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NBA Analysis: East Central Division

By JonathanRagus, Section NBA
Posted on Tue Nov 02 2004 at 10:55 AM EST
More on: (all tags)

    The Central Division of the Eastern Conference. Always good teams in this division with players like Reggie Miller, Ben Wallace, Lebron James and Keith Van Horn. The Central is all but a lock down for the Pistons but there will be a few surprises in the back end of the standings. Let's get right to it.

Last year they finished in first place, in front of the world champion Detroit Pistons. Not many changes were made to a core of players who know how to shoot, defend and run. Jermaine O'Neal is still the heart and soul of this Pacers organization. But can there bid for another first place finish stay in pace with the Pistons?

Player to Watch: Guard Stephen Jackson. Indiana took a big risk of trading Al Harrington for Jackson. But in the preseason it looks like its paying off as Jackson is scoring huge and playing great defense.

Player not to Watch: Guard Reggie Miller. He's been on a decline the last 3 years. I see him playing under 50 games as Stephen Jackson will get most of the SG time. Can he be a mid season retiree? Only time can tell.

Detroit Pistons
Who would have ever thought the Pistons could dethrone the Lakers? Not many people, but Joe Dumars believed that. That's why he traded for Rasheed Wallace before the trading deadline. Dumars was also the only one to believe in point guard Chauncey Billups. If anyone thinks the off season made the Pistons a worse team than last years than they are definitely wrong. Acquisitions of Antonio McDyess, Derrick Coleman and Amal McCaskill to come off the bench behind the Pistons starting five are definitely a team that will entertain all season long.

Player to Watch: Forward Antonio McDyess. His knees will be rested more on a long Pistons bench. When he does enter the game he will give weaker subs trouble with his tough route running and his first quick step off the dribble.

Player not to Watch: Forward Rasheed Wallace. His numbers weren't that great since coming over to Detroit and they won't be that great this year. There's more offense in Detroit than there was in Portland. The points will go to Prince, Billups and Hamilton before it goes to Wallace.

Chicago Bulls
This is my surprise team of the Central Division. The Bulls have all the tools to be a successful basketball team. Eddy Curry can be a rebounding force in the NBA as long as he matures into a Charles Oakley type player. They got decent players back in the Jamal Crawford trade only because there contract players that wont be with the team next year. Except they should've made the Knicks take Eddie Robinson instead of Jerome Williams.

Player to Watch: Point Guard Kirk Hinrich. Hinrich will lead the Bulls to something they have had in years, a 3rd place finish. The shooting and ball handling skills remind me of current Bulls head coach Scott Skiles.

Player not to Watch: Center/Forward Tyson Chandler. Chandler reminds me of one player in particular, Brad Daugherty. His career will end earlier because of freak injuries on the court. Already injured in a preseason game against the Pacers. As much as I like Chandler, he will not be in the Bulls fulltime future.

Milwaukee Bucks
If you're still trying to figure out why the Bucks traded for Center Zaza Pachulia with the likes of Dan Gadzuric and Jelani McCoy on the team than I'm glad I'm not the only one. Keeping Keith Van Horn was the key for this team. When they acquired Van Horn from the Knicks in the Tim Thomas deal it was a win/lose situation for them. Van Horn's shooting picked up in the Milwaukee offense and will stay that way this season.

Player to Watch: Center Dan Gadzuric. He will be the full time starter and he will get to showcase his true skill and rebounding form. He doesn't have a huge frame (6'11", 240lbs) but he's as tough as nails in the paint and will give opposing centers and forwards a hard time.

Player not to Watch: Forward Desmond Mason. His points per game will drop from the 14.4 he put up last year due to a full season of Keith Van Horn and Michael Redd together.

Cleveland Cavaliers
Although the Cavs have a much better team then they did last year I still think they will finish in the standings in the same place as last year. Acquiring Eric Snow and Drew Gooden to take over for Kevin Ollie and Carlos Boozer was the best acquisition of the year. Ridding themselves of Tony Battie was the difference maker. Lebron James will pick up where he left off last year and entertain the Cleveland fans. Aleksandar Pavlovic will also showcase his skills, a chance he didn't get in Utah.

Player to Watch: Point Guard Eric Snow. With more offense and the subtraction of an Allen Iverson Philadelphia offense, his assists per game will pick up and so will his stealing ability. They have the offense, all they need for Snow to do is defend the guards and shut them down which he will do.

Player not to Watch: Point Guard Jeff McInnis. We all saw the complaining he did when riding the bench last year. And that's where he's ending up again with Eric Snow in town.

2004-05 Standings
1st - Detroit Pistons
2nd - Indiana Pacers
3rd - Chicago Bulls
4th- Cleveland Cavaliers
5th - Milwaukee Bucks

Central Division MVP - Ben Wallace

Central Division LVP - Reggie Miller

Sixth Man Award - Aleksandar Pavlovic

Defensive Player of the Year - Ben Wallace

Most Improved Player - Eric Snow