Weekly Countdown: What rule changes could be coming soon?

There are some people in the league who truly believe that the West's superiority is itself overrated, on the basis of having so many bad teams at the bottom of the conference. But I disagree: The East was lousy this year.

It will change eventually. Not so long ago eight of the 10 championships were won by the East, and then Michael Jordan retired from Chicago. The next five titles were won by the Spurs and Lakers, then L.A. unraveled. The last four have been split by the two conferences, and who's to say that the East won't win again this year? If the East were to win three titles in a row, the West wouldn't be viewed as being superior. All it takes is one or two dominant clubs to swing perceptions of one conference's dominance over the other.

1. Why hasn't Bruce Bowen won a Defensive Player of the Year award yet? Do the voters hate Bowen so much that they blindly and classlessly ignore his hard work?
-- Bob, Louisville, Ky.

I don't think hatred is involved. Bowen's work does not go unnoticed as he's made the All-Defensive teams the last seven years. But there are a lot of people who view Bowen as a dirty player. My opinion is that he should have won at least one Defensive Player of the Year award. But if it hasn't happened by now, it never will.

3. Messina staying put. Apparently scared off by its disorganized administration, coach Ettore Messina decided against making a long-rumored move to Barcelona. His decision to re-sign with CSKA Moscow was announced on the morning of the team's Euroleague championship game last weekend. Messina signed a one-year contract (with an option year) that will pay him the equivalent of $4 million "net'' next season; the net refers to the payment of Messina's taxes, housing, car, air transportation and other monies by the club. All told, Messina will be paid close to $7 million for the season, making him among the 10 most expensive basketball coaches in the world.

2. CSKA Moscow wins Euroleague for the second time in three years. Trajan Langdon was Final Four MVP for his terrific all-around play, while the shooting of fellow American J.R. Holden boosted CSKA in the early going of its 83-79 semifinal victory over Tau Ceramica. In that game, Spurs draft pick Tiago Splitter had 17 points, but his disappointing 7-of-14 performance from the foul line was crucial.

CSKA center David Andersen was 8-for-8 inside the three-point line in the semifinal, with many of his baskets coming from the post. As a European free agent this summer, he is expected to receive an offer of $4 million "net'' next season to stay with CSKA, which means that the Atlanta Hawks (who own his NBA rights) or another NBA team that acquires his rights (such as Philadelphia or Toronto, both of whom tried to trade for them last year) would probably have to offer him the full mid-level exception. Which is still not a bad price to pay for a 7-foot European veteran from Australia with perimeter range.

Mikhail Prokhorov, CSKA's billionaire financier, knows how to celebrate. Throughout the Final Four, he put on a party at a converted train station in Madrid. On the eve of the championship game, he flew in members of ABBA to perform in celebration of his birthday. After CSKA won, the champions and their hangers-on were seen spraying each other with the most expensive Roederer Cristal champagne as if it were oversized bottles of Miller Lite. Afterward, Prokhorov and general manager Andrei Vatutin headed off to the Seychelles for a celebratory vacation, which Vatutin earned by re-signing Messina and bringing back former Chicago Bulls forward Viktor Khryapa in midseason.

1. NBA goes to India The league announced it will bring its charitable initiative Basketball Without Borders to New Delhi this summer. It will be the league's first event in India, with local teenaged players receiving tutoring from NBA players and coaches at the American Embassy School of New Delhi from July 3-6.

2. Pistons in trouble? The best-case scenario for Detroit is to get through its series against Orlando without needing point guard Chauncey Billups, who will require as much rest as possible to recover from the right hamstring strain he suffered in the early minutes of Game 3 on Wednesday. Billups needs to be near full strength for the Pistons to get past the Celtics or Cavaliers in the next round, followed by the Lakers, Hornets or whichever team from the West is waiting in the NBA Finals, so it won't do Detroit much good to rush him back to win this series if it renders him ineffective against better competition later this month. Pistons strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander is among the best in his field, but this may be asking too much of him.