2013-2014 NBA Preview: Central Division

Chicago Bulls

2012-2013 Record: 45-37 (5th in East)

Key Additions: Mike Dunleavy, Mike James, Tony Snell

Key Losses: Marco Belinelli, Richard Hamilton, Nate Robinson

Projected Starting Lineup: Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah

Did you hear that? There it is again. That was the sound of every single person in Chicago holding their breath. Every time Derrick Rose hits the ground after jumping high up in the air, nobody in Bulls territory is going to move until he gets back up, praying that he does in fact get back up. The biggest addition to the Chicago Bulls roster this season is not someone they signed in free agency or traded for but rather their former MVP coming back from injury. Rose, Chicago’s superstar point guard, is coming off of a torn ACL suffered in the first round of the 2012 playoffs that caused him to miss all of last season. Rose will
need time to readjust himself to the pace of an NBA game, but I see no reason why he cannot return to his former MVP glory. He has been working on his shooting game the last couple of years which means he should be even more dangerous now that he can shoot from the outside and drive to the rim. Sitting Rose all of last season was definitely the right move for the Bulls.

Even without their best player, the Bulls were still able to post the fifth best record in the Eastern Conference and make it to the second round of the playoffs, losing to the eventual champion Miami Heat in five games. If we did not know before, we know now that this Bulls team has more star power than just Rose. Joakim Noah is one of those players, earning All-Defensive NBA 1st Team honors last season while averaging 12 points and 11 rebounds. Now that Rose is back, Noah will be expected to improve on his 48.1% shooting from last season, hoping, as a big man, to get over that 50% mark. He has plenty of help down low, being paired with Carlos Boozer up front and Taj Gibson coming off the bench. Jimmy Butler, in his second year out of Marquette, proved himself to be a viable defensive presence for the Bulls on the perimeter. He and Luol Deng, if Deng remains on the team through the season, should be able to give LeBron James and Dwyane Wade some issues on the court if they see each other again in the playoffs.

The Bulls, with an All-Star big man and two solid perimeter defenders, to go along with the greatness that is Derrick Rose, is just one of two teams in this division that have the best chances in the league of knocking the Heat off of their throne this season.

Cleveland Cavaliers

2012-2013 Record: 24-58 (13th in East)

Key Additions: Anthony Bennett, Andrew Bynum, Jarrett Jack, Earl Clark

Key Losses: Marreese Speights, Omri Casspi

Projected Starting Lineup: Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Alonzo Gee, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao

There is a smorgasbord of great story lines coming out of Cleveland this season. The first, and possibly most interesting of the entire league, is Tristan Thompson, their starting power forward and former number four overall pick, switching shooting hands this offseason, becoming right handed after playing his whole life with his left hand as his dominant hand. Never in recent memory has a player changed shooting hands in the middle of a career. Thompson, who shot 48.8% from the field with his left hand last season but only 60.8% from the free thrown line, hopes all the time and effort used to switching dominant hands was not all for naught. All eyes are on Thomspon when he takes the court on opening night for the Cavs and puts up his first shot for Cleveland as a righty.

The second newsworthy story in Cleveland is the pairing of two number one overall picks. Kyrie Irving, the top pick in 2011, is joined by this year’s top pick Anthony Bennett, the power forward out of UNLV. Bennett was a very surprising pick for the Cavs, who already have Thompson as a starting power forward. Obviously, Cleveland had the entire draft to choose from to select at that first pick, which makes me believe they saw something out of Bennett, an undersized 6’8” power forward, during workouts that those on the outside of the team’s front office did not. If LeBron James decides to come back to Cleveland when he becomes a free agent in 2014 that would mean three former number one overall picks playing for the Cavaliers at the same time.

The final headline for the Cavaliers would be their big free agent signing this summer, Andrew Bynum. Bynum, who has two championship rings with the Los Angeles Lakers, was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers last year as part of the deal that landed Dwight Howard in Hollywood, did not play a single minute for the Sixers last season but was still given a two year contract that contains mostly incentives and a team option on the second year. Bynum, who when healthy is one of the best centers in the league, hopes to bring to the Cavs what he did to his championship Laker teams, scoring and rebounding down low as well as long arms to make opponents have to adjust their shots over him.

