NBA season preview: Central Division win projections, best player, storylines, bold predictions

The 2021-22 NBA regular season is set to tip off on Oct. 19 and in the weeks leading up to Opening Night, we’re previewing each division in the NBA.

Here, you can find projected win totals, predictions on the best player and best rookie, under the radar storylines to follow and a bold prediction among the five teams.

After looking at the Southeast Division, we shift our focus to the Central Division.

2021-22 NBA season preview: Central Division 

Projected win totals

Over/under win totals courtesy of Action Network.

Milwaukee Bucks: 54.5

Indiana Pacers: 42.5

Chicago Bulls: 41.5

Cleveland Cavaliers: 27.5

Detroit Pistons: 24.5

Best player: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Was it even in question?

The Greek Freak enters the upcoming NBA season riding the momentum of one of the best performances in NBA Finals history, earning Finals MVP honours with averages of 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in Milwaukee’s six-game series win over the Phoenix Suns. To take it a step further, the last time Giannis was on an NBA floor, he finished with 50 points (on 16-for-25 shooting), 14 rebounds and five blocks, all while shooting 17-for-19 from the free throw line, making light work of his perceived biggest weakness.

Perhaps the scariest part of it all is the fact that Antetokounmpo won’t turn 27 until December.

The Central Division certainly has a number of talented players, but where they stand pales in comparison to Giannis, who is on a path to all-time greatness having already won two league MVP awards, a Defensive Player of the Year trophy, a title and Finals MVP in his first eight NBA seasons. Considering the fact that Antetokounmpo is only getting better, the entire Eastern Conference is in trouble for years to come.

There’s no telling what Giannis has in store for an encore after last season’s historic showing, but it will for sure be something to watch.

Best rookie: Cade Cunningham

Watch any footage of Cunningham during his lone season at Oklahoma State and it will become pretty clear why the Pistons selected him first overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Standing at 6-foot-7 and weighing in around 220 pounds, Cunningham has the size and frame of a forward, but he plays the game like a lead guard. The 2021 Sporting News Freshman of the Year was a menace to the NCAA, posting averages of 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists, also earning Big 12 Freshman of the Year and Big 12 Player of the Year honours.

Detroit might be in the midst of a rebuild, but it’s a fun one, as Cunningham becomes the feature piece of a roster that has a young core that also includes 2020-21 All-Rookie First Teamer Saddiq Bey, 2020-21 All-Rookie Second Teamer Isaiah Stewart and last year’s No. 7 overall pick Killian Hayes. While head coach Dwane Casey will have to sort out the playmaking responsibilities between Cunningham and Hayes, these young pieces have the potential to complement one another well.

Cunningham will have plenty of opportunities to set up teammates, as Detroit’s roster also features a number of productive veterans including Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk.

The Central Division boasts two other lottery picks in Cleveland’s Isiah Mobley and Indiana’s Chris Duarte, but, of the three, Cunningham has the clearest path towards taking home Rookie of the Year hardware. Detroit’s return to prominence begins with Cade.

Under the radar storyline: The sustained excellence of Domantas Sabonis

In the Central Division, only two players have played in the All-Star Game in each of the last two seasons: Antetokounmpo and Sabonis.

Last season, Sabonis posted jaw-dropping averages of 20.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists over 62 games for a Pacers team that came just one win away from advancing to the 2021 NBA Playoffs as an eighth seed. If it feels like Sabonis and his efforts aren’t talked about enough, it’s because they aren’t.

Take last year for example, even though Sabonis earned the All-Star honour in the end, it took two injuries for him to ultimately earn a selection. Those figures posted above? Far from All-Star injury replacement numbers.

This season, Sabonis will be playing under one of the NBA’s most revered tacticians, as Rick Carlisle returns to the sidelines in Indiana, where he coached the Pacers from 2003-07. By now, we should know what to expect from Sabonis, it’s just time to keep an eye out to appreciate all that he’s capable of doing and a reminder that he’s only 25.

If Indiana can get healthy and stay healthy, it can cause some trouble in the East.

Bold prediction: The Bulls will be in the Play-In Tournament

When Chicago parted ways with a 2021 draft pick in order to acquire All-Star center Nikola Vucevic at the 2021 trade deadline, it became increasingly clear that the franchise was ready to win, and win right away.

After failing to qualify for the postseason in 2021 (thanks in large part to All-Star Zach LaVine entering the league’s health and safety protocols during a crucial juncture of the season), the Bulls no longer had a lottery pick to build with and instead turned to free agency, where they landed two high-profile players in Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan.

With a core of Ball, LaVine, DeRozan and Vucevic, you would think the Bulls would emerge as one of the East’s top six teams, but it won’t be that easy.

Given the star power present, Chicago’s X Factors would be its remaining lottery picks, Patrick Williams and Coby White. Unfortunately for the Bulls, both players are on the mend from offseason injuries and likely won’t be ready to go when the season gets underway.

Now, an already thin roster just lost two key pieces.

On the flip side, Chicago will be contending with a sneakily deep Eastern Conference. With the Bucks and Brooklyn Nets representing the top two teams in the conference, the Bulls likely fall in line after the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, marking a clear top six.

Are we sure this Bulls team can fend off the Pacers or Charlotte Hornets for a top-eight seed? Should Chicago find itself at ninth or 10th, it will need to win two games to advance to the NBA Playoffs, per Play-In Tournament rules.

Advancing to the Play-In could be a small victory for a team building through the draft, but for a team building through free agency like the Bulls, it would suggest a massive misfire.

Source: Read Full Article