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There is some good news for teams like the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets who are struggling to start the season. The East as a whole has been lackluster at best and those teams that are struggling right now aren't digging themselves too big of a hole just yet.
Indiana is by far the cream of the crop in the East winning 12 of their first 13 games. The Heat are rolling along at 10-3 and the Hawks currently lead the next group with an 8-6 record. Chicago has slipped to 6-5 on the season and are going to be without Derrick Rose for some time due to another knee injury. Toronto currently sits in fourth place thanks to the abomination that is the Atlantic Division. There is no better time than this to plug Zach Lowe's recent article on why divisions should be eliminated in the NBA.
To put the struggles of the East in proper context you need only look at the Milwaukee Bucks. Larry Drew and company have lost eight straight and are 2-10 overall. Yet they reside just 2.5 games behind the Washington Wizards who are in eighth place in the conference.
Here is a look at the up to the minute Eastern Conference Standings:
Here is how the Western Conference looks currently: