NBA, basketball 2008, the tightest the race for the playoffs spots there has ever been in the history of the game. With just 2 games between 1st place, in the West and to use a NBA phrase going home early for fishing trips, and 8th place. Teams in the western conference are not trying to see which seed they will get, but if they make the playoffs. Just to have a chance to play for the finals will be a great, hard fought achievement. This fact along with the how good the tops teams in the east are i believe this sets up perfectly for the Pistons or the Celtics to be crowned NBA champions.

Well i would not write off the king himself Lebron James, from pushing the Cavaliers from beating out all the competition and returning to the NBA finals. While i don’t think the Cavaliers are a special team, but physical and mental skills of Lebron James, can be sufficient with just get a little help to successfully defend their Eastern Conference championship.
The top teams from the east will clinch their playoff places long before the teams in the west, and with the long season, tons of little injuries here and there, some more serious than other, no one will be 100% injury and pain free so the more rest you can get before the final push towards the championship the better off your team will be during playoff time. Rest and recovery time can be a precious but rare commodity especially in the western conference.
Out west, the mavericks and the spurs might be the older teams, but the mental and physical energy required just to make the playoffs, could be costly to all the teams involved. No team can afford to lose a bunch of games in a row, though i think the seeding will not significantly matter, home court in the west could be a deciding factor.
Teams like the Jazz, Hornets, Lakers, Warriors,Suns, Spurs, Mavericks, Rockets and Nuggets if they make the playoffs, will definitely have the edge if they play at home against another team. Facing a 2 seed, or 6, 7 or 8 seeds, will not mean anything at all, and surely not an easy to win the series. With any sport and more so the west conference 2008, on any given day, any team could defeat the other team, especially the elite teams. I expect close games and plenty of games 7, i can not see any match up resulting in lopsided victories, far less even sweeps. In the east they could be a few gimme games, here and there, and some games where starters can be rested during the second half of the games. Those precious minutes of rest will prove to be priceless come middle of April.
The bench players will also play key in the WILD WILD western conference, though during the playoffs the rotations will be shorter, few players will see minutes, having good players to backup the starters will greatly improve a team chances of survival to make the playoffs and then make it through the early playoff rounds. The team with good championship experience and also greater ability to handle adversity as compared to the other team will also have a better chance of making it to the finals and being called the Western Conference Champions and hopefully world champions 2007/2008.
However after all the hard work, i think the eastern champions, especially if the Celtics or the Pistons make the finals, will step up and take the championship back East. So kudos to the west for having such a great year, and pushing each other so hard, but while the fans might be the biggest winner this year from the west, i think the eastern conference champions will say the biggest THANKS. But wont it be great for as such a great season to have back a Celtics Vs Lakers finals just for old times sakes.