All of a sudden, the Central Division appears wide open...

Post #1 » by **Scoot McGroot** » Fri Jul 9, 2010 2:22 am

With LeBron heading out of (my) town and Cleveland stuck with *almost* no discernible talent, a Milwaukee team that is wildly taking on long-term salary like the Titanic took on water (Gooden and Maggette), a Detroit team that has a ton of money locked up in Rip, Ben Gordon, Villanueva, and Maxiell, and a Chicago team that is still a few years and a go-to scorer away (and a reliably effective management) from truly competing, does anyone else think that the Central Division is about as wide open as it has been since before the Jordan heyday?

Cap space next year might put Indy in a spot where they could take the division in 2011 with a few effective trades/signings.

What do y'all think? How would you let this affect your plans for the roster for the future?

8305 · Post #2 » by **8305** » Fri Jul 9, 2010 2:34 am

LOL get that veteran point guard.

I could see a dilema for the Pacers. Is it out of the question that in Stephenson we have our own version of Brandon Jennings or Tyreke Evans? For better or worse don't you have to play a talent like that big minutes now? Does having Tyler Hansbrough and now Magnum Rolle mean you have to move Murphy? And, don't you have to find minutes for Paul George?

Can you do all that and still compete at the level to take advantage of this situation?

ardthomp · Post #3 » by **ardthomp** » Fri Jul 9, 2010 2:45 am

8305 wrote:LOL get that veteran point guard.

I could see a dilema for the Pacers. Is it out of the question that in Stephenson we have our own version of Brandon Jennings or Tyreke Evans? For better or worse don't you have to play a talent like that big minutes now? Does having Tyler Hansbrough and now Magnum Rolle mean you have to move Murphy? And, don't you have to find minutes for Paul George?

Can you do all that and still compete at the level to take advantage of this situation?

We have to do those things this season and not next then. That should be our motto: THIS IS THE SEASON!

Post #4 » by **mizzoupacers** » Fri Jul 9, 2010 2:45 am

Two things:

1) NBA divisions mostly exist on paper...how you do in your own division doesn't matter very much; it's how you do in your CONFERENCE that counts. Miami is in the same conference as Indiana. We've just traded one powerhouse opponent for another.

2) Even though it doesn't matter that much, I think Chicago is going to own the Central next season, and maybe longer. Boozer was a great signing for them; the Bulls' biggest weakness was no dependable low-post scorer. Boozer, Rose, Noah, and still a bunch of money to spend...that's a nice situation.

Post #5 » by **Miller4ever** » Fri Jul 9, 2010 4:25 am

^^That's the team that I think lands T-Mac.

If we take the division, we're automatically a top-3 seed. That would be a crazy jump, from 10th seed to 3rd. We have to be over .500 for that to happen. With this draft class looking like it'll help more than last year's, I'm excited.

People should stop thinking of Stephenson like he's some sort of PG answer this season, though

Moooose · Post #6 » by **Moooose** » Fri Jul 9, 2010 6:55 am

Now, there will be two less teams in the playoffs on the east side - Toronto and Cleveland.
That could mean we have a good chance at making the postseason. And yes, with the new talent we have now and the expirings that would normally play good in their contract year, i think we'll be in a better situation next season.
To hope for the championship would be too much.. FOR NOW. But as far as development is concerned, we are on the right track with the absolutely good young core we have.
Miami with its three-headed monster could dominate in let's say 5 years or so, but we're still going to be much younger, and if we'll be able to maintain this group of guys for a looong time, we could be in the right place and in the perfect time to contend just when all these monster teams go down the ladder.

Pacersike · Post #7 » by **Pacersike** » Fri Jul 9, 2010 4:22 pm

I think the Bulls are the team to beat in our division. They have a very nice core in Rose/ /Deng/Boozer/Noah. But they do lack some outside shooting. They could use a guy like B Gordon to be really good

More important, the playoff race in the East might be wide open for place 7 and 8.

Celtics, Magic, Hawks, Bulls, Bobcats, Heat
Milwaukee?
I'd say we have a shot at beating the other teams. A better shot than the years before.
Anybody up for a first round sweap by Miami?

dmacdaddy30 · Post #8 » by **dmacdaddy30** » Fri Jul 9, 2010 8:38 pm

With the franchise staying around the 35 win mark for the past 4 years, we have to do something this year if we want to take advantage of the situation. One playoff team from last year is clearly out for this year - Cleveland and considering we were only 12 games out of the playoff spot, there is no reason we can not reach at least the 5th spot this year with the right move. Heck in the beginning of last year, how many games did we blow double digit leads in the 4th quarter. The franchise is in trouble with shrinking attendance and a deficit that is growing faster than our own national debt (well maybe not that fast). With our expiring contracts that we have right now, Bird has to be willing to part with some of the main guys to get at least a dominant PG. PG's run the league. They might not be the flashiest players, but we have not had a PG that can control the team since Mark Jackson. There are two guys out there thatare immediate impact players and available according to rumors. 1.Tony Parker and 2. Devin Harris. One of these players have to be on our team to get back into contention.

Moooose · Post #9 » by **Moooose** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 11:29 am

dmacdaddy30 wrote: There are two guys out there thatare immediate impact players and available according to rumors. 1.Tony Parker and 2. Devin Harris. One of these players have to be on our team to get back into contention.

Tony Parker will most likely do a Peja Stojakovic 2.0 on us. One season and no more.
Devin Harris? well maybe if we can somehow convince the Nets to quit on pursuing Granger. The Nets, being unable to land a superstar, could just focus on what they have instead. I can't see them taking on expirings like Murphy or Dunleavy, and maybe even young talents such as Rush.
Maybe okay, we can settle for a stop-gap PG if all else fails, and just hope Stephenson would learn fast and be the eventual starter.

Wizop · Post #10 » by **Wizop** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 5:08 pm

Moooose wrote:Tony Parker will most likely do a Peja Stojakovic 2.0 on us. One season and no more.

if Stephenson is more than a summer league wonder, suddenly one year of Parker might be enough. until this week I wasn't interested in him at all but I'm rapidly changing my mind.