The Central Division in the Eastern Conference has gotten a lot better over this last off-season. Both Detroit and Cleveland made huge strides by picking up some nice pieces and Chicago has their captain coming back in Derrick Rose (just a small thing). What is going to make this interesting is the regular suspects to bring up the rear in Detroit and Cleveland, I feel, will not be there this season if things go right. Let’s dive in.

First Place—Indiana Pacers

I would not have put them in first place if they hadn’t upgraded their bench substantially. Over the off-season, they were able to trade for Luis Scola, get C.J Watson who played for the Nets last season, and they were able to sign Chris Copeland, previously from New York. To top it all off, the Pacers re-signed David West to a three-year deal, which was crucial, in my opinion, to this team’s plans going forward. When all you lose is Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee, and a protected first round pick for Scola and Tyler Hansbrough goes to the Raptors, I think you have done pretty well for yourself. The Pacers have constantly challenged the Miami Heat’s reign, but have just come up short. Think about it, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, if coach Frank Vogel had left Roy Hibbert in for that last possession, the Pacers would have been in the Finals. The Pacers are so close and these moves are signs of that. The franchise knows that this is their time to go to the top and I think they have an excellent shot to contend this season.

This season will also feature another year of growth under the belts of Paul George and Roy Hibbert. Paul George’s potential is scary good and it will be horrifying to see what he turns into in the next couple of years. Roy Hibbert had a down first half of the season last year, but man-oh-man did he come alive in the second half. He absolutely dominated the paint and was a force to be reckoned with every game. Speaking of faces of the franchise, the former one, Danny Granger, looks to be back from injury and will be another factor in this upcoming season. Think about it, the Pacers almost beat the Heat with a pretty good bench and no Granger. Now they will have an outstanding bench and most likely Granger. I think the Eastern Conference Finals could play out a bit differently this season if the Heat and the Pacers happen to meet again.

I feel pretty confident in saying that they will lock up the first place slot this season for a couple of reasons. People forget that last year they only had a 49-32 record in the regular season. That team was built for the playoffs. This year I think this team is not only built for the playoffs, but will be able to win a lot more games in the regular season. I predict a 50+ win season for them.

However, with the return of Derrick Rose, Chicago could just explode and take the NBA by storm again. Although, with the defensive and rough mindset that the Pacers have, I think that will make for an interesting matchup for Derrick Rose who penetrates defenses and is lightning quick. Will Hibbert be able to stop him? We’ll find out. Either way, I think Chicago and Indiana will be fighting for this spot all season and it shall be an interesting rivalry to watch.

Second Place—Chicago Bulls

Chicago surprised everybody in knocking out the fourth seed Brooklyn Nets in seven games last season when they basically had a duct-taped squad put together. The biggest hole was obviously Derrick Rose who was out all last season with an ACL injury he suffered in the previous year’s playoffs. They had to get by with Kirk Hinrich starting and Nate Robinson coming off the bench. Does that make you cringe? But, as we all watched, the Bulls shocked a lot of people in how far they went. They were able to win Game 7 in Barclays Center and move on. They even made people do a double take when they won Game 1 against Miami in the second round in Miami. They basically rode Joakim Noah, Nate Robinson, Carlos Boozer, and Jimmy Butler into the ground and made it to the second round. That is not awful, but they needed a point guard and he is coming back.

This team changes completely when Derrick Rose is playing. The energy and tempo goes up and teams can no longer swarm Noah or Boozer in the paint. What I am most curious about is the development of Jimmy Butler. He just seems to be the definition of a jack-of-all-trades player. He even started playing entire games towards the end of the season and in the playoffs last year and definitely made his impact. He provided hustle and energy and was able to grab key rebounds and play solid defense against some of the league’s most respected players. That is a tall order for anybody, but he pulled it off well and you could tell.

Chicago added Mike Dunleavy Jr. in the off-season while losing Marco Belinelli and Nate Robinson. I do not think this will make a big impact as Dunleavy is basically replacing Marco. Dunleavy is a solid player and one who will be able to stretch the floor for this Chicago team, while also having the ability to drive and be a threat.

Really the only thing changing this season for the Bulls is the return of Derrick Rose, but I think that is really all they need to be dangerous as hell. I am most interested in how Rose plays against players like Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, and Russell Westbrook. He has played against Irving and Westbrook, but it’ll be interesting to see if there are any changes to Rose’s game when he returns. It has been a long time since we have seen him on the court. I am getting the feeling it will not be exactly the same, but I believe he will still be a handful to deal with offensively.