Kyrie Irving is going to be a stud in the NBA, if he is not considered one already. Adding guard Jarrett Jack to be his backup will give Irving a veteran hand to help guide him through the next few seasons. If Thompson’s experiment goes well and the Bynum signing pays off, the Cavs are a team with one of the biggest upsides in the next couple of years. Also, look for the Cleveland to trade center Anderson Varejao before the February trade deadline. Varejao, at 31 years of age and two years left on his contract, does not really fit in to the Cavaliers’ rebuilding plan but his great rebounding prowess could help a team looking to make a playoff run.

Detroit Pistons

2012-2013 Record: 29-53 (11th in East)

Key Additions: Josh Smith, Brandon Jennings, Chauncey Billups, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tony Mitchell

Key Losses: Jose Calderon, Brandon Knight, Jason Maxiell, Corey Maggette

Projected Starting Lineup: Brandon Jennings, Rodney Stuckey, Josh Smith, Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond

The Pistons have a quandary to solve as two of the newest players both like to shoot the ball, but with only one basketball available there could be issues. Josh Smith, signed in free agency, and Brandon Jennings, swapped in exchange for Brandon Knight, both love to have the ball in their hands and take questionable shots, both averaged over 15 shots per game last season. Veteran head coach and first year Pistons head coach Mo Cheeks needs to figure out how to create equilibrium between them. The first step would be making sure Jennings becomes more of a point guard than a shooting guard. The signing of Chauncey Billups, the veteran point guard who won Finals MVP for the Pistons in 2004, should help Jennings’ progress as a point guard. Jennings has a lot more help in Detroit than he did in Milwaukee so he will not have to shoot as much. Josh Smith, however, needs to learn his place on the court. What his coaches in Atlanta could not do was convince Smith, a career 28.3% three point shooter, to stop shooting from deep. Smith is extremely talented and athletic but Mo Cheeks needs to show the 6’ 9” small forward that the team would be better suited if Smith staying inside the arc rather then roaming around it.

The Pistons probably sport the most promising, young frontcourt in the league. Andre Drummond, 20, and Greg Monroe, 23, can both average double-doubles this season. Monroe averaged 16 and 9.6 last season and Drummond has shown a tremendous nose for the ball during the preseason, averaging 14 rebounds per game with as many as 20 in a single game. It is going to be tough scoring in the paint against this team, as both players should see around 2 blocks per game and that does not even include the misses by players having to adjust their shots to get them over the big guys.

One player to keep an eye on playing for the Pistons is Italian Luigi “Gigi” Datome. If you do not recognize the name, I do not blame you. He went undrafted in 2009 and for his entire professional career has played in Italy. This past year he won the MVP award in Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A averaging 16.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Although the competition in Italy is a giant step down from the NBA, Datome also has experience playing with the Italian national team which means playing with fellow countrymen such as Danilo Gallinari and Andrea Bargnani, who like, Datome, have all at some point won the Italian Best Player Under 22 award while playing in their native country. I do not expect Datome to be a sensation here in the United States, but the 25 year old may be a dark horse to be in the conversation for Rookie of the Year.

Indiana Pacers

2012-2013 Record: 49-32 (3rd in East)

Key Additions: Luis Scola, Chris Copeland, C.J. Watson, Solomon Hill

Key Losses: Tyler Hansbrough, D.J. Augustin, Sam Young

Projected Starting Lineup: George Hill, Paul George, Danny Granger, David West, Roy Hibbert

In all of the NBA, the Pacers may have the best chance of knocking off the two time defending champion Miami Heat. They have the pieces not only to defend the Heat’s best player but also exploit Miami’s biggest weakness as well. They were close last year, losing to the eventual champions in seven games during the Eastern Conference Finals. Paul George, winner of last season’s Most Improved Player of the Year award, leaped to All-Star last season and looks to improve on his 17.4 point, 4.1 assist, 7.6 rebound, and 1.8 steal averages from last season. George, at an athletic 6’ 9”, 220 pounds is extremely well qualified to handle LeBron James on the defensive end and he has shown great enthusiasm to improve on his All-Defense 2nd Team honors from last season. On the defensive end for Miami, the Heat’s greatest weakness has been going up against talented big men. The Pacers’ Roy Hibbert has certainly shown he is a very talented big man, bringing back a skyhook we have not seen since Kareem. Hibbert has shown the ability to hit the nearly impossible-to-block shot with either hand while on the block but also has no trouble stepping out to show off his midrange game. Hibbert also demonstrated his great defensive basketball IQ during the playoffs. The great wall of Hibbert was nearly impossible to shoot over in the postseason after Hibbert began going straight up on his block attempts, as opposed leaning his arms over the body of the shooter to try and block a shot, and successfully avoided foul calls. However, he will have to eclipse the 50% shooting mark average for this season, which he did not do last year, 44.8%, no thanks to a very slow start. Hibbert capitalizes on the weaknesses of the Miami frontcourt and will have to make sure his post game is on point if they face each other in the postseason.

