There's one clear frontrunner in the Central and it's the
Chicago Bulls. As opening day approaches, SBR is running down each NBA division and conference winners as a review of what to expect this season.
We've already done a piece on the Atlantic, and you may be
surprised to see who we like to claim the division title there.
So now it's time for the far-from-glamorous Central
Division. A couple of teams could surprise, but it should be Chicago that
emerges as the top dogs when everything's said and done.
Chicago...and the rest?
No squad dominated their division as much as the Chicago Bulls did
in 2010/11.
The only team in the Central to have a winning record at
season's end, Chicago finished 62-20 – including an amazing 36-5 mark at home –
to cement their place as the number one overall seed in the Eastern
Conference.
The Bulls ended up ahead of second-place Indiana by 25
games, the largest margin in any of the divisions last season. They were 15-1
against Central teams and will be looking to repeat that superiority.
After such a successful showing, you'd think Chicago would
be happy to keep their proven rotation intact. But evidently they weren’t, as
the Bulls were reportedly trying to get involved in the trade discussions for
Dwight Howard; that is until the big man left out the Windy City as one of his
preferred destinations.
Still, coach Tom Thibodeau has to like what he sees, with an
almost identical rotation, led by MVP Derrick Rose, locked in and ready to go.
Assuming Joakim Noah (11.7 PPG and 10.4 RPG in 2010/11) and Carlos Boozer stay healthy;
Chicago should stroll to another division title. Sportsbooks are sure to agree and you can grab some tasty NBA odds on conference winners over in the SBR sportsbook.
Bucks and Pacers should both show improvement
Yes, there's an obvious favorite in the Central, but both
Milwaukee and Indiana are likely to give the Bulls more of a challenge this
coming season.
It's safe to say that 2010/11 was disappointing for the
Bucks, who lost 11 more games than they did the season before. However, they do
feature a nice one-two punch with Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut, not to
mention they've added some intriguing pieces during the offseason, including
Stephen Jackson and Mike Dunleavy.
The Pacers, meanwhile, enter the new season as one of the
youngest (but most promising) teams around. Danny Granger is one of the
league's best natural scorers, Roy Hibbert has improved his game every season,
and I really like the pickup of hometown hero George Hill. You can also expect
a much bigger role for Paul George in his second year in the league.
At the bottom of the totem pole in the Central are the
Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Pistons made headlines for all the wrong reasons last
season. Trade demands, public disagreements between players and former coach
John Kuester, and overall poor play. It was ugly. They're hoping to start fresh
with new head coach Lawrence Frank and a solid draft class that includes
Brandon Knight and Kyle Singler.
And then there are the Cavaliers. Oh those poor Cavaliers.
Cleveland received the number one overall pick in the draft
after a disastrous post-LeBron season, electing to go with one-and-done Duke
point guard, Kyrie Irving. The Cavaliers also snapped up Tristan Thompson a few
picks later to set them up nicely for the future. But let's get real; the
present is going to be ugly.
Central Division Predicted Finish
1.) Chicago Bulls
2.) Milwaukee Bucks
3.) Indiana Pacers
4.) Detroit Pistons
5.) Cleveland Cavaliers