This a good thread to talk about how the West kind of sucks this year?
Through 20% of the season two mediocre teams would be in the playoffs (Jazz, Suns). And a shitty team like Memphis is the 4/5 seed.
The 10-15 teams are all a hot mess. Seems like the bottom half of the conferences have done a 180 based on the first few months of the season.
It's still early though. I'd be shocked if Houston doesn't find a way to turn it around, Dallas does not become consistently great, Suns find a way to play consistently, New Orleans does not get healthy, Sacramento does not continue to develop, etc.
Nonetheless, your overall point is something that I've noticed for awhile. The big surprise to me is
how good Indiana has been. I thought they would be decent, perhaps even a playoff contender, but they are playing at an elite level. Perhaps it is I forgot that Paul George is an elite player. On that note, Miami, Chicago, and Toronto have all also played very good basketball.
The point I made about the West, too, applies to the East. I'd be shocked if Detroit and Milwaukee don't begin to play consistently good basketball, Milwaukee and Washington don't totally turns it around, and the Knicks don't continue to develop fast. Meanwhile, a team I thought was mediocre to start the year -- Charlotte -- is handily in the playoff hunt.
I think what is occurring is the mid-level talent of the East has become better than the mid-level talent in the West... With that said, the West has four elite teams (Golden State, OKC, SAS, LAC) to the East's two (Cleveland and Indiana, maybe Miami). I still would argue the West is the tougher Playoff competition, but, the East is absolutely closing the gap.
Tl;dr: I think the West will look excellent again, but, I think the East will remain at a competitive level throughout the season.