Well, the WC teams kind of beat up on themselves by the time they get to the Finals. For example, it seemed like the Lakers were dead tired when they played the Pistons in the Finals (Karl Malone was injured and Payton ran out of gas) a few years ago. I'll be a man though and say the team representing the West will win the 'ship in 6 games (it would be a bit shorter if the East didn't have fresh legs). The First round in the EC is a joke.
Not just the first round, but the entire East is a joke. Only four teams out East are even worthy of playoff spot right now, those being the Bulls, Wiz, Cavs, and Pistons. Everything after that is rather horrible. The Heat have been horrible most of the year (thanks mostly to injuries though). The Magic have fizzled out since their hot start and have only won 3 of their last 10. The entire Atlantic division...I'm not even going to get into that. To me, it's rather pathetic that the 6th seed Lakers would be the top seed out East. That says it all right there. The fact that, even the top team out East can't even land homecourt if they were out West. However, to East's defense, the Bulls struggled early on, but have since found themselves and have been playing much better since a slow start. The Pistons have been injury riddled (Billups missed 3 weeks and 'Sheed isn't completely healthy). The Heat have also had injury issues with Shaq missing 95% of the season so far and Wade missing a few games. So, do I think Eastern elites will play better during the 2nd half? Yes. I think Chicago will keep it going and maybe even capture the top seed. I think the Wiz will keep playing well, as well as the Cavs and Pistons. And, beyond them, I see the Heat turning it around when Shaq gets healthy, potentially giving them another somewhat elite team. However, compared to the West, they're still very, very weak, and it's going to be a real stretch for them to compete with the Western powerhouses come the Finals (assuming a powerhouse makes the Finals).
