[Editor’s Note: This is the final installment of our annual six part series of division previews. If you missed the Pacific Division, Northwest Division, Southwest Division, Southeast Division, or Atlantic Division previews, click on the links.]

While the departure of LeBron James might have had the largest impact on the Cavs, the entirety of the Eastern Conference felt the tremors. And, though the primary contenders for the crown seemingly reside in the Atlantic Division… the recipients of two fewer encounters with the Chosen One per year exist in the suddenly, and completely, up for grabs Central.

As usual, we’ll exclude Cleveland here, and save the home team for their own dedicated post, leaving us to take a closer look at the other four mid-western grinders that remain…

Chicago Bulls

Additions: Antonius Cleveland (claimed off waivers), Jabari Parker (free agent), Wendell Carter Jr. (drafted No. 7), Chandler Hutchison (drafted No. 22)

Subtractions: Jerian Grant (traded to Magic), Sean Kilpatrick (waived), David Nwaba (signed with Cavaliers), Quincy Pondexter (signed with Spurs), Julyan Stone (traded from Hornets, then waived), Noah Vonleh (signed with Knicks), Paul Zipser (waived)

Outlook: Based on the pictured beverage, it seems like the Austrian power drink purveyors might have some ‘splainin’ to do. I mean, I’m sure a 40 of malt liquor would probably “give you wings” too. So, what does that have to do with the Chicago Bulls (other than the obvious mascot tie-in)? Well, one is powerful… and the other is power full… as in full of power forwards.

Yeah, that’s right. The Bulls have not one… not two… not three… but four PFs they’re going to have to find playing time for this season. Of course, they can probably try the sizable Carter, Jr. (6’10, 251) at the five, and see if the oft-injured Parker can man the three, but does that still leave a contributor like Bobby Portis nailed to the bench or on the trading block? Yes, the Bulls seem rife with young big man talent, with second year pro Lauri Markkanen leading the charge. But, what about the back court? Chicago bullishly matched the four year, $78M offer sheet on Zach LaVine… saving him from the basketball abattoir that is the Kings. However, you’ve got to wonder just how smart it is to have $118M committed to two dudes (Parker and LaVine) coming off knee injuries. This is also probably Kris Dunn’s make or break season.

What success looks like: Once they parted ways with Jimmy Butler before last season, it was clear the Bulls were full participants in the tank-a-thon race to the bottom of the East. They managed to find a budding star in Markkanen, but had a lost season of LaVine. This year seems like more of the same with another step forward. If they can find some chemistry between the surprising Carter, Jr. and the big Fin in the front court, that will be a huge win. Meanwhile, if the ACL brothers (Parker and LaVine) can stay healthy, they could vault the baby Bulls into relevance… though probably not quite playoff contention.

Cavalier Theft Targets: Portis would be a solid get given his size, rebounding ability and still friendly salary, although the Cavs already kinda have that guy in Larry Nance, Jr. Outside of him, most of the Bulls are either young and unavailable or expensive and injury prone. Justin Holiday is no Jrue, but still might be worth a flyer as an outside gunner. Antonius Cleveland could also be a waiver wire watch, not just because of the name… but because he does stuff like this…

Preseason Grade: Three crying Jordan memes… one for what they paid for fragile ACLs, one for winning too many games for another top pick, and a third for the fact that Jimmy Butler is ironically exactly the player they could use to lead these guys now… I hear he’s available again.

Record Prediction: 35-47

Detroit Pistons

Additions: Jose Calderon (free agent), Zaza Pachulia (free agent), Glenn Robinson III (free agent), Khyri Thomas (drafted No. 38), Bruce Brown (drafted No. 42), Dwane Casey (head coach)

Subtractions: Dwight Buycks (waived), James Ennis III (signed with Rockets), Eric Moreland (waived), Anthony Tolliver (signed with Timberwolves)

Outlook: The Stroh Brewing company started making beer in the 1800s, and was long a staple of Detroit’s economy. Sadly, the company was split up in 2000, and what remains is headquartered in Los Angeles now. Which is where the Pistons sent the bulk of their cap flexibility before the trading deadline last season in their blockbuster deal to snag Blake Griffin from the Clippers. The apparent risk of taking on Griffin’s hefty max deal seemed initially mitigated by an immediate five game win streak that got Pistons fans hopeful for a playoff run. Unfortunately for them, it was followed by a 3-13 stretch that effectively dashed those hopes before Blake got shut down with eight games remaining.

Yes, it was a lost season for a team that was desperately trying to reverse its two year trend in the wrong direction. The hail mary acquisition of Griffin added to their star power, yet all but capped them out (thus the bottle cap pic). Given that they have about $85M tied up in four players (Griffin, Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson, and yes… Jon Leuer), only two of which have been All-Stars, they had little pocket change left over in the off season. Which is why they had to fill in the edges with guys like ZaZa Patchouli Oil and the old Cajoled Senõr himself, Jose Calderon. Though, there was some tangible upside too. Detroit finally parted ways with the Angry Hedgehog, Stan Van Gundy, while bringing in reigning Coach of the Year, Dwane Casey. Also, despite having to ship out their first round pick in the Griffin trade, the Pistons may have gotten some decent value picks in the second round with Khyri Thomas and Bruce Brown.

What success looks like: The playoffs… I guess? Blake Griffin has found himself in the Black Mirror version of his old Clippers team… with Andre Drummond in the more earthbound, slightly better free-throw shooting DJ role, and Reggie Jackson in the Kirkland brand version of CP3. Maybe Dwane Casey can cajole something special out of this hodge-podge of pricey vets and unproven youth, but it’s hard to imagine them shooting higher than a 6-8 seed. But, maybe that’s enough.

