Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> as clear favorites to win a second straight Central Division title. Two-time All-NBA guard\u00a0Donovan Mitchell\u00a0leads a team that went 64-18 to lead the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\nThe next step is to make a\u00a0deeper post-season run\u00a0after two straight\u00a0second-round exits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here with renewed energy because we know the talent we have,\u201d Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. \u201cWe know we\u2019re in that group of four to six that have a chance at winning this thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Milwaukee\u2019s addition of\u00a0Turner\u00a0is part of a roster overhaul that has occurred since last season\u2019s trade deadline as the Bucks look to bounce back from three straight first-round playoff losses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think ultimately we\u2019re a faster, more athletic, more versatile offensively and defensively suited team,\u201d Bucks general manager Jon Horst said.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at each Central Division team in predicted order of finish:<\/p>\n
The Cavaliers are one of the favorites to win the East with their core four of Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen. Garland will be sidelined for at least the first two months after toe surgery, while Max Strus will also be out at least one month due to foot surgery.<\/p>\n
Mobley, the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, had career highs in points (18.5) and assists (3.2) per game last season while expanding his perimeter game to go along with his drives to the lane.<\/p>\n
Cleveland was confined by the salary cap, but it did add some valuable bench pieces in\u00a0Lonzo Ball,\u00a0Larry Nance Jr. and Thomas Bryant. Atkinson says Ball has been a valuable resource in discussing some strategies on offense and defense.<\/p>\n
The Bucks want to replicate what worked for them when they surged late last season while Lillard was out with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. That means surrounding two-time MVP\u00a0Giannis Antetokounmpo\u00a0with shooters, attempting more 3-pointers and playing at a faster pace.<\/p>\n
Milwaukee wants the ball in Antetokounmpo\u2019s hands as much as possible as he builds on the playmaking role he adopted when Lillard was hurt.<\/p>\n
The Bucks believe Turner\u2019s combination of rim protection and 3-point shooting ability makes him an ideal complement to Antetokounmpo and provides what they lost when 7-footer\u00a0Brook Lopez\u00a0signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.<\/p>\n
The Pacers are learning to regroup without Turner or Haliburton, who will\u00a0miss the entire season.\u00a0Indiana also won\u2019t have backup point guard T.J. McConnell for most of the first month due to a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
That will test Indiana\u2019s depth, which was the Pacers\u2019 biggest strength during their run to the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n
Turner\u2019s absence doesn\u2019t just hurt Indiana from a defensive standpoint. It also takes away a stretch-5 3-point shooter. Haliburton ranked third in the NBA in assists last season after leading the league in that category in 2023-24.<\/p>\n
Without those two players, the Pacers will need another big season from Pascal Siakam, who led the Pacers in scoring (20.2) and rebounding (6.9) last season.<\/p>\n
The Pistons\u00a0surprised the NBA\u00a0with their turnaround last season after having the league\u2019s worst record the previous two years.<\/p>\n
They won\u2019t sneak up on anyone this season.<\/p>\n
Cade Cunningham leads the way, bouncing back from an injury-stunted start of his career after Detroit drafted him No. 1 in 2021.<\/p>\n
The Pistons didn\u2019t attempt to sign or keep high-priced free agents or to acquire expensive veterans in trades because they don\u2019t know if Cunningham\u2019s surrounding cast will be part of the team\u2019s long-term future.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a big year for center Jalen Duren and guard Jaden Ivey because they\u2019re eligible for contract extensions.<\/p>\n
The Bulls opted to stand pat rather than go bold this past summer despite finishing 39-43 for the second straight season and missing the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years.<\/p>\n
Their most notable moves were re-signing\u00a0Josh Giddey,\u00a0trading Ball to Cleveland for Isaac Okoro and drafting\u00a0Noa Essengue\u00a0out of the French Basketball League with the No. 12 pick, yet executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas continues to preach patience. That\u2019s a tough ask for a frustrated fan base.<\/p>\n
The Bulls have just one playoff appearance since Karnisovas was hired before the 2020-21 season, and they\u2019ve been knocked out of the play-in tournament by Miami the past three years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILWAUKEE \u2014 Two of the\u00a0Achilles tendon injuries\u00a0that shook up the 2024-25 postseason also reshaped the NBA Central Division…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215359,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-215358","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}