If the NBA season were to end today, Washington fans would rejoice because the 9-11 Wizards would be the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. 

Basketball fans look on the East today with shame, as there are currently only two teams in the conference with winning records. Indiana and Miami seem to be the only legitimate contenders, while the other 13 teams each have serious issues.

The problem lies in the great disparity of talent in the East. While teams like Atlanta and Boston have the remains of contending teams, they are each missing a true superstar.

Atlanta, the current three seed, lost a vital piece of their team this off-season with the departure of Josh Smith. Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague are solid players, but they struggle with offensive production, ranking sixteenth in the league in scoring. They have a good chance to reach the playoffs, but their lack of superstar talent will eventually keep them from going far in the playoffs.

In fourth place are the resilient Boston Celtics, who despite trading away team centerpieces Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, and losing Rajon Rondo to a torn ACL, have found a way to hang around. Rookie coach Brad Stevens has given an exemplary effort, bringing a team that is simply devoid of talent to the top of the weak Atlantic division. But until Rajon Rondo returns and the C’s can post a winning record, the Celtics can’t be considered serious contenders in the playoffs.

Washington, Toronto and Detroit all have promising young players, but lack veteran support.

In his fourth season, John Wall is averaging 19.6 points and 9.1 assists per game. He is becoming the point guard he was expected to be when he was chosen first overall in 2010. Demar Derozan and Andre Drummond are also developing into young stars, but each players’ supporting cast has been less than stellar. Each team has a losing record, and until they bring in more talented players, will forever live in the no-man’s land of being not terrible, but not great.

Compared to the West, where two teams with winning records are not even eight seeds, the competition in the East is abysmal. Unless the East improves, Indiana and Miami will inevitably meet in the Conference Finals, and the West will be the only conference worth watching in April.