RealGM

Are we in the toughest division in the NBA?

Let me get your thoughts?

If Rose is healthy and the Pacers continue to grow then the Central Division will have two top-five teams, overall.

Problem is we don't have depth. Cleveland and Detroit have promising outlooks, but they're still 2-3 yrs. away.

I guess it'll be up to the Bucks to determine if we are in fact the toughest division. That's all the cents I have.

Toughest division in the NBA? Looking at it from a Pacers point of view, you only have to deal with one team, the Bulls. Don't see how it's the toughest. Northwest (OKC, Nuggets, Jazz, Blazers, Wolves) is tough, Pacific has Lakers and Clippers. Southwest might be tougher with Spurs, Mavs, Grizzles, Rockets and now Hornets on their way up. Looking at the Eastern conference, I think Atlantic is up there too with the Celtics, Knicks and Nets (if they get Dwight).

It could be the toughest division in a few seasons. But I dont think its quite there yet. The Bucks look to have potential to be an explosive offense but I dont know how competitive they will be on defense. Cleveland and Detroit are still a couple years away at least.

While I think we may have the strongest top 2 teams of any division, I'm with everybody else in saying that I think the drop-off between the Bulls and Pacers to the number 3 team (presumably the Bucks) is too great to be considered the toughest.

I would have to go with the Atlantic, assuming Brooklyn somehow gets Dwight Howard. The Nets will have a core 4 of Howard, Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace, and Joe Johnson. Granted, depth will be an issue, but that's as good of a 1-4 lineup as the NBA will likely have (honestly, I think the Bulls and Pacers may have the best 1-5 healthy starting lineups in the league.) New York showed some great signs of life after switching to Mike Woodson last year, plus have retained everybody key, and even added a nice defensive backup big in Marcus Camby. And you have to figure Boston will have another run in them considering they replaced Ray Allen with Jason Terry, got Jeff Green back, and had a very nice draft considering their positioning. Plus, Philly shook some dead contract weight and may well be in the mix again. I think that's the division that will be the "strongest," although I think the tightest divisions 1-5 will be the Southwest and the Northwest.

Without Rose we arguable have the easiest division in the NBA....