Central Division Predictions

Cleveland Cavaliers:

Cleveland is coming into this season with a new hop in their step. Last year’s run before being riddled with key injuries showed much promise, even looking like a top 3 lock in the East at times. Assuming the health gods shine a different light upon this team, I am quite confident in this group. Out goes Collin Sexton and in comes Donovan Mitchell. One can have their reservations about the Utah Jazz of the past, and the defense he played but Donovan was a scoring machine on these teams. On top of scoring, he is a better playmaker than Collin ever was for Cleveland. Donovan is looking to show the world what he’s capable of again, we all remember the 50 point performances against Denver in the bubble and he wants to show it wasn’t a fluke. The return of Ricky Rubio is a great team chemistry move. A veteran player who’s played his best ball since his old Wolves days next to Kevin Love. Speaking of Kevin Love, his 6th man role will be back again for Cleveland and will continue to be a strong shooter and rebounder off the pine. Evan Mobley blossomed in his rookie year and I’m excited to watch another year of him and Jarrett Allen abusing other frontcourts on both sides of the floor. The best defensive frontcourt in the NBA now has two talented scorers leading the offense in the backcourt. The only question for this team is their SF rotation. Caris Levert, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, or Cedi Osman? I pin this team as escaping the Play-In Tournament and ending the year as the 5th seed.

The big question: can Donovan silence his doubters (Rudy Gobert) of not being able to defend? This team could use some perimeter defense.

Chicago Bulls:

This Chicago squad is another team that was struck by the injury gods this past season and just when you think it’s looking better for Chicago, things quickly crash and burn. As of right now Lonzo Ball cannot run or jump off his right knee and reportedly feels pain even walking up the stairs. Coach Billy Donovan is preparing to go the entire season with Lonzo at the helm of this team. Now the point guard torch is being passed to Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosumnu. Ayo should start for this team due to his success when Zo was out last year.. Alex, who has proven his talents in this league since his days in Los Angeles, should play a whole lot of minutes off the pine. If Ayo has troubles, he can slot into the starting lineup as well. It will be hard to replace him, but I think Alex and Ayo can manage to fill the defensive hole of Lonzo’s absence. The offensive gaps will hopefully be filled by the rookie standout Ayo, who looks to continue the fun style of play he started last season. Patrick Williams will be back after his poor injury luck last year and will be starting for Chicago at the power forward spot. Patrick will be guarding some of the best players on the opposing teams once again, and I believe he will show strengths in this department. The weight of carrying this team is still on the backs of Demar Derozan and Zach Lavine. After Demar’s All-NBA season last year, does he still have enough gas in the tank to keep it going another season? If yes, perfect. If not, I believe Zach is ready to show that he’s capable of being  the second best shooting guard in the league, and Demar can be the Robin to Zach’s Batman. I’d like to say this team has higher expectations than last year but if Lonzo is wearing street clothes the whole year I have this squad booked for the 9 seed and the play-in tournament.

The big question: not much has been said about the outlook on Lonzo’s recovery, and I don’t mean to sound depressing but what if he won’t ever make it back?

Detroit Pistons:

The Motor City Pistons are looking to rebuild their franchise to heights Detroit once saw back in the late 80’s and early 2000’s and it all begins with the core we see here today. I believe this team will be one of the most fun teams to watch this season, which is why they are the winners of my NBA League Pass Must-Watch award. After making the draft day trade, this team has a fun young core in Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Saddiq Bey, & Jalen Duren. The rest of their roster is rounded out by other young players looking to find their footing in this league, which they aren’t many better teams to be on than to find that. The additions of Bojan Bogdanovic and Nerlens Noel are savvy moves by the front office. Two players that can add stability to the unstable horsepower of this team. It’s been said that Kemba Walker will not be a part of this teams regular season’s roster so Killian Hayes will be leading the charge off the bench. I don’t believe this team will be winning many games, but they will be winning over the hearts of Detroit basketball fans (specifically Jalen Rose), and I would not be against betting for a Jaden Ivey Rookie of the Year trophy coming this way by the conclusion of this season. I see a 13th seed to cap off this season. Back to the lottery this team goes, but I am certainly a fan of what the Pistons are building in Detroit.

The big question: is it possible to play Jaden Ivey 48 minutes a night? 

Indiana Pacers:

This team is definitely interesting, mainly due to its unwillingness to tank even when the writing's on the wall. Indiana has somehow found their new face of the future in Tyrese Haliburton but it is time to find him running mates, and no Benedict Mathurin nor Chris Duarte are enough. Don’t get me wrong I like these two players but they don’t have the All-NBA potential needed to lead a team alongside Tyrese. So the only idea that makes any sense is to run, sprint, grind and fight for the 1st overall pick in this next draft. Why this team still has Buddy Hield and Myles Turner on their roster is absolutely baffling to me. These two players are worth first round picks and it is time to cash them in before it’s too late. Hand the keys over to Tyrese and Benedict and let them grow as players. Benedict could have a Kris Middleton type play style and career, but we won’t know if he’s fighting Buddy Hield for minutes. Rick Carlise is a fantastic coach to have, Tyrese is one of my favorites young players in the league and I believe the Pacers are blessed to be able to build around them (Silly Sacramento). In the meanwhile, I believe this team will be the worst in the East, the 15th seed and are therefore bound for the lottery.

The big question: why are the Pacers so afraid to tank? What’s so wrong about trading Buddy and Myles for the Lakers picks?

Milwaukee Bucks:

A new year for the 2021 NBA Champions and there’s only one goal in mind: return to the winners circle once again. LAst season this team was robbed by a Kris Middleton injury that prevented them from giving the Boston Celtics their best shot in the conference semifinals. Even without Kris, the Bucks gave it their all and had a good chance to win the series but the Celtics squeaked by in 7. Moving into this season, most of the team stands pat but the addition of Joe Ingles stands out. Bucks are getting a glue guy player capable of playing a high IQ brand of basketball while defending at a decent level and shooting efficiently from deep. A quality addition to a team destined for the depths of the playoffs. This season Bucks fans are hoping for more from Serge Ibaka than just pre-game outfits. Who could be a great third piece to the bigs lineup alongside Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis, assuming he contributes. If there’s anything we know for Certain is that MVP Candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo will be back to his elite style of play. After dominating in Europe playing in the FIBA Championship, Giannis will hope to bring his American team further into the playoffs than his Greek National Team. The season will start with Kris in street clothes, only for a couple of weeks though. In the meantime, we can look forward to Jrue Holiday having more of a say in the offense. Change can be good, but a strong team like the Bucks there is no need to fix something if it ain’t broke. I expect this squad to be the best team in the East this season.

The big question: outside of Giannis this team doesn’t have much youth nor athleticism, when will this begin to show/ begin to be a problem?