NBA Central Division Rotation and Roster Battles

Keith Smith
Keith Smith, Resident NBA ExpertOctober 15, 2024
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#nba #central division #chicago bulls #cleveland cavaliers #detroit pistons #indiana pacers #milwaukee bucks
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NBA teams are fully in preseason mode, with the regular season about a week away.

NBA preseason doesn’t come with the excitement of NFL camp or MLB preseason. Nor does it come with the competition for roster spots. Smaller rosters and more guaranteed money mean that NBA squads are generally set when camp opens.

However, all across the league battles for rotation spots are playing out out. Incumbents are trying to hold off newcomers. Young players are trying to break through. Vets are trying to hang on for one more season. In some cases, there are roster spots up for grabs too.

We’re going to going team by team and look some of the most interesting battles to monitor as we close in on the regular season. We previously covered the Southwest Division,  Northwest Division and Pacific Division out west. Then we headed east to cover the Southeast Division. Now, we take a look at the Central Division teams!

Chicago Bulls

Ballhandlers

Chicago has a lot of on-ball playmakers. Some of them are fine as off-ball players, but these guys are best with the ball in their hands. That’s the spot where Billy Donovan has the most decisions to make.

Zach LaVine looks healthy and he’s going to be the Bulls primary scorer and playmaker. A return to full health and productivity is good for LaVine, Chicago and LaVine’s trade value.

Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu are both back after having productive seasons. Both players are coming off career-best years. They are both also young enough to factor into whatever the Bulls are going to be next.

In the offseason, Chicago added Josh Giddey. While Giddey has taken baby steps as an off-ball player, his best work is done with the ball in his hands. He’s going to start as…well…something. Outside of Nikola Vucevic, who will be the Bulls center, Donovan seems to be leaning into a relatively positionless starting group. That’s hardly a bad thing, and it’s for the best given the team’s current roster makeup. Giddey is going to be a big part of that, both this season and moving forward.

If those four aren’t enough, Lonzo Ball is coming back from injury. After two-and-a-half years on the sideline, Ball is ready to play again. At this point, we have no idea what to expect from the veteran point guard, but the Bulls are going to give Ball some minutes to figure it out. In part, that’s to reward him for battling for nearly three years to get back on the court. It’s also to see if Ball can be a productive rotation player, either for Chicago or elsewhere as an expiring, tradable contract.

We’re now at five guys who are going to see minutes. Behind them, Jevon Carter is a quality NBA guy who seemingly has no path to minutes. The Bulls look like they may keep training camp invite Talen Horton-Tucker into the regular season. Carter can play off-ball, but Horton-Tucker is another guy who is best with the ball his hands.

Depth is great, as the injury-ravaged Bulls backcourt has demonstrated in the past. But these are a lot of guys who need to play and to have the ball. And that’s before we get to any touches used by Vucevic or Patrick Williams. That’s a lot for Donovan to work out in what looks like a transitional year for Chicago.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Small Forward

The best bet is that the Cavaliers will open with Max Strus as their starting small forward. Strus was underwhelming as a shooter last season, but should be better this year with better health from the Cavs playmakers.

Behind Strus, new coach Kenny Atkinson can go with Isaac Okoro, who is the team’s best wing defender or Caris LeVert, who is a nice on-ball playmaker and scorer. Okoro makes the most sense, as the Cavs could use his defense against bigger ballhandlers. Okoro is also a much-improved shooter, which could help open up the floor if opponents respect his jumper more this season.

LeVert is an offensive weapon. He’ll probably see more time as a backup guard/ballhandler behind both Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland than he will as a small forward. But if Cleveland needs some offensive juice, don’t be surprised if LeVert shows up in three-guard lineups with the Cavs two All-Stars.

Dean Wade is another option, especially against bigger forward as he’s a three/four combo forward. Solid defense and an improved jumper have Wade in the mix to play big minutes at both forward spots.

Lastly, keep an eye on rookie wing Jaylon Tyson. After an outstanding Summer League run, Tyson has looked just as good in the preseason. He’s got some work to do before he’ll crack the rotation, but there’s a good chance that will happen by midseason. Tyson is simply going to be too good to keep off the floor.

Detroit Pistons

Wing Rotation

Trajan Langdon’s offseason makeover of the Pistons has infused the roster with proven talent. No more does that stand out more than with the wing group.

