In the 2010s, you always had your clear-cut contenders such as the Spurs, Warriors, Heat, OKC, etc. Most of the time, the top teams in each conference would have a staggering amount of wins. 60-65+ wins was very common back then. Hell, the top-2 teams in 15/16 in the West had 73 and 67 wins a piece. The issue was, was that the middle/bottom of the league was terrible.
Ever since the summer of 2019, there has been a lack of the DOMINANT teams that we were so accustomed to. That isn’t to say that there aren’t great teams, but the days of the cream of the crop seem to be over. Last year, it was honestly difficult to determine who would win the title because there were so many great teams and contenders. This also explains the lack of high-win teams as well.
Do you guys agree?
I think we have great teams these days, but it’s much harder to get to 60 wins because the middle teams and particularly the teams at the bottom are just more competitive.
Teams like the Pistons and Wizards still have enough punch to shock a top tier team on a random Tuesday in January. Whereas in the 2000’s and early 2010’s it felt like the bottom of the teams were absolute trash.