Detroit Pistons Central Division Forecast: Where Will They End Up?

Oct 23, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy gives instructions to guard

(14) and forward

(6) and forward

(35) during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons beat the Sixers 109-103. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Let me start off by saying this so we are all on the same page; The Detroit Pistons will not win an NBA championship this season. In fact Vegas insider has them at a 300/1 odds to win the championship and 125/1 odds just to win the Eastern Conference.

Now that we have that out of the way, let us look at their chances of being just “ok” within their own division.

When I went looking through the NBA section of ESPN I got scared for them. In the Central alone they get to match up with the Cavaliers, Pacers and Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls finished 48-34 in the 2013-2014 season. A team that always seems like it should be pretty good but is usually dictated by the knee of Derrick Rose.

Rose is coming back healthy this season and if he stays healthy will be a big contributor to the team.

However, if, is the biggest question, if Derrick rose stays healthy the Bulls are a dangerous team, if he doesn’t then they may make an early exit from the playoffs. The Bulls will have a healthy Rose playing with Joakim Noah and the newly acquired Pau Gasol and I see them battling Cleveland all season and seeing some really good games. I see them finishing first in the Central.

Then there are the Cavaliers who finished last season 33-40, but also got the Ohio born boy LeBron James back.

They also traded away their first round draft pick Andrew Wiggins to Minnesota to obtain Kevin Love.

Essentially James finds himself with a big three in Cleveland with himself, Love and Kyle Irving. I have never been a fan of saying one player coming to a team changes everything,but, if you add Lebron James and Kevin Love I have a hard time saying this won’t make the Cavaliers a better team compared to what they have been the past few seasons.

All three of those guys averaged 20 plus points last season, so you’ll get at least 60 points a game just from those three.

Additionally, with supporting players such as Anderson Varejao and Dion Waiters I see Cleveland finishing second in the Central.

Finally comes the less scary, three headed central monster — the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers finished 56-26 last season and were excused from the playoffs by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Plus, the Pacers lost Paul George to a terrifying leg injury that will keep him out the rest of the season and Lance Stephenson who left after free agency to Charlotte.

I don’t see the Pacers doing as well as they did last season with the injury to George and facing teams with the likes of Derrick Rose and Lebron James on them. I don’t see them finishing lower than third place.

Left in the Central besides the Pistons are the Milwaukee Bucks who finished a dismal 15-67 last season. Like the Pistons there is no chance of them winning a championship this year and I don’t see them making the playoffs.

This team is young, but show promise. The Bucks first round draft pick Jabari Parker will be fun to watch this season along with other rookies in the league.

The Bucks may play themselves out from the bottom of the Eastern division and could be a team to deal with in the future. However, I think they finish behind the Pistons at last in the Central.

So that puts the Pistons in the fourth spot of the Central.

With a new coach one would hope a new door will open and the Pistons will be that once respected organization again. New coach Stan Van Gundy will be looking to build a powerhouse team around young star Andre Drummond. Drummond is currently one of the leagues best Centers in the game and with pieces like Jodie Meeks and Joel Anthony this team shows some exciting promise. I don’t think they make the playoff this year but I wouldn’t be surprised if they sneak into the last spot of the Eastern conference.

This season as a fan of the team I’m honestly excited to see how this team looks. I hope for promise and with Joe Dumars not in the spot as President of Basketball Operations I see this team getting back to what Detroit Pistons basketball really is.

The Pistons open their season on the road against the Denver Nuggets at 9:00 pm this Wednesday.