Central division

[Karma]

Not sure about all the hoopla surrounding Ford, when they have a solid point in Maurice Williams. They are not dependant on TJ in my opinion.

 

[TruBuckeye22]

well my take on the Central is this

1. Detroit- to be the man you have to beat the man. they need another shooter/scorer to be able to win another title but what they have is good enough to get them through the regualar season. maybe they will be in the running for a Finley or Houston if their teams drop the axe on them. i don't see this team having much trouble if larry brown leaves, these guys know what they have to do to be successful and can do it without Brown.

2. Indiana is here but i think they are primed to take a fall. they are very week at the PG and not much stronger on the inside. Jermaine O'Neil is a very good player but his shoulder injury is the kind that can reacure from time to time. trust me my shoulder still slips out of the socket every now and then from an old injury. even with reggie gone their strength will be the wings with guys like Artest, Jackson, Granger, Jones, jones.

3. Cleveland can actually jump ahead of the Pacers if they improve their defense and find someone to consistantly knock down 3's when LeBron and Hughes drive and dish. as of right now just like Indiana the Cavs are week at the PG spot but have better talent everywhere else except for Gooden vs J.O.

4. Chicago's season depends a lot on whether or not they can bring back both Curry and Chandler. you also are not sure what Curry will be able to give them over a 82 game schedule. however they are very strong on the perimeter with Gordon, Hinrich, Deng, Nocioni, Duhon, Piatkowski. and yes they did lose their 1st rd series to the Wiz but they were without Deng and Curry. howver i am very glad they made some dumb moves along the way and don't have a front line of Ron Artest, Brand Miller, and Elton Brand.

5. Milwaukee is also strong on the wings with Redd, Mason, and Simmons that is if Simmons isn't a 1 hit wonder. they aren't lacking in big men with Bogut, Smith and Gadzuric and some seem to think Pachulia will be a solid player. everyone talks about TJ ford coming back but i actually like Mo Williams better but they are ok at the point.

 

[zeke11]

1. Pistons
2. Pacers
3. Bulls
4. Cavs
5. Bucks

The Pistons still have the leagues best starting 5. Hopefully Joe D will address the bench situation soon. The LB thing could be a distraction, but then again Detroit is a team of vets who know how to win.

 

[cdt]

why exactly are you on a Cavaliers Fans Site?

 

[Karma]

We have a few fans of other teams linked with this site. They dont bag us or carry on, so it is nice to get fans opinions from outside the Cavalier standpoint.

 

[Deadlock]

why exactly are you on a Cavaliers Fans Site?

Also we have some members that just kind of lurk around OT :chuckles:

 

[xX|FORD_AND_REDD|Xx]

I think the Bucks could potentially be a very good team. But there are too many question marks ssurrounding them for me. Ford's health, how good Bogut will be, how simmons will play after getting his big contract, etc.

I agree with king. The Bucks have a lot of questions that have to be answered before They can really be judged.
-How will T.J. Rebound?
-How will Bogut play?
-Will Stotts be a good coach?
-How will team chemistry be?

If all of these things go well I think the Bucks could be as high as a 6 seed in the playoffs. But if these things don't pan out we could miss the playoffs. I personally think the Bucks will be a 7 or 8 seed in a very close playoff race.

 

[cdt]

Zeke we are better then the Bulls..

 

[TJ_4_CV31]

2005-06 Central Division Standings:

1.Detroit....Defending champion will be hard to catch. Best frontline in Basketball. Will kill teams with defense and frontcourt depth. Billups will take over in the playoffs. 50-55 wins.

2.Indiana....Superior coaching in Rick Carlisle. Jermaine Oneal and Ron Artest are two of the best two way players in the NBA. Will miss Reggie's flair and clutch play. Tinsley must stay healthy and play at a high level. Drafting Granger will strengthen bench and add more versatility. 48-53 wins.

3.Milwaukee....May start off slow with the additions of Andrew Bogut, Bobby Simmons, and TJ Ford into the starting lineup. After Billups, may have the best point gaurd in the division. Andrew Bogut will provide offense and passing out of the low post. Has the division's best pure shooter in Michael Redd. Buck's boast the divisions strongest bench in Mo Williams, Desmond Mason, Toni Kukoc, Joe Smith, and Zaza Pachulia. 43-48wins.

