NBA Central Division: 3 Post-All-Star Game Changes Each Team Must Make

Although it may not be the strongest division in the East, the Central Division is turning out to be one of the more interesting ones. 

The previews before the season had the Bulls as easy champs. Midway through, those predictions are looking to be true.

However, Chicago may not be able to keep up the pace, and the Pacers and Bucks are lurking behind ready to make their moves should the opportunity arise. 

Read on for a look at what each Central team needs to change in order to stay competitive and elevate their games for the stretch run.

Chicago Bulls

1. Find a legitimate second scoring option.

Derrick Rose has been banged up for most of the season. His health will probably only get worse, as Tom Thibodeau insists on playing his starters the whole game.

Deng and Boozer can't be counted on to carry the load, and Rip Hamilton has barely played.

2. Thibodeau needs to start resting the guys.

Luol Deng is in the top five of minutes per game leaders this season. Rose is lower, but still averages 35 minutes a game.

Winning the regular season is not as important as winning the postseason. If Rose sat out a month, the Bulls still have a good enough team to get a top seed. 

3. Start planning for the playoffs.

Similar to the first two points, the Bulls will most assuredly be in the playoffs. But the health and energy of key players, and the final team makeup will be key questions going into the postseason.

Cleveland Cavaliers

1. Find another piece, if possible, to keep competing.

The Cavs have been surprisingly competitive this year, due to the emergence of Kyrie Irving.

Despite the loss of Anderson Varejao to a broken wrist, they may still have enough to fight the Knicks, who have been rather lackluster for the eighth seed. 

2. The rotation needs to be switched up.

Tristan Thompson could prove to be a valuable contributor for the Cavs if given more minutes. Irving and Sessions need to have more opportunities to play together on the court.

All the role players need to be looked at and Byron Scott needs to go with the hot hands.

3. Try and fix the disaster at center.

This could end up being the Achilles heel to any playoff dreams Cleveland may have. Semih Erden and Ryan Hollins are nowhere near adequate replacements for Varejao, and Samardo Samuels is not much better.

The situation is bad enough already; it won't get better anytime soon.

Milwaukee Bucks

1. Figure out the Stephen Jackson dilemma.

The Bucks need to sit Jackson down and present him with a choice: to either start producing and earning his minutes, or continue his mediocre streak and be benched indefinitely until a possible trade.

He can be a significant contributor for Milwaukee, but the team needs to figure out what to do with him.

2. Give Ersan Ilyasova more minutes

At this point, Ilyasova is a much better option than Jackson. He is a hustle player who gets rebounds, as well as being both a good shooter and slasher to the basket.

Frankly, it's a surprise that Ilyasova hasn't played more after Jackson's big cut in minutes. 

3. Play more consistently.

The Bucks have beaten the Miami Heat two out of three times this season. But since the last win in that series on February 1st, Milwaukee has lost five of seven.

The Bucks have the tools to be a spoiler if they can make the playoffs, but they need to develop some consistency to get to that point. 

Detroit Pistons

For a team that is currently 8-21 and comfortably in last place, there should be a lot of things that come to mind when thinking of things that the Pistons need to change. 

However, the most important change that the Pistons need to make is continuing to move towards a new, youthful identity, rather than the veteran-led teams of years past. 

They have a great, young core in players like Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey and Greg Monroe. Those guys are the foundation of a contender, while veterans like Charlie Villanueva and Tayshaun Prince have had their best days over for a while.

Indiana Pacers

1. Develop an offensive identity.

The Pacers have some great players across the board in Danny Granger, Paul George and Roy Hibbert. It seems like none of the three have stepped up into a defined role, such as Granger dominating games and attacking the basket.

That is hampering the continued meshing of a young team.

2. Roy Hibbert needs to get the ball more often.

In the meantime, while most of the offensive players are still trying to find their niches, the ball needs to be pounded inside to Hibbert much more. At 7'2" with a good post game, the potential for stardom is there, and he needs more opportunities to show it.

Not to mention his ability to facilitate the offense with his passing.

3. Take care of business against the plus-.500 teams.

Although all of the team's recent opponents are likely playoff bound, there can't be losing streaks like the Pacers are currently going through. 

Indiana needs to be in a playoff basketball mindset the rest of the season, as every win and loss will determine their fate in a tight Eastern seeding competition.