Detroit Pistons: Preview of the Central Division in the East

Here’s a quick look at the Detroit Pistons and the teams they will be up against in the central division next season. How will they do with all the changes?

The central division in the eastern conference will be much different for the Detroit Pistons compared to year’s past.

LeBron James is now in Los Angeles. None of the teams within the division have shown they’re a clear cut favorite to win it. That’s not saying it won’t be a challenge for the Detroit Pistons to win the central division for the first time since the 2007-2008 season.

Three teams finished in the top eight of the eastern conference. The Pistons were ninth in the conference. That speaks to how tough it can be.

Here’s a break down of each team in the central division and a prediction of where they will end up.

1. Indiana Pacers (52-30)

People forget that this team took the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the first round of the playoffs last season.

Victor Oladipo has become one of the best guards in the eastern conference. With James out of the division and the conference, it’s not hard to believe they make a four-game improvement from last year.

They don’t do anything particularly great. The Pacers are not in the top ten in either offensive or defensive rating. They don’t turn the ball over on offense and they’re good at forcing turnovers on defense.

The Pacers are in the top ten in field goal percentage and three-point percentage. That’s largely due to Bojan Bogdanovic and Darren Collison being marksmen for head coach Nate McMillan.

He’s improved his team’s record in each of the last two years he’s been in charge. They made a significant jump last season. The Pacers make more of a jump in year three of his campaign with the Pacers.

2. Detroit Pistons (48-34)

This group makes the most significant jump in the central division in the upcoming season. Here’s why:

Health. Reggie Jackson and Blake Griffin will stay healthy throughout the season. That’s the biggest key to this jump.

Andre Drummond continues to improve and expand his skill set. Last year, he set a career-high in assists, rebounds, and free throw percentage.

The Pistons have a lot of shooters to put around the two big men that will anchor the front court. Luke Kennard and Reggie Bullock were two of the better three-point shooters in this division last year.

They have a brand new head coach that’s really good at his job. Dwane Casey changed the culture of the Toronto Raptors and led the franchise to three consecutive 50-win seasons.

He had talent. Casey has talent in Detroit as well. The Pistons made good use of their draft this year with limited resources.

Bruce Brown and Khyri Thomas were two players thought to be first-round selections. A revamped front office and coaching staff has this team back on track it seems.

3. Milwaukee Bucks (44-38)

The Bucks obviously have one the best players in the NBA. Giannis Antetokounmpo should be in consideration for an MVP this season if he continues to improve. He averaged 26 points and ten rebounds last season.

Eric Bledsoe is a solid starting point guard in this league. Khris Middleton has come into his own. Too bad it happened after he left Detroit.

Outside of those three, there’s not much production from this Bucks team. Middleton, Antetokounmpo, and Bledsoe account for nearly 61 percent of their team’s points.

Jabari Parker is out of the picture now as well. He’s had his battle with injuries throughout his short career but he was supposed to be a piece to the core of this team when they drafted him out of Duke.

The Bucks ranked 22nd in the league in three-point shooting last season. That’s not going to get it done in a league that lives and dies by that facet of the game. Milwaukee is one of the worst teams in the league in rebounding the ball as well.

Mike Budenholzer takes over a group that has underachieved over the past couple of seasons. Without any major additions outside of Brook Lopez (if that’s major), it’s hard to see this team making any progress.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers (33-49)

James carried this team to the NBA finals last season. Him leaving really takes away their chances at being back in the postseason this year.

Kevin Love will be back and be their best player. Cleveland drafted Collin Sexton from Alabama to be their point guard of the future. The word “future” will likely be used by the Cavaliers for the next couple of seasons.

The Cavaliers gave up way too many points a game last year. It’s amazing they made it to the Finals with James on the roster. They don’t rebound the ball well.

One thing that could hold true and help them in the upcoming season is their three-point shooting and their emphasis on that aspect of the game.

Cleveland was top ten in three-point shots made, three-point shots attempted, and three-point percentage last season.

This team has a few big and ugly contracts it will likely be looking to unload so they can do just that. The Cavaliers take a giant step back this year and begin looking ahead, likely without Tyronn Lue. It’s hard to see this team doing anything with their current roster.

5. Chicago Bulls (29-53)

It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that the Bulls were contenders in the eastern conference. How times have changed.

They gave up a ton of points last season and failed to score a significant amount of points. Common sense can tell anyone that is a recipe for disaster.

The Bulls have a very young roster. They’ve put all their chips into Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker to be able to be centerpieces for years to come.

The fact of the matter is they just won’t have the talent to compete in the east next season. More trial and error along with another lottery pick is certainly in Chicago’s future.