NBA Central Division Preview: Are the Detroit Pistons Still for Real?

The Pistons are the one team you can never count out, even though they seem to get worse every year. Much of the core is still together, but age is starting to get to them.

Detroit is no longer the best team in the Eastern Conference, but they are good enough that they will probably get the second seed again unless there is a major collapse. One of the keys to doing well this season is finding someone who can take some defensive pressure off of Tayshaun Prince.

Jason Maxiell is turning into a good defender, although he will never have the speed to keep up with the top perimeter player as Prince does.

One notable weakness for Detroit is the center position.  So far, Rasheed Wallace has taken the responsibility as the starting center, although he isn’t anywhere close to being a typical 5. The Pistons are fortunate that the East doesn’t have many quality centers, so this strategy works for the most part.

However, it is still a weak area that needs to be improved if they want to get back to the NBA Finals.

Indiana Pacers

Projected Depth Chart:

PG Jamaal Tinsley/T.J. Ford/Jarrett Jack
SG Marquis Daniels/Eddie Jones/Brandon Rush
SF Danny Granger/Mike Dunleavy
PF Troy Murphy/Austin Croshere
C Rasho Nesterovic/Roy Hibbert

Not too much looks promising for the Indiana Pacers. They don’t have any reliable go-to players and are bound to be back in the lottery.

Unfortunately for the Pacers, this isn’t exactly the best time to be a bad team, as the well of great talent in college basketball appears to have run out. The only way this season works out for the Pacers is if they get the No. 1 pick and Ricky Rubio decides to enter the draft.

But this team needs any position besides a point guard. Jamaal Tinsley and T.J. Ford are good enough, although Rubio would be better than either of them in the prime of his career.

Indiana is the only team that didn’t improve over the offseason, and will likely pay for it with a last-place finish in the Central Division.

Milwaukee Bucks

Projected Depth Chart:

PG Luke Ridnour/Damon Jones/Tyronn Lue
SG Michael Redd/Charlie Bell
SF Richard Jefferson/Adrian Griffin
PF Charlie Villanueva/Joe Alexander/Malik Allen
C Andrew Bogut/Dan Gadzuric

Nobody would blame Michael Redd if he called his teammates, “hey you” during the first days of practice. After all, he was in China winning a gold medal when Milwaukee Bucks GM John Hammond brought in five new players over the summer.

The players the Bucks acquired this offseason are Richard Jefferson, Joe Alexander, Malik Allen, Damon Jones, and Tyronn Lue. Redd will also have a new coach in Scott Skiles.

Most of these changes are for the better. Jefferson, the biggest name acquired this offseason, will be on a team that wants to win now. This is not a championship-caliber team by any sense of the word, but it will at least be good enough to make a run for the playoffs.

Redd now has another solid scoring option, so he won’t have to shoulder as much of a load as he has had in previous seasons. Even if Milwaukee doesn’t make the playoffs, they will have a successful season if they at least come close, given the dismal year in 2008.

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