CENTRAL DIVISION
| Sports Betting | Title odds | O/U wins |
| Bucks | 100-1 | 48.5 |
| Pacers | 125-1 | 47.5 |
| Pistons | 300-1 | 38.5 |
| Bulls | 300-1 | 30.5 |
| Cavaliers | 450-1 | 30.5 |
Milwaukee Bucks
SportsBet Magazine 2018/19 Ranking – 11
Scorecast Win Prediction – 44
The Year That Was: 44-38, lost to Boston in first round.
Worth Noting: The Bucks are hoping a new arena guides them to greener pastures. They did get better for mine in the offseason adding Ersan Ilyasova and Brook Lopez. Full season of Bledsloe and they could finally after 8 consecutive try’s get past the first round in the playoffs.
Key Stat: 8. The number of 1st round exits in a row
Roster In’s & Out’s
STAY: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon, Sterling Brown, Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson, Thon Maker, Khris Middleton, Tony Snell, D.J. Wilson.
IN: Pat Connaughton (POR), Donte DiVincenzo (R), Trevon Duval (R), Ersan Ilyasova (PHI), Brook Lopez(LAL), Jaylen Morris (ATL), Christian Wood.
OUT: Brandon Jennings, Shabazz Muhammad, Xavier Munford, Jabari Parker (CHI), Marshall Plumlee, Jason Terry, Tyler Zeller.
SportsBet Magazine 2018/19 Ranking – 10
Scorecast Win Prediction – 44
The Year That Was: 48-34, took Lebron and Cleveland to seven games in first round.
Worth Noting: Added Tyreke Evans and Doug McDermott after taking the Cavaliers all the way to 7. Victor Oladipo had an outstanding first year in Indiana and on his post season perfromance is a legitimate MVP contender if the Pacer’s can win enough games.
Key Stat: 23.1. Victor Oladipo’s points per game last season, nearly eight points higher than his career average. He excelled being the number 1 man.
Roster In’s & Out’s
STAY: Ike Anigbogu, Bojan Bogdanovic, Darren Collison, Cory Joseph, T.J. Leaf, Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, Thaddeus Young, Ben Moore (NG).
IN: Tyreke Evans (MEM), Aaron Holiday (R), Alize Johnson (R), Doug McDermott (DAL), Kyle O’Quinn (NYK).
OUT: Trevor Booker, Al Jefferson, Alex Poythress (ATL), Glenn Robinson III (DET), Lance Stephenson (LAL), Joseph Young.
Detroit Pistons
SportsBet Magazine 2018/19 Ranking – 18
Scorecast Win Prediction – 38
The Year That Was 39–43.
Worth Noting: Coach of the year Dwane Casey from Toronto was the biggest addition in the off season. Blake Griffin turns 30 in March. If he, and others, can stay healthy, the Pistons could challenge for a postseason spot. Griffin hasn’t played more than 70 games in five years and does just enough to get you excited and let you down. If Reggie Jackson and Blake Griffin stay fit the entire season they are good enough to make the playoffs.
Key Stat: 67. Number of games missed by point guard Reggie Jackson over the last two seasons.
Roster In’s & Out’s
STAY: Reggie Bullock, Andre Drummond, Henry Ellenson, Langston Galloway, Blake Griffin, Reggie Jackson, Stanley Johnson, Luke Kennard, Jon Leuer, Ish Smith.
IN: Bruce Brown (R), José Manuel Calderón (CLE), Keenan Evans (R), Zach Lofton (R), Zaza Pachulia (GSW), Glenn Robinson III (IND), Khyri Thomas (R).
OUT: Dwight Buycks, James Ennis (HOU), Kay Felder, Reggie Hearn, Eric Moreland, Jameer Nelson, Anthony Tolliver (MIN).
Cleveland Cavaliers
SportsBet Magazine 2018/19 Ranking – 22
Scorecast Win Prediction – 31
The Year That Was: 50-32, won division, swept by Golden State in Finals.
Worth Noting: Lebron James has fled to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers replaced him with Channing Frye. I said it. If you dive deep into the Stats of how the Cavaliers have done with Lebron off the court in the past 4 seasons you could argue this group could finsih 30th. Kevin Love puts up some fake stats and this team doesnt make the playoffs and the ride is over.
Key Stat: 19. Number of wins the Cavs had in 2010-11, the year after LeBron left them for Miami.
Roster In’s & Out’s
STAY: Jordan Clarkson, George Hill, Rodney Hood, Kyle Korver, Kevin Love, Larry Nance, Jr., Cedi Osman, J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson, Ante Zizic.
IN: Sam Dekker (LAC), Channing Frye (LAL), David Nwaba (CHI), Billy Preston (R), Collin Sexton (R).
OUT: José Manuel Calderón (DET), Jeff Green (WAS), LeBron James (LAL), Kendrick Perkins, London Perrantes, Okaro White.
Chicago Bulls
SportsBet Magazine 2018/19 Ranking – 26
Scorecast Win Prediction – 30
The Year That Was: 27-55.
Worth Noting: Markkanen, who was first-team all-rookie, could be out until mid-November and he was the great white hope of the Bulls last season. They add a little depth with Wendall Carter Jnr and Jabari Parker but the Bulls are without a geniune number 1 star and crowd pleaser. Long cold season in Chicago.
Key Stat: 13. Points that guard Kris Dunn was averaging before missing the final 14 games with a toe injury last season. That number needs to hit 20 in year 3.
Roster In’s & Out’s
STAY: Omer Asik, Antonio Blakeney, Kris Dunn, Cristiano Felicio, Justin Holiday, Zach LaVine, Robin Lopez, Lauri Markkanen, Cameron Payne, Bobby Portis, Denzel Valentine, Ryan Arcidiacono (NG).
IN: Rawle Alkins (R), Wendell Carter Jr. (R), Chandler Hutchison (R), Jabari Parker (MIL), Tyler Ulis (PHX).
OUT: Jerian Grant (ORL), Sean Kilpatrick, David Nwaba (CLE), Noah Vonleh (NYK), Paul Zipser.
