HEAT Check: West Is Soft, East Is Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

Do the Miami HEAT have an advantage in the NBA Finals because the Western Conference is so tough its teams beat each other up before they get there?

George Karl claimed that was the case on The Dan LeBatard Show this week. Of course, George Karl is an idiot and the numbers explain why.

Eastern Conference teams committed 141 more fouls than Western Conference teams in the 2012 playoffs, 1,849 to 1,708.

The HEAT felt the brunt of those fouls. They were fouled 550 times in the 2012 playoffs. The Thunder were only fouled 418 times coming out the soft Western Conference.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade took more trips to the free throw line than any one else in the playoffs and it wasn't even close. LeBron and Wade combined to take 120 more free throws than Kevin Durant and James Harden, who finished 3rd and 4th in free throw attempts during the playoffs.

The Eastern Conference championship is Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, and that's the advantage the winner has over the Western Conference champ - they're tougher.