NBA 2005-2006 Preview: Central Division
Part 2 of a 7 part series previewing the 2005-2006 NBA season
Playoff seed (in parentheses) and projected record appear after name
Central Division
1. Indiana Pacers (2) 59-23For fourth year in a row, the pick to win the Eastern Conference...Rick Carlisle is the best coach in the NBA...Jermaine O'Neil and Ron Artest are two big time players and Lithuanian import Sarunas Janisvicius will be the best new player in the NBA, Rookie of the Year or not...While Stephen Jackson is not an upper echelon two-guard, he is a great third option...They are thin at the 5, but they have enough bodies to throw around to make up for it...They could use some added depth...this team definitely has something to prove
2. Detroit Pistons (4) 57-25
This team is just solid...Probably no Hall of Famers and possibly no All Stars, but Detroit could easily make it to the Finals for the third year in a row...Flip Saunders, a veterans coach, is a good choice to replace Larry Brown...The best defensive team in the East, with really no weak spots...The bench is aging, so if Darko Milicic can contribute, that would be huge
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (5) 46-35
I could flip flop Chicago and Cleveland here, but the Lebron James factor gives the Cavs the nod...Larry Hughes is a good choice as playing Pippen to Jordan's Lebron, if he's up to it...This team is improved from last year, but they still have holes at power forward and point guard, where Drew Gooden and Eric Snow/Damon Jones are good role players, not starters on championship teams...Zydrunas Ilcontinue must contine to stay healthy...I think Lebron is in Cleveland to stay
4. Chicago Bulls (6) 45-37
Kirk Hinrich will be the best point guard in basketball in three years; he's the real deal...This team is young, but they're solid and will continue to get better...You can't blame them for ditching Eddy Curry, and Mike Sweetney was a good consolation prize...Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, Sweetney and coach Scott Skiles is a good foundation to build upon...Chicago, Cleveland and Boston are the future of the East
5. Milwaukee Bucks 33-49
If it makes them feel any better, the Bucks could be the best last place team in the NBA..They overpaid big-time for Michael Redd, but he can score...The jury is still out on Andrew Bogut, but Jamal Magliore was a good pickup to shore up the frontcourt...Bobby Simmons could be a good pickup and TJ Ford is a nice story but, aside from Redd, this team lacks firepower.
posted by Jay at 1:26 PM
1 Comments:
This is a fun division....emblematic of the resurgence of the eastern conference
Pundits are looking forward to "the year of Lebron," but its hard to see big Z remaining healthy all year and they need him because their role-players are bunk: drew gooden is one of my least favorite players...a counterproductive ball-hog. Eric Snow? smart veteran and good defender but his best ball is behind him.
No one in the NBA takes longer strides than Zydrunas Ilgauskas. I know thats a weird observation. While Im on the subject, the team is funny to watch play sometimes because Z looks like he's dangling on the verge of catastrophic injury almost all the time whereas Lebron just looks utterly indestructable.
I've been on the Hinrich bandwagon since his rookie year. He's totally fearless and plays with great intensity without trying too hard.
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