Central division best in the league??

Post #1 » by **dVs33** » Sun Jul 17, 2016 4:36 pm

*** warning!! Stupid offseason thread!! ***

Is the central division the best in the league?

I think so. Cleveland is Cleveland. Indy and Chicago made moves that could potentially move them up the standings. Milwaukees gamble on moose hasn't worked out, but they have a talented young core and grabbed a couple of shooters in FA which will help. And Detroit is the greatest team to ever walk onto a basketball court obviously.

If not, who else you got??

Post #2 » by **Snakebites** » Sun Jul 17, 2016 4:49 pm

Its the best in terms of every team having a shot at being competitive. Its the most balanced, though the Bucks are definitely a stretch there's always the chance Giannis ascends to superstardom, and they did add some much needed shooting in the offseason.

The only reason the division with the Warriors in it isn't automatically the best on the basis of averages (yes, I do believe they will be that much better than the second best team) is because they have the joke Kings and Lakers in their division.

chrbal · Post #3 » by **chrbal** » Sun Jul 17, 2016 5:05 pm

Best Overall-Central
Most lopsided- Pacific
Anyones guess- Southeast

Based solely on knowledgeless preseason guessing.

coordinator0 · Post #4 » by **coordinator0** » Sun Jul 17, 2016 5:16 pm

I think the Central is the best from top to bottom, but there aren't that many "bad" teams anymore so most divisions will be good.

Injuries screw everything up but the only ones I see that are legitimate bottom-feeders are the Nets, Lakers, Kings, and 76ers. The Nuggets, Timberwolves, Suns, and Pelicans have some young talent that I think ends up surprising people. Most of the rest are generally thought of as playoff contenders. The Thunder could be in a bad spot if/when Westbrook is traded, but they should get a lot back for him so they might be okay.

I kind of wish divisions still meant something though. Conferences are the only thing that matter at the moment.

Post #5 » by **Timmaytime** » Sun Jul 17, 2016 6:11 pm

It all depends on Chicago and Milwaukee.

We know Cleveland will be good, and Indy and Detroit will at least be predictable.

If all goes extremely well I could see all five teams being above .500/making the playoffs

Post #6 » by **Snakebites** » Sun Jul 17, 2016 6:38 pm

Timmaytime wrote:It all depends on Chicago and Milwaukee.

We know Cleveland will be good, and Indy and Detroit will at least be predictable.

If all goes extremely well I could see all five teams being above .500/making the playoffs

Teague was a great add for Indiana, Young and Jefferson don't really fit all that well but Jefferson should help them out a lot as a 6th man type guy.

The Bulls and Bucks have a shot, but yeah, they are tough to predict. I actually think the Bucks look better than the Bulls do right now, but we'll see.

DBC10 · Post #7 » by **DBC10** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:32 am

Indy got really good on paper IMO. Another year of development for Turner and PG13 will make that team even better. Swapping an aging GHill for Teague was also a good add. It adds a necessary second playmaker outside of PG13 and they're predicted to be go far. Jefferson for depth looks to be a good add too, I can see him having a mini-resurgence.

Chicago looks to be pretty silly. They swapped Rose for Wade which doesn't make sense at all and added another unnecessary player in Rondo who can't score nor defend anymore. That's a lockerroom implosion waiting to happen.

Bucks look to be good too. This might be the most competitive the Central has been in a long while.

harisahmad · Post #8 » by **harisahmad** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 3:15 am

To me Chicago is a spacing mess, the same with the Bucks. That leaves Cleveland, Indy and Detroit. I wouldn't call it the best but definitely improving

DeKroit · Post #9 » by **DeKroit** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 8:13 am

I think the Northwest might surprise us and make a case as the best division. A lot of dark horses in that division.

Pharaoh · Post #10 » by **Pharaoh** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 9:15 am

Drama Chicago has is that Rondo, Wade & Butler all need the ball in their hands to be at their best.

Yes they'll get shooting from their bigs but when your PG AND SG can't space the floor there's gonna be issues.

The Greek Freak may take the next step this season but even if he does they need more shooters.

So does everyone in today's league

BadMofoPimp · Post #11 » by **BadMofoPimp** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 12:26 pm

Pharaoh wrote:Drama Chicago has is that Rondo, Wade & Butler all need the ball in their hands to be at their best.

Yes they'll get shooting from their bigs but when your PG AND SG can't space the floor there's gonna be issues.

The Greek Freak may take the next step this season but even if he does they need more shooters.

So does everyone in today's league

Wade has been pretty damned good at deferring to other players when needed. He only becomes ball dominant when he needs to be. He is a consumate pro. But, Butler and Rondo really is a head scratcher together.

Pharaoh · Post #12 » by **Pharaoh** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 12:34 pm

BadMofoPimp wrote:
Pharaoh wrote:Drama Chicago has is that Rondo, Wade & Butler all need the ball in their hands to be at their best.

Yes they'll get shooting from their bigs but when your PG AND SG can't space the floor there's gonna be issues.

