With Derrick Rose out for much for this season rehabbing his surgically repaired left knee, many believe the Indiana Pacers are the best team in the Central, but Pacers coach Frank Vogel isn't celebrating just yet.
"My message to our guys when we started today was, yes, we want to win our division, we understand Milwaukee's going to be tough, and Kyrie Irving and the Cavs are going to be tough, Detroit's always going to be tough, but we are not sleeping on the Chicago Bulls," Vogel said. "They went 18-6 without Derrick Rose in the lineup, so to think all of a sudden they're this team that's a non-factor is crazy.
"They've got one of the best coaches in the league and one of the best systems. We're not sleeping on them in any way, shape or form."
Bulls GM Gar Forman refused on Thursday to set a goal for a Rose-less Bulls team. Rose isn't expected to be back until the second half of the season.
"From our standpoint in the front office, I never like to put a ceiling on what any team can become," Forman said on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "Every year is a new year. Whatever our potential is, I'd like to see us reach that potential.
"The core of this team returns that had a lot of success, and so I do think that's a real plus for us, but we have some new guys on the bench and it's going to take time for those guys to build chemistry and to gel. Overall we like our team and I think we have a chance to be a good basketball team."