Cavalier Theft Targets: I mean… we probably got the best version of old man Calderon last year. So, maybe Stanley Johnson? Honestly, that’s about all I can come up with unless one of their youngsters like Luke Kennard, Brown or Thomas doesn’t pan out. Wait… I’ve got it… Larry Drew II, so he can play for his dad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFwDTE4kEE4

Preseason Grade: Kia Optimas for everyone! (y’know, since we’re on a budget here).

Record Prediction: 43-39

Indiana Pacers

Additions: Tyreke Evans (free agent), Doug McDermott (free agent), Kyle O’Quinn (free agent), Aaron Holiday (drafted No. 23), Alize Johnson (drafted No. 50)

Subtractions: Al Jefferson (waived), Alex Poythress (waived), Glenn Robinson III (signed with Pistons), Lance Stephenson (signed with Lakers)

Outlook: Steely. Kind of like the sturdy old oil can style containers that once held Hoosier beer. That’s maybe the best adjective for these Indiana Pacers. They were the legit surprise team for most of last season… and, that included the post-season. Outside of the Finals, the first round tangle with Indy might just have been the Cavaliers’ toughest test of the playoffs. Thanks to Nate McMillan’s coaching style, a long-awaited star turn from Victor Oladipo, and some truly gritty defense, the Pacers adopted a never-say-die attitude that served them well in the wake of Paul George’s departure.

All they did this off-season was sneakily get even better by upgrading their weak spots. Instead of Lance Stephenson’s semi-controlled brand of crazy… they have Tyreke Evans’ dynamism. Replacing Glenn Robinson’s streaky outside shooting with Doug McDermott’s less streaky outside shooting. And, turning Al Jefferson’s limited mobility into Kyle O’Quinn’s rebounding ferocity. Not a bad underdog kind of summer. Add in a solid potential back up rookie PG in the next Holiday brother, and things could get pretty interesting in Indy.

What success looks like: Oladipo continues his late-blooming meteoric rise into All Star-dom, leading a core group of Myles Turner, Domanatas Sabonis, Bojan Bogdanovic, Darren Collison and Nate Smith All Star, Thad Young into a (surprise) top three playoff seed in the East. Indy again becomes the team that nobody wants to face… since they consistently beat the odds… and, they just might steal your golden trophy with their gritty bag of sand…

Cavalier Theft Targets: Pickings are slim for the Cavs here, since the Pacers probably won’t be looking to do many favors for the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. Also, there’s not a lot of young targets outside of Sabonis, Turner and Holiday… and all three are probably not touchable. One blockbuster idea around the trade deadline might be a swap of Kevin Love for Bogdanovic, Young and a first rounder, which could put Indy over the top, while giving the Cavs competitive flexibility.

Preseason Grade: Coach Norman Dale’s speech on infinite repeat… set to maximum volume.

Record Prediction: 52-30

Milwaukee Bucks

Additions: Pat Connaughton (free agent), Ersan Ilyasova (free agent), Brook Lopez (free agent), Donte DiVincenzo (drafted No. 17), Mike Budenholzer (head coach)

Subtractions: Brandon Jennings (waived), Jabari Parker (signed with Bulls)

Outlook: You might think from the Old Milwaukee slogan above that I like the Bucks’ chances this season. Well, see… there’s two ways to read the phrase “It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This.” The one I’m going for is that we may have already seen peak Milwaukee. Sure, Giannis Antetokounmpo will undoubtedly continue on his upward trajectory in his quest to supplant LeBron as the best player in the game. Yet, it didn’t seem so long ago that we were calling these dudes the “young Bucks.” Or, maybe it was, since they’re not so young anymore.

The tantalizing pairing of Giannis and Jabari Parker fizzled after too many knee surgeries for the latter. The Bucks brought in Eric Bledsoe to bolster their back court when guys like former ROY, Malcolm Brogdon, and NBA Champion, Matthew Dellavedova, seemingly weren’t cutting it. But, Bledsoe looked old and slow at times. Guys like John Henson (27) and Tony Snell (almost 27) also feel like they’ve been around forever. So, what did they do this summer? Why, added a couple more relative geezers to the mix in Brook Lopez (30) and Irsan Ilyasova (31). Obviously, I’m exaggerating for effect, but you get what I mean when I say this team is on it’s way to becoming an Older Milwaukee. They still have Khris Middleton to help Giannis with the scoring load, and new blood like Donte DiVincenzo should keep them feeling at least a little young. But, the deer should start to fear the beer…

What success looks like: This has to be the year the Bucks break through to be a top four seed in the East on the freakishly long limbs of Giannis. Having home court in round one and getting to the ECF is probably their ceiling, and that’s not a terrible place to end up. It might even keep The Alphabet from becoming next year’s poster child for demanding a trade with years still left on his contract.

Cavalier Theft Targets: You mean, aside from NBA Champion, Matthew Dellavedova? (you’re welcome, Nate…). Possibly Bledsoe since he’s an expiring deal and might be a better fit than George Hill. I’ve also been a fan of Brogdon, who is still young and cheap enough to be a guy worth taking a look at, especially since he might be eclipsed by DiVincenzo (man the Bucks have a ton of PGs!)

Preseason Grade: Bambi… watching his mom run through the forest one last time…

Record Prediction: 48-34

Stay tuned for our Cavs Season Preview… and get ready for the ’18-19 season… it’s just around the corner!

GO CAVS!