Here’s the third entry in 2010-11 Season Preview. Heading back to the Eastern Conference, we move on to the Central Division.
Chicago Bulls
PG: Derrick Rose
SG: Ronnie Brewer
SF: Luol Deng (Kyle Korver)
PF: Taj Gibson (Carlos Boozer)
C: Joakim Noah
Coach: Tom Thibodeau
Breakdown: If only LeBron had chosen to come to the Bulls. Long-term, I think that would’ve been the smarter move, but he’s made his decision clear, so we won’t dwell on that too much. As it is, this team has a pretty strong starting line, though the team lacks a whole lot of depth. I put Boozer in the secondary position because he broke his hand “answering the door,” which happens to me all the time, so I won’t hold that against him. With Rose leading the charge, Noah doing the dirty work and pulling down rebounds, Korver launching bombs from the outside, and Deng slashing to the basket, this team has it all. Gibson is a young, but talented, player who will hopefully continue developing this season. Once Boozer is ready to play, this team will contend with anybody…until they run out of gas and realize that they need some better bench players.
Prediction: 46-36
Cleveland Cavaliers
PG: Mo Williams (Ramon Sessions)
SG: Anthony Parker (Daniel Gibson)
SF: Jamario Moon
PF: Antawn Jamison (J.J. Hickson)
C: Anderson Varejao
Coach: Byron Scott
Breakdown: So things aren’t looking too good in Cleveland right now. Without LeBron, the Cavs are a mediocre team of role players with no leader. The entire team was built around one man, and since that man is now gone, what’s left is a gaping hole of despair. Ok, it’s not that bad, but it’s close. Byron Scott is a great coach who has done incredible things with what he has been given (think Nets making the Finals two years in a row). If I were to make a guess, I would say that the Cavs will trade away Varejao, Parker, Jamison, and Williams if they can and get some young talent. These guys are valuable in that they can be the missing pieces on championship teams, so the Cavs would be wise to give up this year and start rebuilding like the Wolves. Don’t expect any of them to be traded to Miami, however. That would just be ridiculous.
Prediction: 20-62
Detroit Pistons
PG: Rodney Stuckey (Will Bynum)
SG: Rip Hamilton (Ben Gordon)
SF: Tayshaun Prince (Tracy McGrady)
PF: Charlie Villanueva (Chris Wilcox)
C: Ben Wallace
Coach: John Kuester
Breakdown: On paper this team is pretty good. In reality…we’ll see. Last season they were hampered by injuries, so that helps to explain their 27-55 record. They lack some size, but overall this team has talent in both their starting lineup and their bench. The Eastern Conference has become loaded this year, so I don’t think that this team will vie for a championship, but I’m going to venture a guess that this team will make the playoffs.
Prediction: 42-40
Indiana Pacers
PG: T.J. Ford (Darren Collison)
SG: Mike Dunleavy (Brandon Rush; James Posey)
SF: Danny Granger (Dahntay Jones)
PF: Tyler Hansbrough
C: Jeff Foster (Roy Hibbert)
Coach: Jim O’Brien
Breakdown: This is a guard heavy team for sure. While Danny Granger is listed as a Small Forward and is definitely their star, both he and Dahntay Jones are combo Guard-Forwards and not true 3s. Tyler Hansbrough better bust out this year, or this team is going to have a lot of trouble against teams with a big frontcourt. Maybe they’ll trade for Varejao. This is definitely another team in the midst of a rebuilding phase.
Prediction: 27-55
Milwaukee Bucks
PG: Brandon Jennings (Keyon Dooling)
SG: John Salmons (Chris Douglas-Roberts)
SF: Corey Maggette (Luc Mbah a Moute; Carlos Delfino)
PF: Drew Gooden (Ersan Ilyasova)
C: Andrew Bogut
Coach: Scott Skiles
Breakdown: This is a good team. They’ve got experience and youth, talent and depth, bigs and smalls…seriously what does this team not have? Ok, maybe they don’t have that superstar player that can impose his will, but it’s not out of reach that one of these players can become that guy. With Jennings, Douglas-Roberts, and Ilyasova leading the youth train and Salmons, Maggette, and Gooden providing the experience, this is a well balanced team (with Bogut smack dab in the middle). Bogut is the type of player who, when healthy, can match up with almost any big man, so they’ve got that pretty much covered. If Scott Skiles does what he does best and gets this team to both play together and play hard, then the rest of the league will learn first hand what they mean when they say “Fear the Deer”. I mean, what other team can say they have a mascot that can do this?
Prediction: 50-32
-Shogun