I think the Bulls and the Pacers will be in a dead heat the whole season. Both of these teams have something to prove and I think they both have the potential of producing 50+ win seasons. I am giving the Pacers the slight advantage over the Bulls because of the Pacers’ bench and the fact that Rose might not be what he was a couple of years ago. However, I could easily see the Bulls come out and blowing people away when all the pieces finally start clicking. This team was built for Rose and to be put around Rose. Overall, I am predicting them to land in the second-place spot and to be a force in the playoffs.

Third Place—Cleveland Cavaliers

This team is on the fast track to contending once again. After the departure of LeBron James, the team crumbled. That is until Kyrie Irving came along and changed the whole dynamic. You could definitely see the growth of this team in the past couple of years with guys like Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller, and Alonzo Gee. There was a core of kids coming up and it was only a matter of time before they started making some noise. This year proves to be just another step on that ladder for the Cavs.

The Cavs ended up getting the first pick in the draft, again, and drafted Anthony Bennett from UNLV. This not only adds another skilled player into the bunch, but also adds another young player with a high ceiling. The Cavs are building a team similar to how Oklahoma City built theirs. They got high draft picks and just slowly grew the team around a couple of players and you are now starting to see the fruits of all that.

The Cavs were active in the off-season. They grabbed Jarrett Jack, who is going to be a very nice back-up point guard to Irving and I expect him to make the same impact here as he did in Golden State last season. They also ended up signing Earl Clark who showed flashes of dominance and skill during the end of last season with the Lakers. I think this is just a player who needs an opportunity and he will run with it. Once he finally got consistent time with the Lakers, he was one of the bright spots last season for them. I think this pick-up was solid and definitely fits with the mentality of this young Cleveland squad. They also welcomed back head coach Mike Brown, who coached the Cavaliers during their contending years with LeBron, and fired Byron Scott. The Cavs are making the steps into contention again and I think this was not a bad signing. It should be interesting to see how Mike Brown does now that he has more experience and some different toys to play with.

However, the biggest and most risky signing for the Cavs was Andrew Bynum. We all know what has been going on Bynum. His knees are made of paper so do not look at them for too long or they might snap. Having an all-star and dominant season with the Lakers a couple of seasons ago, he ended up getting injured and getting traded to the 76ers, which as we look back on it now basically destroyed the 76ers plans for contending. Bynum could not quite get comfortable enough or healthy enough to actually suit up for the 76ers and was not re-signed. This past off-season, teams were looking at a center that was an extremely high-risk, high-reward player and it was an opportunity you do not get every day. Nobody wanted to bite, so the Cavs thought they would take the risk and sign Bynum to a partially guaranteed $6 million two-year deal. Obviously the Cavs are still pretty solid in the center department so this was not exactly a team killer signing. If Bynum does not work out, so be it, they will move on with Varejao and Zeller, but if Bynum does work out, then they just got a dominant center for cheap and someone who might not have wanted to play for the Cavs if he had not gotten injured in the first place. Hopefully Bynum has done some growing up while he has been rehabilitating. He was a bit of a head-case with the Lakers and hopefully this experience has forced him to grow up a little bit.

I honestly think that the Cavaliers probably made the biggest leap in terms of “bad teams”. I think they will be better than Detroit and I think this will be the first year where all of the hard work done by that front office will finally start to pay off. I am predicting that they land in the third place spot in this division. I do not think there is a chance that they challenge for the second place spot. Chicago is just too dang good and experienced to let that happen. However, I think the Cavaliers will be like the Warriors were last season: the new up-and-comers who are finally ready to take a big step in the NBA. This team should be extremely fun to watch and Cleveland fans should be excited.

Fourth Place—Detroit Pistons

This is a weird team. I’m just going to say it. The Pistons made plenty of moves this off-season in the hopes of increasing the talent of this team and to continue to the rebuilding process of this franchise. I think that some of the moves that they made might be questionable. They did end up getting some noticeable names, but I am worried about the chemistry and the mindset of a couple of these players. Let’s get into it.

Probably the biggest signings that the Pistons made were Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith, both players who were extremely unhappy with their former situations and now are looking to restart in another team and city. The problem I have with these signings is that both these players are whiny. Brandon Jennings is a solid point guard, do not get me wrong, but he thinks he is on the level of Chris Paul, which I find a bit over the top. Josh Smith was obviously unhappy in Atlanta and still voices his opinion about how unhappy he is about the fact that he has yet to be in an All-Star game. Josh Smith is an incredible talent, but I do not think he is the right guy to lead this franchise for the time being. Putting both of them together has the possibility to be awful. However, you cannot deny the skills on both of these players, so if they can figure out how to play together, then that could be a very deadly combo, especially when you have players like Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe who will be playing alongside Smith. Good luck trying to drive into the paint as Drummond and Monroe get more experienced. This off-season also saw the re-signing and return of fan favorite Chauncey Billups who led the Pistons to a championship in the 2003-2004 season. I think this sign was very smart as Billups can help Jennings become the leader that he needs to be. Jennings has always been a player who has a lot of potential, but has such a crappy attitude that it is blocking him from that potential. Hopefully Billups can help in that aspect and obviously he will be an excellent veteran presence for this young, young team.

