Indiana Pacers
Indiana was super impressive last year. They’ve committed to a way of playing that’s elite offensively, and they have the shooting and a motor in Tyrese Haliburton to do it. I felt like Pascal Siakam in the playoffs definitely found a good little role, but then it’s always where does his post-ups, and maybe need for a few little actions and stuff, where does that come in with the fact that they play so random and spaced? But overall, I thought he found a good little niche that really helped them in attacking in their space, mixing in some early post-ups.
Now, if you could find a way to stop them from scoring, their defense really needs to come way up. They don’t do a good job defending, but they do have some good pieces and Andrew Nembhard is proven on-ball to be super elite. They do have some rim protection with Myles Turner, but they are vulnerable there.
Haliburton plays with great pace. He can space the floor with the three and create his own shot. He’s got good size. He’s a solid passer. And because of his size, too, even though he’s a complete defensive liability, he’s still 6' 5" or whatever versus, say, Jalen Brunson out there.
Turner has always been solid and he can always stretch the floor with that three, which is huge. Basically, in the NBA where everybody switches everything and they especially now switch to range-shooting five, he used to take a lot of offense to it and want to post, and it just seemed like they finally all bought into, We’re playing five out. Here’s how we play within it. We shoot a ton of threes and we create easy layups because everybody knows we shoot a ton of threes. Versus say a guy like that in the past might need some post-ups. He bought into the style and that style was pretty effective for them as a whole.
Aaron Nesmith is solid. I think he’s a legit three-and-D defender. There were huge question marks with his knees and his health early on and I think even coming from the Celtics, but he’s proven that he’s in pretty good shape. He’s not an elite shutdown defender but can do enough.
Bennedict Mathurin is a big one, a pretty good weapon off the bench. We’ll see if he has the work ethic to make a jump this year. T.J. McConnell has hacked a little bit of the non-shooter code, which is impossible to stay in front of, just a relentless attack on the rim transition, cutting, and then just killing you with a paint pull-up that you allow him to get to. And he’s just a pest on defense. It used to be that if he was a not-shooter that you just had to live with some of that stuff you do. Now that stuff will kill you, especially with the team growing.
Cleveland Cavaliers
There’s a lot of overlap with that Donovan Mitchell/Darius Garland backcourt. A lot of overlap. Neither of them are true point guards and you lose a lot of size defensively. The team defense has been good because they counter with those two bigs. But they’re ball-dominant guys and Mitchell, he was brought there to be the guy, and Garland’s dynamic and can get it going. But there’s something off there. His name comes up a lot in trade rumors. There’s a reason for that.
They’re ball dominant with a team that starts essentially two fives. So it’s not just them, it’s also the way the rest of the team is designed. At times, they’re playing Isaac Okoro, he’s a non-shooter and Garland for as dynamic as he is, he’s tiny, so you can put some size on him.
Mitchell is a volume-scoring wing. And to me, volume scorers never do good with dynamic scoring point guards. Okoro’s defense is good, but I think Mitchell would benefit from any type of spacing you put out there. So a three-and-D player. And Okoro’s not really the three side of it, even though he had decent shooting numbers last season.
I don’t love the Evan Mobley/Jarrett Allen pairing. Mostly because Mobley didn’t make threes last year. Defensively it’s good, crashing it’s good, but the NBA’s about scoring now. Scoring, spacing and shooting basically, and they all go hand in hand. You’re in these track meets with these teams that are trying to outscore you. If you’ve got a guy that’s shooting twos, death by post-up doesn’t win you many games.
I love Max Strus. He’s a three-and-D guy. Not a lockdown defender at all, but he gives good effort. He knows how to play. He has a great rhythm to his game. Dean Wade made a jump, in my opinion. He’s a role-playing four man that can space the floor and not be a complete liability on defense. An action creator. They need my man Georges Niang to make shots. He lost a lot of weight so he could potentially help them with his spacing if he can stay in shape. Caris LeVert is a guy that needs the ball in his hands. He doesn’t do great off the ball. He’s a nice little scoring piece, especially when he comes off the bench. But out there with Mitchell, there’s going to be a lot of overlap.
Milwaukee Bucks
They got Damian Lillard late and you could tell everything felt rushed. Then they fired Adrian Griffin and the whole thing was a mess. I think Dame healthy is still pretty elite. Now he has not shot it amazing from three consistently over the years.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is still a beast. But there’s a level to him where he’s becoming a five out there on the perimeter, because Brook Lopez can shoot and stuff, but he’s still a little more of a five. He’s got to return to championship form. He’s got to return to some of his older form and be more dominant, and I don’t know how you measure that. Health is huge with the Bucks.
Khris Middleton can still create his own shot against some smaller guys. I think he’s a little more of a three-and-D spot-up type of guy at this point. His health is always a huge question. He’s definitely dropped down a bit, and some of that’s obviously the injuries, so we just don’t know where he is at.
I think Taurean Prince helps them. He can space the floor, and he knows how to play off of stars and stuff, and that’ll be big. Defensively, he’s not a lockdown guy, but he’s pretty solid.
Lopez has just been Mr. Consistent with what he is. He adds a uniqueness to their offense, and he’s a huge need for them because he spaces the floor with Antetokounmpo on the court. Defensively, he’s still a great rim protector, so it’s so unique. Because Bobby Portis is really good, but defensively when Portis comes in the game, you don’t have any rim protection.