Veteran shooters Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. were brought in this summer. Simone Fontecchio was re-signed. Ron Holland II was added in the draft. And Ausar Thompson is returning after a promising rookie season. In addition, Tobias Harris has played plenty at small forward, and talented youngster Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey could play some on the wing in multiple ballhandler lineups.

This is all good stuff for Detroit. This roster needed both talent and to create competition for minutes. Harris, Beasley and Hardaway will help – as Fontecchio did after his midseason acquisition last year – by giving Cunningham and Ivey some reliable shooters. Too many possessions featured the two young playmakers getting frustrated by making the right read, seeing another jumper clang off the rim and reverting to taking contested mid-range jumpers themselves. Now, they have players they can trust to make shots. That should lift their games, and the Pistons as a whole.

But new head coach JB Bickerstaff has to balance his rotation. Detroit is still rebuilding, so they can’t sacrifice developmental minutes for the kids by playing the veterans too much. For example, Thompson is too special as a defender and playmaker to sit just to have better shooting on the floor. Finding that balance is key for the Pistons, both for this season and the years to come.

Indiana Pacers

Are There Enough Minutes To Go Around?

In a pretty short period of time, the Pacers have built one of the deeper rosters in the NBA. That’s something to be praised, but it does come with a challenge for Rick Carlisle. There are good veterans, as well as promising youngsters, who aren’t going to have regular roles.

At each position, Indiana has at least two, if not three or more, players who can play. That’s great depth for those nights when guys are out. When everyone is healthy, it’s hard to see how there are enough minutes for everyone.

At center, Indiana will start Myles Turner and probably back him up with Isaiah Jackson. That doesn’t leave much time for James Wiseman as a project. At the four, Pascal Siakam is backed up by Obi Toppin. Both players got paid this summer as key rotation guys. Where does that leave Jarace Walker?

Sliding Walker over to play small forward is complicated by the presence of Aaron Nesmith and Ben Sheppard. Pushing one of them down a spot means that Andrew Nembhard or Bennedict Mathurin will lose minutes. Putting Nembhard behind Tyrese Haliburton takes backup point guard minutes away from T.J. McConnell.

The Pacers are somewhere between a really good team and a real contender. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for developmental minutes. That means guys like Walker, Wiseman and rookie second-rounder Johnny Furphy may rarely see the floor. Such is life on a deep team that is trying to push themselves to the next level.

Milwaukee Bucks

Who Is The Fourth Wing?

Milwaukee did really well to add talent this offseason, despite having limited resources to work with. As a second apron team, the Bucks were mostly limited to veteran minimum deals, and still came away with Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince and Delon Wright. That’s terrific value for all three players.

Prince gives the Bucks another forward to put in the mix behind Giannis Antetokounmpo. Bobby Portis has mostly become a third big/backup center. Having Prince gives Doc Rivers another guy he can work in when Antetokounmpo is off the floor.

Wright solves the backup point guard issue that plagued Milwaukee at times when Damian Lillard was out. Trent seems likely to start at shooting guard, which is good, given the Bucks lack of other quality options for that spot.

It’s that last one where things get tricky for Rivers. Trent is a good player. Khris Middleton will obviously play on the perimeter when he’s healthy. The challenge is that Middleton is starting the season limited after offseason surgeries on both ankles.

Behind Middleton and Trent, the Bucks can go with Pat Connaughton, who has been a solid backup wing for years. For the other wing spot? That’s a box full of answered questions.

Prince will likely see some minutes at small forward. A.J. Green is a knockdown shooter. If he can defend better, he’s likely got the inside track on a rotation role.

Andre Jackson Jr. has the opposite problem. He can defend, but he either can’t or won’t shoot. (Aside: Jackson needs to be more willing to let it fly. His jumper doesn’t look bad enough that he should be such a reluctant shooter.) MarJon Beauchamp looks like he needs a fresh start elsewhere, while Chris Livingston and A.J. Johnson are unproven prospects.

Given Middleton’s track record of missing games, Rivers is going to have to find someone beyond Trent and Connaughton that he trusts. Putting faith in young players has been an issue for Rivers over the years, but he may have no other choice, barring a move to bring in more veteran help.

 


#nba #central division #chicago bulls #cleveland cavaliers #detroit pistons #indiana pacers #milwaukee bucks
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