The Greek Freak may take the next step this season but even if he does they need more shooters.

So does everyone in today's league

Wade has been pretty damned good at deferring to other players when needed. He only becomes ball dominant when he needs to be. He is a consumate pro. But, Butler and Rondo really is a head scratcher together.

Dude might be a consummate pro but he can't hit the ocean from a boat past the 3pt line so if he's not handling the ball (or even if he is) his defender can sag off. That's gonna impact spacing

Let's imagine Butler is on the wing with ball in hand. Rondo & Wade on the floor too...where are their defenders? They're BOTH dropping back because everyone can play the percentages with Wade & Rondo from 3.

I think if they get into a more team orientated offense where they pass and move more than they dribble they'll surprise people with how good they are since all 3 can drive on anyone...

BUT I have ZERO confidence in Hoiberg as a coach and don't see him implementing that kind of offense

BadMofoPimp · Post #13 » by **BadMofoPimp** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 12:50 pm

Pharaoh wrote:
BadMofoPimp wrote:
Pharaoh wrote:Drama Chicago has is that Rondo, Wade & Butler all need the ball in their hands to be at their best.

Yes they'll get shooting from their bigs but when your PG AND SG can't space the floor there's gonna be issues.

The Greek Freak may take the next step this season but even if he does they need more shooters.

So does everyone in today's league

Wade has been pretty damned good at deferring to other players when needed. He only becomes ball dominant when he needs to be. He is a consumate pro. But, Butler and Rondo really is a head scratcher together.

Dude might be a consummate pro but he can't hit the ocean from a boat past the 3pt line so if he's not handling the ball (or even if he is) his defender can sag off. That's gonna impact spacing

Let's imagine Butler is on the wing with ball in hand. Rondo & Wade on the floor too...where are their defenders? They're BOTH dropping back because everyone can play the percentages with Wade & Rondo from 3.

I think if they get into a more team orientated offense where they pass and move more than they dribble they'll surprise people with how good they are since all 3 can drive on anyone...

BUT I have ZERO confidence in Hoiberg as a coach and don't see him implementing that kind of offense

None of them are solid 3 point shooters. We all know that. Toronto lack 3 point shooting overall and still gave the Cavs a challenge. Thus, it will get interesting.

Post #14 » by **theBigLip** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 3:01 pm

I have a hard time thinking Chicago is going to keep it together. I don't think they make the playoffs, although they will be fighting for it on the bubble. Cleveland, Indiana - definitely top and top 4 seeds. Milwaukee - ehh. Us? Might get into the top 4 conversation this year.

RexRyan · Post #15 » by **RexRyan** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 3:26 pm

theBigLip wrote:I have a hard time Chicago is going to keep it together. I don't think they make the playoffs, although they will be fighting for it on the bubble. Cleveland, Indiana - definitely top and top 4 seeds. Milwaukee - ehh. Us? Might get into the top 4 conversation this year.

Indiana - I loved everything they did..... all the way up to the point where Mahinmi signed with Washington. Where is their interior defense going to come from? They definitely have added some names to the roster, but is there a half decent defender in the bunch?

coordinator0 · Post #16 » by **coordinator0** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 4:59 pm

RexRyan wrote:
theBigLip wrote:I have a hard time Chicago is going to keep it together. I don't think they make the playoffs, although they will be fighting for it on the bubble. Cleveland, Indiana - definitely top and top 4 seeds. Milwaukee - ehh. Us? Might get into the top 4 conversation this year.

Indiana - I loved everything they did..... all the way up to the point where Mahinmi signed with Washington. Where is their interior defense going to come from? They definitely have added some names to the roster, but is there a half decent defender in the bunch?

Myles Turner. Playing all of his minutes and his natural position at center is only a good thing, and it's assumed he's going to be better as a second year player as opposed to a rookie. I don't think Jefferson has a huge role on the team. They're kind of interesting overall although I don't like most of the moves they've made this summer. To me Teague is a downgrade from Hill and like I've said before I don't like Young much at all as a player. Ellis isn't good and is a worse fit next to league than he was next to Hill. The Pacers should win some games but I think they got worse and that's not even considering the downgrade from Vogel to McMillan.

If I had to guess Indiana will be fighting Chicago for the bottom of the central. I just don't see that Bulls team pulling it together. Rondo, Wade, and Butler don't fit together at all. Their management made some desperation moves to bring in names and appease the casual fanbase, aka their moneymakers.

I do think Milwaukee has improved. Dellavedova is a great fit for them at point guard as a secondary ball-handler that can defend and shoot. Much, much better than Bayless. It seems like they're moving forward with Antetokounmpo as the primary facilitator which isn't a bad thing. He and Parker should naturally improve as they get more seasoned. Middleton is great as he is but I'm not sure he's done getting better yet either. Of course center is a mess. Henson is hurt, Monroe can't play defense or space the court like they need with their forward options, and the newly re-signed Plumlee isn't great.