NBA Central Divison: The Team the Bucks Need to Watch Out for Besides the Bulls

What team will give the Bucks a scare, besides the Bulls?

The Bucks and Bulls have been said to have the best offseason in the Central Division. But the Pacers will be a team to watch and could sneak into the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

This summer, the Pacers snagged Darren Collison and James Posey in a four-way trade. Collison was asked to take the spot of one of the most known athletes in the NBA, Chris Paul. Collison, who was a rookie, stepped up to the challenge. He played in 76 games and started in 37 of them. I remember seeing the highlights of Collisions’ game where he had 35 points, against Jason Kidd.

He ended the season with an average of 12.4 points per game, 5.7 assists per game, and 2.5 rebounds per game. That is really good for a guy who was asked to fill the shoes of a true NBA star.

I think Collison is the player that the Pacers needed. He will make them an elite team within a couple of years.

He will also be playing alongside Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, Tyler Hansbrough, and Paul George. Those are just a few of the promising players on the deep Pacers roster. I have seen Hibbert mentioned in many articles as a player who could be an elite center in the years to come.

Now to Paul George, I have written other articles featuring him. I chose him as my pick for Rookie of the Year. After watching highlights of him, I have noticed he is an amazing player. He can shoot, rebound, and passes like a point guard. He will be the most solid player to come out of this draft.

Lance Stephenson had a great summer league. Everyone was talking about him, saying that he could be a starter. Then he had the incident where he pushed his girlfriend down a flight of stairs. When the incident settles down, fans and spectators will look at Stephenson for how he plays and not his off-court problems.

Since Reggie Miller, fans of the Pacers have been waiting for players like Paul and Collison to come along. Players that they think could make their team a competitor again.

Last draft, Pacer fans were excited about Tyler Hansbrough. When he got injured, NBA fans forgot, but Pacer fans didn’t. Hansbrough will be back this season. Expect him to be a key player in the Pacers' success.

You can always fall back on Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy. Two vets that have been with the Pacers for many seasons. Granger was voted into the All-Star game last season. It is the first of many to come for Granger who averaged 24.1 points last season.

After you saw the players they added and the depth they already had, it is easy to see why the Bucks and Bulls should be watching out for the Pacers.

Here is the Pacers roster:  http://www.nba.com/pacers/roster/index.html

I think their starting lineup will look like this:

PG: Darren Collison

SG: Paul George

SF: Danny Granger

PF: Tyler Hansbrough

C: Roy Hibbert