One GM's view of the Central, for what it's worth:
1.) Cleveland - tough decision but I believe in a physical division Cleveland's size, depth, shooting ability and quality 1-10 trumps Chicago's and Detroit's excellent starting fives and weak benches.
2.) Chicago - best starting five in game but if a neophyte like me can figure out you consistently head to the basket all day and draw contact to get the starters in foul trouble, then real coaches will figure it out too. Get two starters in foul trouble on this team and a win is all but guaranteed. But that's easier said than done, but not impossible.
3.) Detroit - the questions at center and point guard are just too great to overcome. If Chandler and Watson don't come in with stellar performances this team falls down in the standings very quickly.
4.) Milwaukee - an early favorite of mine for Future Team of the Year they will win games now as well. Durant growing up before our eyes is almost enough to get this team out of the basement by himself. Adding Millsap, Smith, Moon, and McCants make them young and dangerous.
5.) Indiana - if Gilbert Arenas plays like an All-Star this year then Indiana is not a good team. If he plays like he has or doesn't play like he has been not playing, and this is one of the worst teams in the conference. Little to no offense and no one beside Arenas who can get their own shot off. Disappointing.
I see two playoff teams from this division.
Nick, are you saying that even if Gilbert plays well, this team is STILL bad?
Obviously if Gilbert stinks, which is possible, then this team isn't good. If Gilbert stinks and still tries to play like he doesn't then this team is awful, but if Gilbert plays at an above average but not elite level, which i think is most probable (and you remember I said this, Rondo! I'm not flip flopping!), then I think this team is getting a bad rap for no reason.
Iggy and Aldridge are both elite level young players at their positions.
Arenas should still be up there arund 15-18 points a night and 5-6 assists.
Battier and Thomas are both elite and good defenders, respectively.
The bench is pretty weak, I like Frye and Von Wafer as role players, but unless Frye returns to his rookie form, or at least 07/08 form I don't think he's much of an impact guy. Portland didn't like using him much, and that's concerning because behind Aldridge all they had was Frye. Portland would rather use Outlaw as an undersized PF on defense instead of Frye, because Frye is so weak physically.
on the upside Phoenix seems really high on him, so this could be a big year for him.
This probably isn't a playoff team this year, but it could be depending on Arenas's play. Def not an afterthought of a team.
Thanks for the kind words IP.
Personally, and this statement will have just a hint of biasness, I think this team is a real competitor and not just a fringe playoff team. Again, I keep looking at this team like this year's Houston Rockets. We don't have the bench yet, there's a lot of unproven/questionable players on there, but I think our starters are really, really good. And again, if we look at the Rockets, with the exception of Kurt Thomas, all of the other players are pretty sizable upgrades.
Comparatively, and in my opinion:
Kurt Thomas < Carl Landry
Lamarcus Aldridge > Luis Scola
Shane Battier = Shane Battier
Andre Igoudala > Ron Artest
Gilbert Arenas > Aaron Brooks
And on my bench at the very least we have Wafer, Frye and we're hoping that either Greene or Williams can step it up to finish off the 8 man rotation.
So why can the 2008 Houston Rockets push the eventual NBA Champions to 7 games, and team can't even make the playoffs?
Topic: CB Draft '09 Mock Press Conference: Central Division (Read 71562 times)