you have heard it because it's true. the eastern conference is the weaker conference from top to bottom, which is what I mean. if you took each playoff teams and stacked them next to each other, in the west you have 6 teams that when playing at their highest level are capable of winning the NBA title. in the east you only have 3 teams. over the past decade each year in the east traditionally you only have 1 team that is a real title contender. sometimes that team win (i.e. the pistons , celtics and heat), however that doesn't change that top to bottom the west is a better conference. what that does mean though is that eastern conference teams have a much easier road to the finals. cleveland is playing scrub ass teams and running them... this doesn't guarantee future success when they run into teams that belong on the court with them. This season i believe particularly that will hurt them.
You're right on one thing, the western conference top to bottom is better than the east. In the playoffs, though, I think it has kind of been even until the past three or four years or so. Shoot recently we've had teams in the eastern conference rated as high as sixth with a losing record I think (or at .500)
As far as the Cavs go, they have just been consistent all season regardless of who they've played...