Central Division

Sporting News, The, Oct 9, 2000

ATLANTA HAWKS: Much of the team's success will depend on PG Jason Terry. The club traded away veteran PG Mookie Blaylock before last season to get Terry, and this is the year the team needs to see marked improvement at that position. Terry goes into the season expecting 35 to 38 minutes a game. What he does with that time is anyone's guess. Blazing quick with a steady 3-point shot, Terry is vulnerable to injury and fatigue because of his size (6-1, 180 pounds). Logging hefty minutes and the responsibility of being the floor general could be burdensome. --Curtis Bunn

CHARLOTTE HORNETS: The Hornets had significant chemistry problems with the front line of C Elden Campbell, PF Derrick Coleman and SF Anthony Mason last season until coach Paul Silas moved Mason into the role of point forward and called on him to run the offense. Now, Silas is committed to using Campbell, Coleman and 6-11 P.J. Brown together on his starting front line this season, but Silas says Brown is more capable of doing the little things that help teams win. Silas also will have enough versatility to downsize the team, going with Jamal Mashburn or Eddie Robinson at small forward and Hersey Hawkins or David Wesley at shooting guard. --John DeLong

CHICAGO BULLS: Rookie SF Marcus Fizer has been the ideal company loyalist all offseason, willingly playing in the summer league and the Bulls' rookie camp and working out daily without a contract. All the more reason why G.M. Jerry Krause gave Fizer $750,000 in up-front money when Fizer wasn't supposed to receive his first paycheck until November 15. Fizer says he reported to summer league at 270 pounds, has lost 12 pounds and wants to get down to 250. --Lacy J. Banks

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: Two positions are wide open entering camp--shooting guard and power forward. Three players--Wesley Person, Trajan Langdon and Matt Harpring--are gunning for the shooting guard spot Person is the incumbent. Insiders think Robert Traylor could be the starter at power forward if he shows up at camp in good shape. The team has five power forwards, including Traylor, Chris Gatling, Clarence Weatherspoon, J.R. Reid and Mark Bryant. --Bob Finnan

DETROIT PISTONS: Yes, the Pistons are going to be small. Real small. Their choices at center are Eric Montross, a 7-footer with limited mobility, Mikki Moore, a 7-footer with limited bulk, and Ben Wallace, a 6-9 power forward. The Pistons play in the Eastern Conference, where there are only three legitimate big-time centers--Miami's Alonzo Mourning, Charlotte's Elden Campbell and Atlanta's Dikembe Mutombo--and one pretty good undersized one, Toronto's Antonio Davis. The 10 other teams in the Eastern Conference are not much better off than the Pistons. --Chris McCosky

INDIANA PACERS: PF Jeff Foster has been somewhat ignored by fans and media amid the glut of promising young players on the team, but he figures into the team's future. Foster played just 86 minutes as a rookie, and was left off the playoff roster But he has a knack for grabbing rebounds, runs the floor well and defends adequately. He won't become much of a scoring threat unless he improves his shooting form, but he could become an outstanding role player. --Mark Montieth

MILWAUKEE BUCKS: As coach George Karl opened his third training camp in Milwaukee, a big question was team unity. The Bucks scored a ton of points last season, but gave up almost as many. The open man stayed open; defensive help didn't exist. Karl moved out players who didn't fit--Dale Ellis, Tyrone Hill, and Terrall Brandon, etc. The challenge will be finding enough minutes to please a deep bench. If the team gets off to a great start, winning will pacify everyone. If it slips like last season, look out below. --Joe Totoraitis

TORONTO RAPTORS: Coach Lenny Wilkens isn't coming into his first camp in Toronto with preconceived notions of who plays where, or how much. Wilkens has expressed an interest in moving Antonio Davis, who played center last season, to his regular spot at power forward. A move of Davis to power forward seems to suggest Wilkens is thinking about a bench role for veteran Charles Oakley, who has started at power forward the past two seasons. --Craig Daniels