2012-13 Central Division Preview
Roy Hibbert and Danny Granger (Rob Hoskins NBAE Getty Images)
Key Off-Season Additions: D.J. Augustin, Sam Young
Key Off-Season Losses: Darren Collison, Dahntay Jones, Leandro Barbosa and Lou Amundson
Outlook: Building off their 2nd round playoff run, the Pacers are the favorites to win the Central over the (mostly) Rose-less Bulls.
On the Bright Side: Young and athletic wing players and up front in Paul George, Danny Granger, Tyler Hansborough and Roy Hibbert can flourish under another year of tutelage from Frank Vogel.
Be Concerned: The Pacers lack a dominant second weapon on offense after Danny Granger. Roy Hibbert or Paul George may fill this role. The Pacers could use more bench depth at wing positions.
Chicago Bulls
Derrick Rose
2011-12 Record & Division Standing: 50-16 (1st)
Key Off-Season Additions: Marco Belinelli, Kirk Hinrich, Vladimir Radmanovic, Nate Robinson and Marquis Teague (rookie)
Key Off-Season Losses: Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer, John Lucas III, Kyle Korver, C.J. Watson
Outlook: The Bulls hope to hold the fort down until Derrick Rose can return sometime in February.
On the Bright Side: The Bulls have a solid core to build upon: Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Carlos Boozer.
Be Concerned: They’ll need Rose to win their division and push towards to an NBA championship. They’ve added a lot of supporting players and it’s uncertain how they will all fit together.
Key Off-Season Additions: Samuel Dalembert, Marquis Daniels, Joel Pryzbilla and Jon Henson (rookie)
Key Off-Season Losses: Carlos Delfino, Kwame Brown and Shaun Livingston
Outlook: The Bucks should challenge for one of the last playoffs spots.
On the Bright Side: The Bucks have nice balance between the explosive offense of Jennings/Ellis and defensive prowess of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Samuel Dalembert, Ekpe Udoh, and Ersan Illyasova.
Be Concerned: While Monte Ellis and Brandon Jennings are excellent on the offensive end, neither are great defenders and lack size to deal with larger shooting guards or point guards.
Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson (Gregory Shamus NBAEGetty Images)
Key Off-Season Additions: C.J. Miles, Dion Waiters (rookie) and Tyler Zeller (rookie)
Key Off-Season Losses: Antawn Jamison
Outlook: The Cavaliers should be much better with a healthy Kyrie Irving. If either Tristan Thompson or Dion Waiters plays to their potential, the Cavaliers will be a fun team to watch and surprise a few of their opponents.
On the Bright Side: Kyrie Irving showed his star potential in his rookie season.
Be Concerned: The Cavaliers are very young, and lack depth and veteran leadership.
Key Off-Season Additions: Andre Drummond (rookie) and Corey Maggette
Key Off-Season Losses: Ben Gordon and Ben Wallace
Outlook: With a dearth of talent, the Pistons should win about 30 games and will not make the playoffs
On the Bright Side: Rising star Greg Monroe and rookie Andre Drummond could form a dominant frontcourt for years to come.
Be Concerned: The Pistons are very young and lack the talent and experience to compete with most teams.
Written by Arun and Coach Nick
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