At stake for every NBA Central Division team is this question: can Bucks' defense step up and what are Pacers planning next?

Seven weeks out from NBA 2024-25 season’s start date, we take a look at each team in the league and their biggest question heading into regular season play. Already we examined the Atlantic division, discussing whether the Celtics will become the first defending champ since 2012 and whether this year marks an upsurge in 76er play as they look for success under coach Brett Brown and many more details on Knicks, Raptors and Nets. Now let’s delve deeper into the Central Division, with expectations ranging from championship aspirations to rebuild efforts underway. Indiana Pacers may return to an Eastern Conference finals appearance; but that does not guarantee they’ll achieve another championship run this year. The Cleveland Cavaliers hope their transition to a new coach can spark their team, while Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard begin Year 2 as an impressive duo on their respective teams. And while both teams may appear as lottery candidates, there are important questions regarding them that deserve consideration. Some of these questions might not get an answer until after this season or even later on, but they’re worth keeping an eye out for as 2024-25 begins to unfold. Bulls: What Will Lonzo Ball’s Return Look Like?The Bulls appear to have made up their mind on which path they would pursue after allowing DeMar DeRozan to leave free agency without compensation, then trading Alex Caruso — their top trade chip — away to Oklahoma City in exchange for Josh Giddey. Last season’s breakout star Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and 11th pick Matas Buzelis will now play for Chicago; but some holdovers remain, including Zach LaVine who the Bulls attempted to trade but couldn’t due to injuries and his costly contract. Nikola Vucevic will also likely remain available as potential trade targets this season should anyone wish to assume his contracts. And then there’s Lonzo Ball. After three knee operations and numerous setbacks, this could finally be his year to make his comeback; unfortunately though it seems as though his former team have moved on without him. Giddey was acquired via trade to establish himself as their starting point guard moving forward; but will that change should Ball return and begin performing like his old self (who averaged 13 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists during 2021-22 season)? Giddey has demonstrated before he can produce such numbers and is an adept passer. Unfortunately, however, Giddey lacks the 3-point shooting capabilities Ball had developed prior to knee surgeries as well as defensive abilities which helped create one of the premier defensive backcourts in league when shared between Ball and Caruso.
All depends on if Ball can return to his former form prior to surgery; if so, do the Bulls consider giving him starting duties once again or continue bringing him off the bench regardless of his performance and eventually move forward? Giddey should get his chance given what the Bulls gave up for him; Ball was one of the top point guards before going down, while Giddey experienced decreased minutes during playoff play. Billy Donovan will have to manage this situation carefully on a team with several key questions this season: * Cavaliers: How Can Donovan Mitchell Stay Happy in Cleveland When the 2019-2020 NBA Season Starts, Donovan Mitchell is entering Year Three as Clevelander and we will enter Year Three of his time spent here as Cavalier player and mentor. He recently signed an extended three-year, $150.32 million deal that showed his long-term dedication to Cleveland…at least temporarily. Under his player option contract for next season, Cavs forward Kevin Love can leave after reaching only the second round of East playoffs and may look for other clubs to play for instead of Cleveland. Therefore this season and next are of paramount importance to them both. Kenny Atkinson was brought in as JB Bickerstaff’s replacement with hopes he can lead this group past their initial struggles. Unfortunately for Atkinson though, time may not allow two years’ of adjustment with these guys before needing to start pushing through changes on an already tight timeline. Mitchell wants to win now, and his contract informed the Cavaliers as to when it would consider playing elsewhere. There’s currently an unspoken hierarchy among Eastern teams; Celtics, Knicks and Sixers standout as potential title challengers while everyone else are competing to remain relevant in this division. Cleveland falls under this second category and should make every attempt to move themselves up the rankings by trading some players this season if they hope Mitchell remains with them longer than two guaranteed years. That may involve considering who might make good trade candidates this offseason. Cavs fans should feel fortunate that Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland possess significant trade value for them. Evan Mobley stood up as Cleveland’s primary center during most of their postseason appearance due to Allen’s injury; as his replacement Evan Mobley showed that they can rely on him moving forward. Mobley averaged 16 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.2 blocks during Cleveland’s final postseason game – scoring 33 points! At 22 years old he’s already developed offensively as well. Now might be an appropriate time for Allen to find another home with a different franchise.
