Going Upstairs: Central Division Preview

This is the first of six division previews that I’ll be posting before the season starts. I understand that divisions themselves are mostly meaningless, but it offers a convenient way to split up my preview series. Below I’ve listed teams by predicted order of finish, alongside their projected playoff seed in their conference.


This looks to be the most lop-sided division in all of basketball, one that the Chicago Bulls almost swept through last season, save for an overtime loss to the Pacers in late March. However, Indiana has emerged as a solid playoff team, and one that will give it's first round opponent fits. The bottom of the division will help the division claim the most ping-pong balls in next year's lottery.

Chicago Bulls (2)

Projected Rotation

PG – Derrick Rose

SG – Richard Hamilton

SF – Luol Deng

PF – Carlos Boozer

C – Joakim Noah

F – Taj Gibson

G/F – Ronnie Brewer

G/F – Kyle Korver

C – Omer Asik

G – C.J. Watson

BGEM Players (Tier)

Derrick Rose (1)

Joakim Noah (3)

Luol Deng (4)

Carlos Boozer (4)

Analysis

Despite common sentiment that the Bulls suffered a lot of injuries last season, they were actually near the bottom of the league in games missed due to injury. And even though most of those games were to Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, nobody in the NBA had better replacements for their front line than the Bulls, thanks to Taj Gibson, Omer Asik, and Kurt Thomas (Big Sexy!). For that reason, I think it's fair to say that last year was one of those everything-went-right type of seasons, and we can expect a little regression in 2012. That said, Chicago is still a top two team in the East and present the best threat to the Heat's conference supremacy.

Player to Watch

Taj Gibson – The Bulls’ sixth man has emerged as a legitimate NBA power forward, and provides insurance for the inevitable injury to Carlos Boozer. But Gibson also represents the biggest trade trip Chicago has if they would like to acquire a difference-making shooting guard, and with two years left on his rookie deal his trade value will never be higher. The Bulls must decide if they are going to pay Gibson beyond next season to be their third big, and if not, they should trade him now. 

Indiana Pacers (7)

Jeff Foster: always adding new meaning to
the term: "dirty player"

Projected Rotation

PG – Darren Collison

SG – Paul George

SF – Danny Granger

PF – David West

C – Roy Hibbert

G – George Hill

F – Tyler Hansbrough

G – Dahntay Jones

F/C – Louis Amundson

C – Jeff Foster

BGEM Players (Tier)

Danny Granger (3)

Darren Collison (5)

David West (5)

Analysis

The Pacers are everybody's new favorite team after shrewdly signing David West to a two-year deal, adding to their already talented young core and likable head coach. But without a true star player, they Pacers will never be more than what they are, a fourth or fifth seed at best.

Player to Watch

Paul George - Already showing his potential on defense last year, George will look to add to his offensive game this season. He has the tools to be a terrific scorer, but just like any young player will need to improve his shooting and his decision-making. How well he plays next to Danny Granger, who is cemented in at George's natural position, will be interesting to watch.

Milwaukee Bucks

"Don't worry kid, I'll take you under my wing." - Every Bucks
fan's worst nightmare.

(Btw, do a Google image search of "Stephen Jackson" and
watch how many great pictures come up. I could do a whole
article just making up captions for those pictures.)

Projected Rotation

PG – Brandon Jennings

SG – Stephen Jackson

SF – Carlos Delfino

PF – Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

C – Andrew Bogut

F – Mike Dunleavy

F – Drew Gooden

G – Beno Udrih

F – Ersan Ilyasova

C – Larry Sanders

BGEM Players (Tier)

Andrew Bogut (3)

Stephen Jackson (5)

Brandon Jennings (5)


Analysis
The Scott Skiles coaching cycle may have reached it's inevitable final stage last season, as we saw the Bucks fall back to the lottery after overachieving the year before. On the bright side, no team suffered more injuries in 2011 than Milwaukee, and they're bringing back the same core group of players.

Player to Watch

Stephen Jackson - The 33 year old shooting guard has already requested a contract extension, without playing a single game for Milwaukee. But if the two parties can work through that issue, Jackson does have a tradition of bringing his teams to the postseason, as he did in Golden State, Indiana, and Charlotte.

Detroit Pistons

Greg Oden's replacement as the league's "looks
like he's 40 but he's actually only 21" guy

Projected Rotation

PG – Rodney Stuckey

SG – Ben Gordon

SF – Tayshaun Prince

PF – Jonas Jerebko

C – Greg Monroe

F – Jason Maxiell

F – Charlie Villanueva

G – Brandon Knight

G – Will Bynum

F – Austin Daye

BGEM Players (Tier)

Ben Gordon (5)

Greg Monroe (5)

Rodney Stuckey (5)


Analysis
The Pistons offer a wide range of possibilities for this season, at least in my eyes. They have several talented, albeit redundant, players on their roster, a few of which are playoff veterans. They have a new coach in Lawrence Frank, and if he gives the team some accountability they should outperform last year's disaster of a season and be respectable. 

Player to Watch

Greg Monroe - This blue-chip center prospect could make the biggest difference in the Pistons season. He is a great passer out of the post, which could be huge asset given the lack of a true point guard on the roster. He is also a good rebounder and improving finisher, who makes up for his lack of elite athleticism with high skills.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Hope in Cleveland

Projected Rotation

PG – Kyrie Irving

SG – Anthony Parker

SF – Alonzo Gee

PF – Antawn Jamison

C – Anderson Varejao

G – Ramon Sessions

F – Tristan Thompson

F – Omri Casspi

G – Daniel Gibson

C – Ryan Hollins

BGEM Players (Tier)

Kyrie Irving (5)


Analysis
Might be even less talented than the Raptors, but have one wild-card in Kyrie Irving. Having played only 11 games in college, nobody can say for sure how good he'll be, but I think a poor-man's Chris Paul is a reasonable expectation for this number one overall pick. Surrounding him are a number of cast-offs, has-beens, and never-have beens. And Sideshow Bob at center. 

Player to Watch

Tristan Thompson - The other rookie on the roster will have ample opportunity to prove himself this season. With a declining Antawn Jamison, Thompson very well could be the best power forward on the team and will give Irving an athletic running mate in transition.