4.Cleveland....Three potential all-stars in the starting lineup...James, Hughes, and Ilgauskas. Unfortunantly the achilles heel will be the absence of stellar play at the point gaurd position. Team needs to add man to man defenders. Bench strength needs to be improved. No adequate backup for the injury prone Ilgauskas who is another year older. Drew Gooden must improve consistancy and defense. A lot riding on second year man Luke Jackson off of the bench. Who is Sasha Pavlovic? 42-47 wins.

5.Chicago.....Scrapping, hustling style will always produce wins against underachieving teams. However, Ben Gordon and the Bulls will not sneak up on anyone this year. Chandler and Curry have to become smarter, more mature players. Duhon and Hinrich will have a tougher time matching up against this division's backcourts with the possible exception of Cleveland who has no point gaurd. 40-45 wins.

Central Player Rankings:

Center:

1. Detroit - Ben Wallace
2. Cleveland - Zyldrunas Ilgauskas (falling)
3. Milwaukee - Andrew Bogut (ROY)
4. Chicago - Eddy Curry
5. Indiana - Dale Davis

Power Forward:

1. Indiana - Jermaine ONeal
2. Detroit -Rasheed Wallace
3. Chicago - Tyson Chandler
4. Milwaukee - Dan Gadzuric
5. Cleveland - Drew Gooden

Small Forward:

1. Cleveland - Lebron James
2. Indiana - Ron Artest
3. Milwaukee - Bobby Simmons
4. Detroit - Tayshaun Prince
5. Chicago - Loul Deng

Shooting Gaurd:

1. Milwaukee - Michael Redd
2. Cleveland - Larry Hughes
3. Detroit - Richard Hamilton
4. Chicago - Kirk Hinrich
5. Indiana - Stephen Jackson

Point Gaurd:

1. Detroit - Chauncey Billups
2. Milwaukee - TJ Ford
3. Indiana - Jamal Tinsley
4. Chicago - Chris Duhon
5. Cleveland - Eric Snow

Bench:

1. Milwaukee
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Indiana (has two decent point gaurds)
5. Cleveland ( one decent point gaurd on roster)

Barring sever injuries, all five central teams will make the playoffs.

In the playoffs,

Detroit doesn't want to see Indiana
Indiana doesn't want to see Milwaukee
Milwaukee doesn't want to see Philadelphia (Iverson kills us)
Chicago doesn't want to see Cleveland
Cleveland doesn't want to see Detroit (Tayshaun has that Kryptonite)

 

[cdt]

That was a giant homer post, you paid 150 mill for bobby simmons and redd lol bogut will be a bust, you guys finish last. god that was hard to read...

 

[PIP]

the funny thing is-- there are so many that think just like this...

LeBRON > BUCKS

i tried to explain to em' that even though they made the playoffs in 04, they had only a 41-41 record..

we had a 42-20 record last year, and missed out..(east is much better)

IMO, bogut will not put up okafor like numbers, and simmons will not be that great with redd..

the bucks needed a slashing wing player-- plus they had d mase at the sf spot..

until tj proves he can play a full season, nothing is guaranteed-- plus like i said before, he has not played a full nba season.. which means he has not hit the famous "ROOKIE WALL" yet...

 

[TJ_4_CV31]

Don't be a hypocrite CavsDawg. You just gave 60mil to a 30 year old slow, injury prone center. You also gave 70 mil to a guy that's played on more teams than I can count. Worry about your own spending. Can't take any objectivity or opposing viewpoints?

Why do you keep mentioning the fact that Simmons and Redd received market contracts? The Bucks' salary cap is in great shape for years to come. We didn't hurt ourselves with these deals. Are you trying to make a rational corrolation between contract size and player regression? Are they not going to be the same Michael Redd and Bobby Simmons next year. What does the size of their contract have to do with what they're going to do on the court next year? You court Redd and try and figure out a way to match Milwaukee's offer and then you turn around and say he's overpaid.....hypocrite.

I'm not here to rip Cleveland but don't be so quick to poo poo another viewpoint when your squad hasn't done anything in the playoffs for over a decade. Homer.

 

[TJ_4_CV31]

There's a Cav's fan on the Bucks board saying that you guys just agreed to terms with Saraunus Jaskevitas. Is this true? He's posting a link to www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/mmonroe/stories.

 

[PIP]

it's on our main cavs page... were on top of this as it's hot off the presses :chuckles:

 

[Glen Infante]

I think you underrated Jamaal Tinsley a bit. I think that it is hard to rank a player that only played half his rookie year over a smart veteran like Jamaal. When the suspensions occured, Jamaal led the Pacers with suprising victories with his only help from the aging Reggie Miller.