Garland has seen his numbers and efficiency decline during Mitchell’s two seasons with Cleveland; as neither him or Garland are strong defensive players, it would likely benefit them to pair him up with someone else to provide better backcourt coverage. No one knows for certain who will be available on the trade market, but if Cleveland gets into February with Mitchell still unsatisfied or underperforming as expected, aggressive action must be taken by management to upgrade his surrounding cast of players. On another front: Pistons have set an astonishing record by losing 22 consecutive games last season; yet this new campaign offers real promise! It may be easy to be negative about such an organization entering play this time around but that would miss an exciting story here that could develop over the season ahead. Detroit now boasts a new coach! Cade Cunningham just completed an outstanding campaign! And Tobias Harris is back! Although Detroit boasts many young talent on its roster, no single individual stood out last season aside from Cunningham who actually shined brightest. That could be in part attributed to coaching mistakes; Monty Williams hindered Jaden Ivey’s development by placing Killian Hayes, whom the team waived earlier in February, on the bench instead. This decision effectively stunted Jaden Ivey’s progression. JB Bickerstaff has taken over, which should mean real growth and development from some of these young guys. Ivey appears to be leading that charge as his play on Cunningham’s backcourt has shown great promise. Jalen Duren is also entering his third season, having experienced significant improvement during his second campaign by averaging 13.8 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. Ausar Thompson was last year’s lottery pick and has shown potential to become an All-Defensive player one day; however, on offense there remains room for improvement. The Pistons spent their offseason making changes in both front office operations and hiring a new coach, hoping that these adjustments produce positive results on the court; all those young guys may be exciting but at some point Detroit needs to figure out who their true assets are among their ranks.
Indiana Pacers: What will Indiana do against a healthier conference? Indiana made an unexpected run to the Eastern Conference finals last season, thanks in large part to injuries on opposing teams; although that run may have had something to do with injuries taking away points from opposing sides. Yet Indiana put in hard work towards getting there as well. Indiana just improved all around for next season: Knicks — whom the Pacers defeated in the second round — added Mikal Bridges, plus Julius Randle is expected back, Jalen Brunson is fully healthy along with OG Anunoby and Josh Hart returning as well as Mikal Bridges joining his roster. The Sixers have added Paul George and several talented role players. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo will likely remain healthy this season for Indiana’s opponent the Bucks – something Indiana couldn’t say when Indiana advanced through to face them in Round 1. Indiana kept all their core players, which is certainly encouraging; but will that be enough in an Eastern Conference that has vastly improved since last season? Only time will tell. The Pacers boasted a formidable roster, as we saw breakout performances from players such as Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell and Aaron Nesmith during their playoff runs. Nembhard particularly stood out during Haliburton’s injury scare during East finals play and took care of business on his own when Haliburton couldn’t play anymore. He finished that series against Boston averaging 21 points and 7.8 assists, setting himself up for what could be an incredible rise this third season. Nesmith proved a constant force defensively, while McConnell did whatever Indiana needed in order to prevail. Indiana certainly possesses all of the tools to make another deep playoff run, yet we just haven’t seen them perform against multiple healthy opponents during post-season play (Haliburton was injured when we did see them play, which resulted in being swept by Boston). This season will tell us where the Pacers need to improve in order to stay competitive against the best teams in the East. Bucks: Will Milwaukee’s defense hold up? They plan on scoring plenty of points this year! Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard should not have any difficulty scoring with Milwaukee as Gary Trent Jr, an elite 38% three point shooter from 3-point land is now part of their arsenal as is Khris Middleton who also still can hit threes reliably; two other reliable shooters Delon Wright and Taurean Prince can provide consistent three point scoring as well. Scoring should never be an issue here! As in past seasons, defense remains the Bucks’ Achilles Heel; particularly at the point of attack. With Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton, Donovan Mitchell and Tyrese Maxey playing, their credentials as point guards pose no problem; Lillard can’t possibly match any of them on defense alone and Trent may do his part but tasking him with guarding such elite point guards is too much to ask of anyone in particular.
The Bucks finished last season ranked 19th in defense, yet still managed to win 49 games thanks to their sixth-rated offense and 19th rank defense. As evidenced by their moves this summer, it appears as if the Bucks plan is for their offense to rack up points without hurting defense as much; that strategy helped get them the No. 3 seed in East and maybe could’ve resulted in postseason play had Giannis hadn’t suffered an injury that cut short their playoff run; we shall see whether that approach works again this season but wouldn’t it be great if someone like Jrue Holiday joined?

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