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| Bulls vs Bucks |
By Tyler Kenly
The AllStar Break is coming up in the NBA and as we creep closer to the halfway point, it’s time to take a look at the standings. As many of you may have noticed, we don’t call ourselves the Point Magazine. We are the Extra Point Magazine, where we go the extra mile in our analysis. So, instead of just posting the standings, I’m going to give you a team-by-team breakdown and take a look at each team’s roster, their performance so far, and what to expect from them in the second half of the season. Without further ado, your Central Division breakdown:
5. Detroit Pistons
DEEE-TROIT BASKETBALLLLLLL…sucks. The sole bright spots on this brutal squad have been the young guns. Second year center, Greg Monroe leads the team in points and rebounds (16 and 10) and also displays great passing skills for a big man, averaging almost 3 assists a game. Also, rookie Brandon Knight out of Kentucky, has immediately stepped in early and shown he can hold down the point guard position but still has a long way to go in his young career. Sitting near dead last in most major statistical categories, expect this team to be praying for the ping pong balls to bounce their way come lottery time.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
Last year’s number one draft pick, Kyrie Irving is lighting it up, making his case for Rookie of the Year as he averages 18 points and 5 assists for the 10-16 Cavs. He’s become the face of the franchise and stepped up as the leader of this team.That might not sound like anything special these days, but the kid is only 19 years old. Pretty impressive. Sitting on the fringe of the playoffs in the awful, awful Eastern Conference, Cleveland still has a chance at getting swept by the Bulls or Heat in the first round.
3. Milwaukee Bucks
Mille-wahk-eh has shown glimpses of greatness this season, beating the Heat twice already, but that’s about it. The Bucks are third in the division with a 12-16 record, the Bucks are far from contenders just yet. Leading the squad is Brandon Jennings, for now at least, who boasts averages of 18 points and 5 assists a game. Holding on to the 8th spot in the (L)East as of now, the Bucks are gonna have to battle the rest of the way for a week or two extension of their season until they're sent home.
2. Indiana Pacers
At the top of the East, you’ve got the Heat, Bulls, Sixers, Pacers, then 50 feet of shit, and then the rest. The 17-10 record might not be all that impressive, but take into account that only ten of those games have been at home. Darren Collison, Roy Hibbert, Paul George, Scrappy Hansborough (I’ve made the one word every basketball person says whenever Psycho T is brought up a part of his first name. It just seems right.), and big offseason acquisition David West have been big for Larry Bird’s young, promising squad. Their most impressive win might turn out to be the one thing that comes back to haunt them. The reactions to their edging out of the Bulls on January 25th quickly became bulletin board material for Derrick Rose. If they meet in the playoffs, that’s going to be one tough battle.
1. Chicago Bulls
That leaves us with the Bulls, the team with the best record in the NBA (23-7), running away with the Central Division. What’s amazing about their start so far (besides Carlos Boozer's hairline) has been the ability to overcome injuries in their best players. So far, there have been injuries lasting weeks to Derrick Rose (back), Rip Hamilton (groin/thigh), and first time All Star, Luol Deng (wrist). The question on everybody’s mind is: will this team be able to last until late June? Hardnosed coach, Tom Thibodeau has relied on heavy minutes for his stars in this first half, neglecting the fact that the Bulls are easily the deepest team in the league. Thibodeau and the rest of Chicago are hoping they can get healthy and exact their revenge on that team from South Beach come playoff time.
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