Editor's note: As part of "The Stein Line" every Monday, ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein gives his take on things in "Slams and Dunks."

Thank you, East.

Thank you for the reciprocity.

Some ESPN.com sap had the temerity in December to call you "the deeper conference." The idea was billed as a Hanukkah present to NBA commissioner David Stern, who has downplayed the notion of imbalance, but there actually was some sense to the idea. Teams like Indiana (14-2) and Philadelphia (15-4) got off to magical starts and the conference as a whole surged to an early advantage in East vs. West matchups.

	Isiah Thomas's Pacers have lost six of seven but still sit atop the East.

Three short months later, the deeper conference is better described now as The Conference No One Wants To Win. Indiana recently lost six straight games and still managed to reclaim the No. 1 spot in the East standings because Detroit dropped its seventh straight Sunday night to cap an 0-5 swing out West. New Jersey has lost four of its past five games and Milwaukee, despite adding Gary Payton, lost three of its first four games with GP and is tied for eighth with injury-hit Washington at a game below .500.

As a group, the East suddenly looks no stronger than it has the past few years. The West of 2002-03 was simply slower than usual -- slower to assert its dominance.

San Antonio (12-9) and Portland (10-11) looked average or worse through mid-December. Minnesota was still mired at 17-16 in early January. And the Lakers, you might have heard, were stuck at 11-19 after a Christmas Night loss to Sacramento before Kobe Bryant power-stroked the thrice-defending champs back to a semblance of normalcy.

Now, fresh into March, the West holds a head-to-head advantage of 185-134 against the East through Sunday's play. That's a whopping 51 games over .500, for a winning percentage of .580. It's an even more pronounced advantage than seen last season, when the East was 44 games below .500 against the West at 188-232.

The only way the East can make it up to us now is by sending us a champion that will make the NBA Finals competitive. The West's record in the Finals is 16-4 since Michael Jordan's Bulls were disassembled.

Question is, who will be that competitive finalist?

We'd throw out Philly, winners of nine straight and fresh off beating out Dallas for the services of Tyrone Hill, except that the Sixers are on the West Coast this week. Better to judge them after they've played Sacramento, Portland, Seattle and the Lakers.

	Tyrone Hill, right, helped the 76ers reach the Finals two years ago.