Here’s the Indianapolis Star reporting on the NBA Eastern conference, which so far this season has collectively been around as good as the West:
For so many years, analysts and fans used to refer to the collection of teams in the East as the Leastern Conference or the Other Conference because the West was so dominant. Yes, the West still has the two best teams in the league with the Golden State Warriors, the defending champions, and San Antonio Spurs.
But this season has shown there is more of a balance of talent throughout the NBA. Entering Wednesday, 10 teams in the Eastern Conference possessed a winning record, double the five it had last season on Dec. 23. The East also had a winning record – 85-84 – against teams from the West through Wednesday’s games.
The Indiana Pacers are one of the many reasons the East has regained its footing. A resurgence from Paul George and a remodeled offense from coach Frank Vogel has pushed the Pacers from out of the playoffs to one of the conference’s better teams. Yet the Pacers understand their place in the standings can change quickly if they have a losing streak or win three consecutive games, as they did last week.
