It's Early for the East

The clocks have been moved back 1 hour for Daylight Savings Time, so it's early on the East coast. It's also early for the Eastern Conference, but there's been some interesting developments so far.

- The surprise of the young NBA season so far would have to be an undefeated Indiana Pacers team. The Pacers have gone 3-0 beating the Memphis Grizzlies, Washington Wizards and Miami Heat. The Pacers team webpage is already saying the Pacers are a team who's able to find ways to win and asking if they might fit into the playoff picture. If so, the East is more competitive than we all thought. The Bucks and Sixers haven't looked terrible so far and they were predicted to be near the bottom of the Conference this season. Remember, it's still early.

- The other surprise although it is early is the Chicago Bulls. They've dropped games to both the Pacers mentioned above and the Bucks, who are two teams you might have considered out of contention this year. Looking at stats, Ben Gordon is leading them and is one of 5 double-digit scorers. Ben Wallace's numbers look subpar with just 4.5 rebounds per game, 2 assists and 1.5 blocks. They need his rebounding and defensive help, although Tyrus Thomas may take that on. Again, it's early and you can't possibly believe a team like Chicago won't turn things around and go on a win streak. Getting Kobe would have been nice, but now that it seems unlikely, the Bulls can get on track. The Bulls despite their losing ways are giving away an SUV on their website.

-The Celtics aren't so much a surprise. The Big 3 did their thing in their opening game and defeated the Washington Wizards. Ray Allen, KG and Pierce combined for over 60 points in the win which is a good sign of things to come should they stay healthy. It didn't help either that Gilbert Arenas talked a bit of smack to Boston and it fans on his blog.

- Gilbert Arenas is also considered to be struggling, as his stat lines aren't looking nearly as nice as last season. Gil's coming off an injury and rehab and is most likely still working himself back. However, he seems to like making premature blog statements against teams like the Boston Celtics. Bad idea.