The march to the start of the NBA season and, more importantly, the free NBA picks, has begun. After taking a look at the Atlantic Division, it’s time to slide in and ask some of the biggest questions the Central Division has to offer this season.

1. What will year one of the AL (after LeBron) look like in Cleveland? In a word…bad. If there is a city in the United States accused of dealing with bad sports situations, it is definitely Cleveland. But somehow this was worse. For Clevelanders, watching “The Decision” was like your wife announcing at Thanksgiving dinner that she was running away with your cousin. To top it off, general manager Danny Ferry quit, head coach Mike Brown was fired, and Delonte West returned to Boston and this team suddenly looks a lot like the Washington Wizards of the early 2000s. And we all know how well they it worked.

2. Are the Bucks real? Yes sir they are. Your biggest problem will be trying to stay healthy all year long. Michael Redd has played in a total of 51 games in the last two seasons. Andrew Bogut’s 2009 season ended early after a serious elbow injury. If those two can stay on the floor to take some pressure off Brandon Jennings and John Salmons, with Cleveland declining, it’s not out of the question that Milwaukee will be a popular NBA pick to win 55 games this year.

3. Which new addition to Chicago will have the biggest impact? The easy answer is Carlos Boozer. After all, in a summer in which Dwayne Wade snubbed his hometown team and then brought two other top-tier free agents to Miami, Boozer was Chicago’s free-agent prize of the season. But the best answer might be new head coach Tom Thibodeau. How he manages his frontcourt rotation with Boozer, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and James Johnson will determine whether Chicago can make another playoff run.

4. What can the Pacers promise me this season? Um… That Danny Granger still has talent? The team has started a promotion called “Protect the Promise” with the goal of sparking fan interest by getting fans to commit to watching more away games on TV or scheduling company outings to home games. . Sure, the Colts are the dominant team in Indianapolis right now, but it’s still a crazy state for basketball in general. If you have to make your fans pinky swear that they’re going to buy tickets from time to time, that’s a problem.

5. Does Joe Dumars have a time machine in Detroit? If he doesn’t, he should contact Doc Brown by phone as soon as possible. With Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Tracy McGrady and Ben Gordon on the roster, this team is scary… as long as it was in 2007. How is this group doing in 2010? That’s what everyone in the Motor City is curious to know. With the stench of Darko Milicic still on him, Joe Dumars has compounded the problem in recent years with some more questionable personnel moves (Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups, anyone?) and could find himself on the bench if the Pistons finish down. 500 for the third consecutive season.