The Pacers have a problem, but it is a problem that many teams would kill to have. They have too much talent at the small forward position. Paul George and Danny Granger are both All-Star forwards on Indiana capable of taking over a game and putting up great numbers all over the stat sheet. Granger missed all but five games last season due to a knee injury and George, who is seven years younger, shined in his place. The issue facing the Pacers now is what they do with Granger, who has one year and $14 million left on his contract, now that George is there to stay, he signed a five year extension that should guarantee him between $80 million and $90 million. One option is to try and start one of them at shooting guard and one at small forward. A much more likely scenario, in my opinion, is that the Pacers trade Granger and his expiring contract to a team willing to give up a veteran or two who can help the Pacers win in the short term.

The Pacers may have lost key bench players like forward Tyler Hansbrough and point guard D.J. Augustin but the signings of Luis Scola, Chris Copeland, and C.J. Watson will make Indiana better than they were last season. Scola, who has been waiting for a while to be on a decent team, should provide more than enough energy and rebounding to replace Hansbrough and be more than a decent back up for David West. Copeland, one of the biggest surprises last season while playing for the New York Knicks, will be able to spread the floor with his three point shooting. Finally, C.J. Watson brings veteran leadership at the point guard position to a relatively young team looking to make a Finals push.

The Pacers have the personnel and the blue collar attitude to make another deep run in the playoffs this season. Do not be surprised if you see them playing in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.

Milwaukee Bucks

2012-2013 Record: 38-44 (8th in East)

Key Additions: Brandon Knight, O.J. Mayo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Zaza Pachulia. Caron Butler, Carlos Delfino, Luke Ridnour, Gary Neal

Key Losses: Samuel Dalembert, Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings, J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon, Marquis Daniels, Mike Dunleavy

Giannis Antetokounmpo. The most difficult name in the league to pronounce may belong to the most difficult player in the league to predict. Not since Kyrie Irving was drafted number one overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011 after playing in only 11 games his first and only year at Duke has a player been drafted almost exclusively on potential. Antetokounmpo (pronounced And-et-o-koom-bo) is a Greek citizen originally born in Nigeria whose only professional experience is his one year in Greece’s second division. However, the Bucks saw enough potential out of the 6’ 9” swingman, who is as thin as a stick, to draft him 15th overall in this past draft and it looks like he will jump right into the league instead of continuing his play oversees. Since the Bucks do not seem to be going anywhere any time soon, their number one priority should be helping their rookie not only get accustomed to the NBA but also to the United States.

The Bucks switched one point guard for another when they received Brandon Knight from the Pistons for Brandon Jennings. Knight, who does not look to shoot as much as Jennings, probably fits in better with this team, especially with the addition of O.J. Mayo, who likes to shoot a lot. Mayo will get the chance to shoot the lights out for a Milwaukee team that lacks scorers. Although Mayo is far from a reliable first option shooter, someone has to take the shots.

Milwaukee does have a promising big man who, along with Antentokounmpo, could eventually make up two-thirds of front line that would be extremely long and athletic. Larry Sanders, the starting center, averaged 2.83 blocks per game last season, good for second best in the league, and 9.5 rebounds, 12th best in the NBA. Sanders got a big contract extension from the Bucks so it looks like he is there to stay, which is good news for Bucks fans. Sanders should be in the conversation for Defensive Player of the year for plenty of seasons to come, but can the Bucks put enough talent around him to take advantage of his skills.

Although the ceiling for this Bucks team does not seem very high, they can show some promise thanks to talented young guys like Knight, Mayo, and Sanders who will team up with proven veteran free agent signings Gary Neal and Carlos Delfino. However, Mayo can be one of the most sporadic players in the league and Knight has yet to show much talent as a point guard while in Detroit. If this team manages to play postseason basketball, it will not be for very long.

Prediction

1) Indiana Pacers

2) Chicago Bulls

3) Detroit Pistons

4) Cleveland Cavaliers

5) Milwaukee Bucks