West continues to dominate, Spurs remain on top

When marquee free agents like Carlos Boozer and Amar'e Stoudemire went from the Western Conference to the East last summer, we thought it might bring more balance to the NBA landscape.

So far, the East looks to be just as shallow as ever, with fewer teams above .500 (six) than it had last season (seven). The Philadelphia 76ers, for example, are on pace to earn the No. 7 seed with a 34-48 record.

Further, the West is currently 148-107 in games against the East, which is the most lopsided it's been since the 2003-04 season. Eight West teams are above .500 overall, but 11 of them have winning records against the East.

The East still has five strong teams at the top, but with the recent struggles of the New York Knicks, those are the only five that would make the playoffs in the West.

• Last week: Spurs clear leader at the midway point
• This time last year: Cavs make another statement - The Nuggets were the second best team in the West, the Mavs beat the Knicks by 50, the Grizzlies were in the top 10, and the Warriors started two guys (Cartier Martin and Anthony Tolliver) on 10-day contracts.

Hero Team of the Week: Portland (4-0) - The opponents weren't great, but the shorthanded Blazers were one of just two teams without a loss last week.
Zero Team of the Week: Toronto (0-4) - It was four road games against four of this week's top seven, but the Raptors simply rolled over in visits to Orlando and Miami over the weekend.

High jumps of the week: Atlanta (+3), New Orleans (+3), New Jersey (+2), Phoenix (+2)
Free falls of the week: Utah (-3), Dallas (-2), New York (-2), Oklahoma City (-2)

East vs. West: The West is 148-107 (.580) against the East in inter-conference games this season, and was 17-10 last week.

Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
Off: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
Def: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
The league averages 94.7 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 103.9 points scored per 100 possessions.