Central Division Preview:

 

Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks are the 5 teams that make up the Central Division.  This division has always been supremely competitive in not only the east but the NSL as a whole.  The Central division has been fortunate enough to represent the Eastern Conference in 3 out of the 4 NSL finals to date, The Detroit Pistons have made it the NSL finals twice and the Chicago Bulls once.  The Milwaukee Bucks have also made the last two Eastern conference finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers finished second our east last year and if you didn�t know already, the Indiana Pacers now have Victor Wembanyama and a GM with some motivation to win. 

 

Team to Beat:

 

It would be remiss of me not to say that the Milwaukee Bucks are the team to beat from this division.  As previously mentioned, they have made the last two Eastern Conference finals, SGA is absolutely PRIMED for an MVP season, and not to mention Mobley is a year older coming off a DPOY campaign in the NBA, throw in some internal growth of their role players, a spark plug scorer off the bench in Jordan Clarkson and some veteran presence of Al Horford, the Bucks are ready to go all the way this year.  The Bucks hang their hat on their defensive prowess, in a year that looks to have gone away from defence a little, I don�t see this impacting them at all.  Scoring guards are the trend and SGA might be the best of the bunch and will carry Milwaukee over the hump and into the NSL finals.

 

The Teams:

 

Chicago Bulls: 40-42 (22/23)

The Bulls have been a staple in the league under GM Merencio since its inception, off the back of Anthony Davis, they were never to be game planned against lightly.  However, new GM Jonathon has moved on Anthony Davis and brought in some brilliant young talent to really put his own stamp on his team.  LaMelo Ball, Mikal Bridges and Nic Claxton is an impressive core unit to build around and with age on their side, GM Jonathon has a long time to figure things out.  I tipped Chicago to be a surprise this season as I think they have the pieces to be a lot better than most seem to think they will be.

Star Player: LaMelo Ball

 

Cleveland Cavaliers: 58-24 (22/23)

Talk about a roster turnover, GM Shams has overturned this roster in one off season like nothing I�ve seen before.  He�s shipped out talent and brought in talent all at the same time.  I�m a massive fan of the Mikal Bridges for Scottie Barnes trade.  I think the Cavs overachieved a little last year and will struggle to finish second in the east again, but they are most definitely a playoff team in my opinion.  They have defence, shooting and rebounding, as well as being reasonable deep. 

Star Player: Jalen Brunson

 

Detroit Pistons: 31-51 (22/23)

Detroit pivoted away from the build that brought them so much success last season and it showed in the season record.  They have leant even further into the younger build this off season, sending out Donovan Mitchell for more youth and picks, they are still a frisky team though and will catch you if you�re caught sleeping on them.  Ausar looks like a great pick and so does Brandon Miller.  Detroit will be back contending for home court in a couple of seasons.

Star Player: Anfernee Simons

 

Indiana Pacers: 22-60 (22/23)

Again, in case you haven�t heard, Indiana have Victor Wembanyama on their team.  The Pacers have been cellar dwellers for a little while however, that likely doesn�t continue this season.  Yeet has wasted no time in making a mark on this roster, bringing in Jrue to bolster the defence even further, he would have made a nice big 3 with Ingram and Wemby.  Unfortunately for Yeet, a big night out has caused him to send Ingram out for some added depth, albeit good depth pieces.  Does this impact their ceiling? Absolutely.  Will they still be good? Absolutely. 

Star Player: Victor Wembanyama

 

Milwaukee Bucks: 58-24 (22/23)

As mentioned above Milwaukee are absolutely primed for a huge year and are my pick to come out of the East as it stands right now.  I don�t want to waffle on too long here as I think I�d end up repeating my comments from above.  Love your team Daz.

Star Player: Shai Gilgeous Alexander

 

The Best Player at Each Position:

 

PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai is an absolute freaking stud.  He can play make, put it on the floor, shoot the 3 a little and is a sound defender as well.  He�s borderline the lovechild of this engine and I don�t think there is a PG in this division who can hang with him.

 

SG: RJ Barrett

This was actually harder than I thought it would be, there is no real stand out at the SG position within the division.  I gave it to RJ based off his pre-season form as he looks like he�s going to have a great year for the Cavs.  He�s got some two-way ability about him and some playmaking ability which will fit in nicely for the Cavs.

 

SF: Mikal Bridges

Although I said earlier in the article, I loved the Mikal for Scottie trade for the Cavs, as of right now Mikal is the best SF in the division.  He�s a winning player right now therefore gets the edge for this year.  He�s a fantastic two-way weapon and a great second banana next to LaMelo Ball. 

 

PF: Evan Mobley

Mobley is another player primed for a great season in the NSL, his tendencies and ratings should be much better this season, allowing him to be an even more impactful player in the NSL.  I think there�s an outside chance he could be a first team all defence player in NSL this year.

 

C: Victor Wembanyama

It feels wrong having a rookie as the best player at a position, but this is no normal rookie and 2k are drunk on the Wemby Kool-Aid already.  He�s going to impact so many games and is the main reason the Pacers will make the playoffs.

 

Sleeper: The sleeper is a player who isn�t going to absolutely blow the doors off for the team but is someone who is going to contribute to winning a lot of games for their team.  That player in this division is Bobby Portis for me, his rebounding was a much-needed skill for the cavaliers and since acquiring him, they look a much tougher unit.

 

Breakout Star: Nic Claxton, it would be easy for me to say Wemby, but we all know what we expect from him.  Claxton has looked really good in the early part of this season, including pre-season, he�s a big reason why I think Chicago will overachieve most people�s expectations.

 

Season Record Predictions:

 

Milwaukee Bucks: 63 � 18

Cleveland Cavaliers: 50 � 32

Indiana Pacers: 45 � 37

Chicago Bulls: 38 � 44

Detroit Pistons: 35 - 47