Top of the West is just as good as top of the East

The general consensus seems to be that the Eastern Conference is far better than the West this year. While that may true in terms of depth, the reality is that the top four or five teams in the West can stand toe-to-toe with their Eastern counterparts.To help make that case, we brought back Backheeled.com’s Joe Lowery, who also shares some of his early end-of-season award picks.You can support Joe’s work as well as ours by upgrading your membership to the Advocate level or above, which includes a complimentary subscription to Backheeled.Sponsor🍷 Full Pull Wines: Love wine but not wine clubs? Check out the boutique wine seller who lets you browse their selections and pick whatever you want. You can join their mailing list here: https://fullpullwines.com/signup.php***Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which has been a reader-supported website since 2023. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.