineup depending on how you feel about Deng. That won’t cut it by today’s standards. They were good competition for each other though.

 

[Archangel]

The teams are much deeper this year. Indiana could've been a problem this season too if Oladipo was healthy. Same thing with Brooklyn if Levert was all the way healthy.

I'll take this years East. Boston was old back in 2011 and injury ridden.

The East hasn't been this competitive since the 90s

Mj Bulls
Alonzo and Hardaways Heat
Reggies Pacers
Shaqs Magic
Ewings Knicks
Muggsys Hornets

 

[ISO]

The league now is stronger than it was in 2011

 

[Lord_Chief_Rocka]

This is even close. 2019 by far.

 

[AAKing23]

This year, way more competitive.


Wasn't nobody beating the Heat back then in the East

 

[ISO]

On what good team is Mike Bibby, Jermaine O'Neal and Big Z starting on today?

The Bulls started Keith Bogans at the 2 not Ronnie Brewer actually

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

People who still say the east is weak don’t actually say it with proof. It’s usually more ranting than pulling out receipts to prove it.

The eastern conference finals was def more tough and entertaining than the western conference finals this year.

There’s always that weirdo who makes absurd claims to front like the west is tough by saying silly things like “Portland would destroy both Bucks and Raps” or “Clippers would be 3rd seed in the east”.

Besides this season, the Western Conference has been the tougher/better/deeper conference in recent times. I don't get why you're trying to insinuate this season has been the scale for previous seasons. This is the strongest the Eastern Conference has been in years, and about the only season in recent memory where it's been better than the Western.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

On what good team is Mike Bibby, Jermaine O'Neal and Big Z starting on today?

The Bulls started Keith Bogans at the 2 not Ronnie Brewer actually

Miami had an 8 man rotation that postseason. Among those 8, Bibby was useless on both ends (worst PER any nba player has had for a single postseason), big Z was so bad that lost his rotation spot halfway through the playoffs to Joel Anthony, Mike Miller was playing with 2 broken thumbs, Haslem came back off a 6 month layoff from a Lisfranc injury to his foot in November halfway into the playoffs. Chicago had no shooters at all among their bigs, with and Asik both lacking any real scoring ability and Boozer being bad enough on defense that Thibs frequently wouldn’t play him in the fourth quarter at all. Boston got next to nothing out of their centers that year (remember them spending their draft picks on Luke Harangody and Semih Erden ?). Those offenses would struggle like crazy today.

 

[Sinnerman]

The league now is stronger than it was in 2011

It's unbelievable to think about how much better even the role players have gotten over the past few years

 

[UpAndComing]

It's unbelievable to think about how much better even the role players have gotten over the past few years

 

[ISO]

Tf you laughing at you can't be serious