Report by Tom Lewis
Tom Lewis takes a weekly look at the NBA teams in the Central Division - Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks - and breaks down what happened the week before and what to expect in the week ahead, as well as injuries and trades.
Recap Rewind: The Chicago Bulls finished their frustrating season at 33-49 after winning three of their final five games. The highlight of the end of the year was a 151-135 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, which included an 81-point first half. No playoffs and a fourth place finish in the Central Division are far below preseason expectations, some of which had the Bulls competing for a championship.
Notable News: The Bulls fired Scott Skiles two months into the season and later unloaded Adrian Griffin, Joe Smith, Ben Wallace and a second-round pick to bring in former Cleveland Cavalier players, Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown. All the upheaval couldn’t change the Bulls’ fortunes. and now that the season is over, interim coach, Jim Boylan, has been fired. After the trade, Joakim Noah received more minutes and showed plenty of promise as a quality piece for a good team going forward.
Fast Forward: The Bulls face a critical offseason needing to pick the right coach and deal with Ben Gordon and Luol Deng who are both restricted free agents. Rick Carlisle and Jeff Van Gundy appear to be candidates to take over as coach. Kirk Hinrich will not be involved with Team USA this summer like he was last year which should help ensure he’ll be fresh and ready to go for the 2008-09 season.
CENTRAL DIVISION REPORTS
Chicago Bulls/Cleveland Cavaliers/Detroit Pistons/Indiana Pacers/Milwaukee Bucks