Another addition was the signing of Maurice Cheeks as their new head coach. I have mixed feelings about this. He was not that great of a coach with the Portland Trail Blazers and the 76ers. The only positive for him was that he was a nice guy. That does not cut it. However, he has spent some time under Scott Brooks as an assistant coach for the Thunder and it will be interesting to see if he has improved in any aspect because of that. Either way, I do not know if I agree with this signing especially since George Karl and Lionel Hollins were still available when they signed him. Heck, even Brian Shaw would have been a better candidate, but the Pistons’ front office made their decision, now we shall see if it will pay off.

I am also expecting Andre Drummond to make a huge leap this season. Drummond has enormous potential and I feel like he will be a Roy Hibbert-type center in the next few years. Go look at Hibbert’s stats. Hibbert only averaged 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds a game his first season with Indiana.  Drummond averaged 7.9 points and 7.6 rebounds last season. Look familiar? I think Drummond will become the face of the franchise when he finally comes into his own, but for the time being it is all about patience and experience with Drummond.

Obviously, the Pistons did get better this season. However, I do not think they will make as big of a leap as everyone thinks they will. They did get some names, but honestly, I am not sure if those players will coexist well enough and if they will perform up to their standards. That is why I think they will seal up the fourth place slot. I think there is a slight possibility that they do gel well and are able to sneak into the third place slot, but honestly, Cleveland feels like a better built team, while this feels more like a bunch of noticeable and mid-to-upper level players brought together to see what happens. Well, we shall see what happens.

Fifth Place—Milwaukee Bucks

Riding the mediocrity train! The Bucks got killed this off-season and filled the slots with less-than-optimal players. I find it interesting how the Bucks do not want to admit defeat and restart from scratch. On the one hand, I respect that. You want to keep your team competitive and it does suck when your team has to go through those painful years of rebuilding. But, on the other hand, the fans have got to be getting annoyed with the constant first round exit in the playoffs. The team was not even that good last season. There were six games under .500 and still made the playoffs. The one positive and great move that the Bucks did make was re-signing Larry Sanders to a long-term deal. He has some slight growing up to do, but I think this was smart to lock him up now. The Bucks are not going to be contending for a while and Sanders is still young. If they hadn’t re-signed him, a lot of teams would have come calling and it would have been difficult to keep him. Either way, it is going to be hard road yet again for this team this coming season.

Losing Monta Ellis to the Mavericks, Brandon Jennings to the Pistons, and J.J. Redick to the Clippers, the Bucks lost the core that they were trying to build around. I find it funny that they were hoping that at least one of them stayed, but all of them left and none of them really had anything positive to say about their time there. Reeling from those three losses, did the Bucks call it quits and hope for a high-draft pick? Nope. They decided to continue the trend and sign some mediocre players to, in my opinion, some horrible deals. But, let’s look at specifics. The Bucks ended up signing Carlos Delfino, O.J. Mayo, Zaza Pachulia, and trading for Luke Ridnour, Brandon Knight, and Khris Middleton. See anybody in there that makes you jump for joy? Me neither. The contract that absolutely blows my mind is the three-year deal that they signed with Zaza. Say what?? Zaza was a back-up center for Atlanta and he was not really anything special. He was a big body who did is job and that was that. I think this would have been a great pick-up if they signed a one-year deal or even a two-year deal, but this seems too long for a backup center. All of these players are terrific backups or role players on other squads, but as starters and main options they may have some trouble. As we saw with Mayo last season, he started off great and surprised a lot of people, but he ended up coming back to reality when Dirk returned and was underwhelming. I foresee the same thing happening here.

I think there is enough evidence to say that the Bucks will be bringing up the rear in this division. The other four teams made improvements to their roster and are moving forward, while the Bucks seem to be treading water and trying to keep a team together. I am not denying that any of these players are bad individually, but there is not a star player that jumps out at me and it was just confusing as to why they signed these players. These moves felt like they were made out of desperation and I think this team will feel like it. I think the best-case scenario, again, is that they make the eighth seed. I do not see them going any higher and if they do get in, it will be a first round exit. Let’s just say that I am glad I am not a fan of this team. Good luck to them.