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By Gordon Simpson

The power discrepancy between the NBA's Western and Eastern conferences has reached such gigantic proportions in recent years that the championship decider is inevitably played out in the Western conference finals. With rumors about a possible move by the San Antonio Spurs for Orlando superstar Tracy McGrady when his current contract expires in two years starting to circulate, the already huge gulf in power is threatening to create an Eastern Conference resembling more of a minor league than an actual NBA conference. This scenario is never far from the surface in the NBA and a similar pattern of domination was seen when the Chicago Bulls ruled the NBA under the guidance of Michael Jordan and coach Phil Jackson.

The attention of fans, writers and the television networks will obviously gravitate towards the stronger conference, especially during the playoffs, and the West is currently experiencing the glow of the limelight. Consider it sweet revenge for the years it lived in the shadow of the East as Michael Jordan ripped them limb from limb. Yet in the world's elite basketball league there cannot exist a conference so completely devoid of talent that it becomes incapable of matching the other. With this being the case, what must the members of the Eastern Conference do to bridge the gap in the coming season and beyond?

There are numerous ways to approach the situation and a sensible angle would be to build for the future. This is quite a vague statement and clarification is required. The first step along this path is for the Eastern Conference teams to make every effort necessary to keep their key players, as trading or losing them not only necessitates a drop in ability of the club concerned, but also makes the franchise a less attractive proposition to players they look to sign in the future. The New Jersey Nets were able to keep Jason Kidd, and thus their championship dreams, and if the Orlando Magic are serious about winning a title, they must move Heaven and Earth to keep McGrady in a Magic uniform.

Drafting the most talented player that fits your type of system is the next key step in building a franchise for the future. Obviously the Cleveland Cavaliers got one of the biggest slices of luck ever handed out through the draft by acquiring LeBron James, but overall, teams are too busy trying to draft players to use as trade bait, rather than looking for the players that can be groomed into top-level stars. There can be no quick fixes and, as such, player development becomes an integral part of catching up on the West.

My second point revolves around the previous statement, that there can be no quick fixes. Shipping players out and in is not always, or even often, the answer. When such a difference in power appears, the subordinate conference must simply work harder, as the problem cannot be solved overnight. Not only must they scrap more, run harder and perform at a greater level of intensity on the court than the opposing conference, they must work harder away from the court by identifying each team's weaknesses and then exploiting them to the greatest possible extent.

Admittedly though, working harder is not going to bring a championship to any team in the East and there must be a high-quality talent-pool available. Ask any NBA fan, writer or analyst to reel off a list of the NBA's current elite players and you will find names such as Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, Jermaine O'Neal, Tracy McGrady and Jason Kidd, yet none of their teams are ever favored against one of the big four from the Western Conference. It is up to these superstars that ply their trade in the East to perform that much talked about task of "carrying their team." On the simplest level, it is up to the superstars in the East to perform to a higher level than the superstars in the West and if they can achieve that seemingly impossible task then bridging the gap and even winning a championship is within the grasp of the Eastern conference in 2004.

To an extent, the East must ride the situation out and wait for the pendulum to swing back in their favor, but with good management, hard work and that ever elusive luck, the East can close the staggering gap that has developed, but it may be a number of years before they can ever completely bridge it, even with LeBron James residing in their camp.

Gordon Simpson is a frequent contributor to InsideHoops.com.