Kevin Love, photo courtesy of usatoday.com
LOS ANGELES, CA — Every year in the NBA, there are always a few surprise teams that come out of nowhere and surprise everyone. For the casual NBA fan, they never realize it until you see them in the first round of the playoffs. This offseason has been crazy to say the least; it’s like the ticking time bomb in Speed that blows up if you slow down. The big moves this offseason have been the Lob City Clippers signing Chris Paul and the New York Knicks signing Tyson Chandler. Everyone else seems to be on Dwight watch (Otis Smith, I would not want to be you right now). With that said, there have been a few teams that have slowly started putting those edge pieces of the puzzle together and now they can actually kind of see the puzzle looking like what the cover does.
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers were that team last year where you were left saying, “How the hell did the Pacers make it? The East must be really bad…” The fact was, the East was pretty bad, but the Pacers were not. They gave the No. 1 seed Chicago Bulls all they could handle in that first round, and really exposed the Bulls and their glaring weakness of offense outside of D-Rose. They were just held back Coach Jim O’Brien who was there for the first 44 games and finished his tenure with 17-27 record. I’m still wondering how that guy was there since 2007 (common Larry Legend, you knew he had to go a long time back). After that, interim coach Frank Vogel took over and the Pacers just started to click. A major reason for the success was because Vogel realized how talented Tyler Hansbrough was. O’Brien never figured out that Psycho T would out work every single player on the floor, a skill that is just not that easy to find nowadays in the NBA. Every good team has to have that guy who really doesn’t give a f*** about anything that will chase after every ball and stand up for every teammate in scuffles, and Psycho T was that guy for the Pacers. Hansbrough made Carlos Boozer look softer than Shawn Bradley in that first round. The Pacers this offseason made a great move by signing David West and stealing him from the Celtics (a move that could really hurt the Celtics if they match up with the Pacers in the playoffs). This lineup is a young one that can really out work you, especially in a short condensed season. Darren Collison is a promising young guard with lightening speed. They have their star in Danny Granger and plenty of complimentary swingmen in Paul George, George Hill, and Dahntay Jones. Down low they have Roy Hibbert, David West, and Psycho T. Roy Hibbert is one of the most underrated big men in the league. If it wasn’t for Blake “I’ll dunk anything you throw in a 10 foot radius around the rim” Griffin, I think Hibbert could have made a real case for Rookie of the Year. The big fella put up 13 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks per night last year! I can only imagine those numbers will boost some more under a full season with Vogel as coach, especially the rebounds (I love this guy for fantasy basketball). I will take that front court over any front court in the East. I like the Pacers to contend for the 5th spot in the East.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies for years have been that team that you always looked over on the schedule, but slowly Jerry West and crew built up that roster to what it is today. The most lob-sided trade of this generation – Pau Gasol and Shannon Brown for Kwame Brown, Aaron McKie, Javaris Crittenton, and the rights to Marc Gasol – ended up working out really well for the Grizz. The trade obviously landed them Marc Gasol, a key to their playoff success last year, and it also cleared up the cap space for them to go out and sign Zach Randolph. They cleaned house for a reason, and they were able to put together the pieces to build a young and exciting team in Memphis. This team is has the right attitude and hunger (if you go to the Memphis Grizzlies homepage you will be greeted by Zach Randolph in a pose that is ready to pounce on you and eat you alive with the phrase ‘Time to Grind’ in the background. I absolutely love it). What this team did last year to the Spurs and almost to the Thunder was no fluke, and I don’t expect any sophomore year slump from them. The roster is so young and talented. Mike Conley is an underrated guard running the show out there and he is determined to give a big “EFF YOU!” to everyone who thought he was overpaid (this one guy named Kobe Bryant had something to say about the contract). OJ Mayo has had his struggles, but I think can really break out (yes I still believe the hype). Rudy Gay is an all-out stud, and to think they did what they did last year in the playoffs without him is astonishing. THEY DIDN’T HAVE THEIR BEST PLAYER IN THE PLAYOFFS AND NEARLY MADE IT TO THE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS. The Grizz did themselves a huge favor and resigned the big Gasol to team up with Zach Randolph to be the most dangerous F-C combo in the Western Conference (until Andrew Bynum doesn’t play a full season without getting hurt, I can’t give this to the Lakers as much as it kills me not to). I also love Tony Allen and Sam Young off the bench. Sam Young could be a poor man’s James Harden for this team; he can come off the bench and hit the long ball in bunches. I’m going to put the Grizzlies in the 4th spot in the West, with a first round match up with the Lob City Clippers (yes, I am going to call them the Lob City Clippers for the rest of the season, maybe longer…)
Minnesota Timberwolves
Yes, the Timberwolves finished 17-65 last year, which put them as the worst team in the NBA. Yes, they have the worst General Manager in the NBA (link). Yes, they are in one of the smallest markets in the NBA. With that said, I think the Timberwolves are ready to make a real splash this season, granted the fact that Kahn doesn’t Kevin Love for 3 draft picks (all being guards of course). The only way the Wolves can go is up from here. Kevin Love obviously had a breakout year last year, winning comeback player of the year with his ridiculous 15 rebound average per game (the guy was an absolute fantasy gold mine last year, never lost in rebounds the entire season). They are bringing in just the right coach for this team in Rick Adelman. As a Lakers fan, I love Kurt Rambis, but that situation was not good for him as a first year coach. Adelman is a much more seasoned guy and he has done positive things for every team he has coached. The guy simply gets it, he has that “it” factor, and if we are talking simple Xs and Os, I think he is one of the best coaches in the NBA. Adelman will be the perfect coach for Michael Beasly; a guy who has a ton of talent but just doesn’t have all the screws fitted tight in the dome. Rookie coaches Spoelstra and Rambis had no idea how to handle the guy, but Adelman has dealt with head cases like this before (Ron Artest era in Houston), and I think he’ll be able to guide him down the right path. They also have to very promising rookies in Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams (my pick for ROY). Rubio has been well documented as a poor shooter, but I think he has the skill set to be successful in a league full of speedy guards (a lot of which aren’t great shooters i.e. Rondo, Rose, Collison). The also brought in (and overpaid might I add) JJ Barea to be backcourt mates with Rubio. Adelman is also a big fan of big men who can shoot the ball from range (Vlade Divac, Brad Miller who happens to be on the Wolves, and Yao Ming), and will also have that in Darko Milicic. I really see the Wolves competing this year and predict a finish no lower than 10th in the Western Conference, which is a big upgrade from dead last.
Related posts:
- NBA Super Teams As any big sports fan, I love to watch great...
- The NBA’s Up and Coming Teams My last article was on the teams that may be...
- NBA Preview: Central Division Our NBA Preview continues with Day 5 as Avi and...
- NBA Surprise Teams The NBA season has just barely started and while so...
