Pacers Running Away from Bulls, Bucks in Central

With just over a month left in the NBA regular season, here is a quick overview of the Central Division and how the teams stack up heading into the postseason.

Indiana Pacers – After a brutal first month of the season, the Pacers appear to be back on track and in control of the Central Division. Paul George has developed into an All-Star, while David West is playing much better in his second year removed from knee surgery. Indiana now has a healthy lead over the Bulls in the division race, and can slowly work Danny Granger back into the lineup as they gear up for the playoffs.

Chicago Bulls – As fans with Bull tickets still eagerly await the possible return of Derrick Rose, Chicago has scrapped and clawed their way to a respectable record in the East. However, the heavy minutes accrued by Luol Deng and Joakim Noah appear to have taken a toll in the last month, and the Central Division title now appears too far out of reach. Still, if Rose in fact returns for the playoffs, this will be a dangerous, hungry squad.

2012-2013 Eastern Conference Preview

After capturing the conference’s first championship title since 2008, the East is once again the dominant half of the country basketball wise.  The Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder by winning all 3 games of the 2-3-2 format at home which has only been done one other time since the formation of that series style.  This speaks on the dominance Miami displayed but moreover indicates the type of competition that exists top to bottom in the Eastern Conference.  Many would argue that the Indiana Pacers and definitely the Boston Celtics gave Miami a tougher time this post-season than OKC as Boston had 2 opportunities to close Miami out while Indiana held a 2-1 series lead with game 4 coming at home and all the momentum being on their side.

The Eastern Conference has undergone a face lift this offseason with several players swapping several players.  For instance, Joe Johnson is now a member of the Brooklyn Nets while Landry Fields is now the starting shooting guard in Toronto and Jason Kidd is the new point guard for the New York Knicks.  A team that has remained relatively quiet throughout the free agency frenzy has been the Chicago Bulls who are still theorized to be one of the elite teams in the East.  Chicago only had one selection in the 2012 NBA Draft and made the most of it, taking point guard Marquis Teague from the National Champion Kentucky Wildcats.  Teague’s older brother, Jeff, plays for the Atlanta Hawks and has proven to be a solid backup guard.  Marquis has more potential than Jeff did upon entering the league and will most likely have an opportunity to display his talents as Derrick Rose is still recovering from his knee injury.

After two consecutive seasons in which the Bulls had the best record in the regular season among Eastern Conference teams they have yet to make the NBA Finals with this squad.  Unfortunately for Chicago, Miami has run rampant throughout the East upon assembling the “Big 3” though the Bulls appear to be the only team that can match them personale wise.  If Chicago can get improved play from power forward Carlos Boozer their offense will vastly improve as their defense is not a concern, ranking first in points allowed last season that will most likely stay consistent.

The Brooklyn Nets have been the buzz of the NBA off-season after they re-signed Gerald Wallace and Deron Williams to big deals as well as acquiring shooting guard Joe Johnson from the Atlanta Hawks.  However, the biggest news line has been regarding Dwight Howard who has actively voiced his interest in the team essentially claiming “Brooklyn or bust” as he refuses to commit long term to any possible franchise trying to land him.  Even if Brooklyn does not get Howard they will still have a solid core of post players including Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez if the players are not traded or signed to other teams.  The 2012-2013 Eastern Conference will look to be one of the most exciting yet as the league once again returns to the standard 82 game regular season and the competition being as fierce as ever.

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