The Atlantic Files #196: 2021-22 Central Division Preview

This week on The Atlantic Files:

NBA training camps and media days are finally back! That being said, the Atlantic Files Divisional Preview series continues. This week, we previewed the Central Division which happens to be home to the reigning NBA Champs.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are fresh off of their NBA Finals win and they’re ready to defend their title. After returning most of their roster, it does seem like it’s a true “run it back” type of scenario. It all depends if they can get the same luck in terms of health especially looking at the Brooklyn Nets.

The other exciting and upstart team in this division is the Chicago Bulls. They pulled off quite the off-season and now they’re looking at sneaking into the top four of the Eastern Conference! A big four of Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic is super intriguing and it’s probably going to give many Eastern teams fits over the course of the season.

Then, we have the always borderline Indiana Pacers. While they didn’t bring in much help player-wise, they did bring in a coach with championship experience! Rick Carlisle is tasked with trying to make sure Sabonis and Myles Turner play well together at the same time. They have high hopes, but the team doesn’t look primed for all that much.

Finally, there are the two rebuilding and growing teams. While the Cleveland Cavaliers are a little more on the upswing, they’re going to find plenty of trouble trying to compete in an even deeper Eastern Conference than what has been normal over the last decade. At the same time, the Detroit Pistons are in the thick of their rebuild and at least boast the number one pick from this past draft. Both teams probably have a lot of changes on the horizon but it should be fun to see their talent grown and get better.

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
0:45 – Kyrie Irving missing due to no vaccine
5:25 – Detroit Pistons preview
15:15 – Cleveland Cavaliers preview
27:20 – Chicago Bulls preview
36:00 – Indiana Pacers preview
48:20 – Milwaukee Bucks preview

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Alex Fischbein

Being from the suburbs of Philadelphia, it was hard not to become a Sixers fan during Allen Iverson's prime. Other than just the Sixers, I enjoy watching all forms and levels of basketball, especially the WNBA. Outside of basketball, I've been playing and coaching volleyball for most of my life. Also, after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, I became a Software Developer by day, while writing and hosting podcasts by night.