Detroit Pistons
Where do I start with Detroit? Lack of shooting, lack of experience, inconsistent health. And then they’re based around young talent. Cade Cunningham is closer to a combo guard than a true point guard, but he’s not super quick or super athletic to be that kind of NBA off guard, especially on the defense end. He’s got to be a 20-plus-point scorer that can get you five to eight assists a night without turning it over. He’s extremely turnover prone. And then he can’t be just a defensive sieve, which I think if he wanted to be he could.
But the biggest thing, the No. 1 thing about Cunningham is can he stay healthy? Because last year, inconsistently out; the year before misses 80% of the time with the shin. His rookie year, I know he had issues. So can he stay healthy? But upside, his highest potential is trying to knock on the All-Star door, but I don’t think he’s there.
Jalen Duren, high potential, he has a lot of work to do. Ausar Thompson is a good thing if he can figure out a jump shot. He is an elite defender. Jaden Ivey is more rogue than anything. He’s a great kid, he’s a good player, but he’s not a great shooter. He doesn’t have a great feel with his attacks and all that stuff.
I’d say they’ve addressed some shooting. They’ve got a good locker room leader in Tobias Harris. They re-signed Simone Fontecchio, that’s a coup. They’ll be much more competitive than last year, but it’s still going to take a lot for them to take a jump.
I don’t love the Harris fit more because of just who he is. He needs stuff run for him. He needs to be in some ways, not an ego guy, but he’s not great playing off the ball. So it’ll be good because they’ll have a reason to run stuff for him because they don’t have a ton of scoring or playmaking. So it won’t be bad, it won’t be great.
Jalen Duren is talented. Not the hardest worker I’ve ever seen. Still has a high ceiling, super young, huge physical talent. Defensively he’s not great in the drops and the analytics totally back it up. His rim protection’s got to come way up. Offensively, he’s kind of stuck in between. Is he a roller, a floor spacer, screener? Or is he that in between where he can do a little of this, little of that. Right now he does a little bit of everything not very well.
Ivey is an athletic beast on the court with all the intangibles. He wants to do well, he’s a gym rat. If you can develop a shot, it’s going to open up a lot for him. And defensively he has the speed and athleticism to be solid there, he just needs to be consistent. But just feel for the game needs to come up and his ability to make plays, read the defense and go from there. It’s a jump he has to make.
Chicago Bulls
Josh Giddey still has a big upside. He’s a great passer, he’s physical, aggressive on defense. The shot just hasn’t improved very much. I think he’ll benefit from being a primary ballhandler. Basically, if he could have hit a spot-up three, he maybe could have stayed in OKC forever just because he is that talented and whatnot. He doesn’t need the ball in his hands, but it’s how he’s at his best. It’ll be an upgrade for his opportunity in Chicago because simply the ball will be there more.
Coby White has always had the potential to be an elite, quick combo guard that’s a little more of a scorer than a point. It seemed like it was clicking last year. He was shooting it well. He’s really hard to stay in front of, like he’s lightning quick. He can be out there as another ballhandler. He likes the ball in his hands, but doesn’t need the ball and does a good job of being just another guy you’ve got to guard.
I don’t know how Zach LaVine fits with this group. LaVine is a volume scorer that doesn’t move the win column. You want to limit his threes and force him inside the three-point line, and that’s one-on-one, no pull-up threes, pick-and-roll, getting him over, mixing in some double teams to get the ball out of his hands every now and then. If he’s fighting to get his points, that means it’s usually coming at a high shot volume and the other guys aren’t doing that much. You’re winning a lot of those games.
Nikola Vucevic is still a decent big. He can space the floor offensively, not bad skilled, just not a rim protector. Doesn’t put a ton of pressure on the rim offensively with the ball and that type of stuff. So solid, but don’t love him if he’s your starting five and your team around him is not that great.
Patrick Williams is a big physical wing that’s intriguing. Ayo Dosunmu is pretty good. Those two may need more scoring around them in order to fit into this. Those guys are three-and-D guys that are more glue guys than anything, and they’re not really gluing anything in Chicago together.
How They’ll Finish
SI predicts how each division will play out in the 2024–25 season.
Milwaukee Bucks
A roster overhaul, a midseason coaching switch to Doc Rivers and playoff injuries spelled doom in 2023–24. Better health and continuity will show what Giannis and Dame are capable of together.
Cleveland Cavaliers
New coach Kenny Atkinson is charged with reviving an offense that finished 18th in efficiency last season. A key to that is Evan Mobley, who shot 37.3% from three but averaged only 1.2 attempts.
Indiana Pacers
A run-and-gun offense that was second in efficiency propelled the Pacers to the conference finals last season. Improving a defense that ranked 24th could help them take that tough next step.
Detroit Pistons
J.B. Bickerstaff will be the Pistons’ third coach in three years. He and a revamped front office led by Trajan Langdon must somehow unlock the potential of the young talent Detroit has been collecting.
Chicago Bulls
Will Lonzo Ball finally get back on the court after missing two-plus seasons with a knee injury? The return of a healthy and effective Ball would be a refreshing dose of good news for this franchise.
—Chris Mannix
This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2024–25 NBA Scouting Report: Central Division.
