Win In 6 Podcast #22: Central Division Preview

It’s that time of week again (for the second time), as our team gets together to discuss the latest Milwaukee Bucks’ news and most important conversation points in our “Win In 6 Podcast”!

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As the season moves closer, it only feels right to branch out and look further around at the teams the Bucks are going to have to square off against, and so from this week on that’s exactly what we’re going to be doing on the podcast.

On top of our regular podcast spot (posting on Tuesdays) where we dive deep into every piece of Bucks news or discussion, we have been taking a division by division trip around the NBA on Thursdays to get to know the opposition a little better.

Over the last few weeks we started off in the Eastern Conference by looking at the Atlantic Division and the Southeast Division, we then left the Eastern Conference and moved over to look at the bloodbath that is the Western Conference.

Having wrapped that up with the Southwest division last week, there was only one place left to turn to. We have finally arrived at the one you have all been waiting for: the Bucks’ very own Central Division.

As we’ve talked about the Bucks roster often enough, we allocated this time to dig deep on the other four teams in the division, and to discuss how they’ll match up against Milwaukee.

The Chicago Bulls’ fragile health was already enough of a concern heading into the season, so the last thing they needed was any further scares like Derrick Rose has provided them this week. Although, the organization themselves are putting a much brighter prognosis on Rose’s recovery in the time since we recorded, it certainly raises questions.

Are the Bulls the NBA’s ultimate house of cards? What have they been doing in the draft and free agency for so many years to leave their roster this lopsided? Will moving away from Tom Thibodeau and his style of play backfire spectacularly on them?

For the Cleveland Cavaliers it’s just a matter of how many games they win, right? Well, not necessarily. Fully healthy, Cleveland are runaway winners in the East, but much like Chicago, injuries are likely to have their say in that one.

Kyrie Irving won’t be back until after Christmas, the same likely goes for Iman Shumpert too, while Kevin Love still doesn’t have a concrete timetable for a return. That leaves a heavy load for LeBron James to carry, and who knows, he might decide to ease off in the regular season to save his best for the playoffs this year.

The Detroit Pistons roster is slowly starting to take shape in a way that clearly fits Stan Van Gundy’s eye, but is it still a case of style over substance? Sure, their roster may be able to follow his philosophy, but can they execute it as well as he’d desire?

Detroit’s roster is deeper than many seem to realize, but they remain a polarizing group of players with one of the more difficult seasons to predict of any team in the entire league.

Last but not least, we look at the new look Indiana Pacers. The return of Paul George is the stand out change for Indiana from last season, but the departures of David West and Roy Hibbert and arrival of Monta Ellis should not be forgotten either.

The changes they’ve made this summer will likely enforce a change of style, but how well will that work out for them? Can Paul George really play the four or is that just pre-season talking?

On top of all of that, we try to pin down our win projections for the Bucks.

To get to the bottom of all of these questions and more, joining me are staff writers Ti Windisch and Jordan Treske.

Make sure to follow us on SoundCloud, and subscribe on iTunes to never miss an episode of Win In 6 in the future.

As always, let us hear your thoughts and feedback.

Next: Win In 6 Podcast #21: All Eyes On Coach Jason Kidd

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