5 Teams That Could Dethrone the Golden State Warriors This Season
The last few NBA seasons have been dominated by the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors with their Galactico style of teams, a few marquee players, and top-level management. It was perfectly understandable then, that very few teams actually had the chance to take them head-on in a 7-match series.
Such was the dominance of the Warriors, especially last season that they didn't lose a single game in the playoffs until they faced the Cavs in the NBA Finals, that too they lost in Game 4.
But last season also saw other teams wise up to this new wave spreading through the NBA. Teams began strengthening their roster to have a strong enough bench as well as a solid starting 5.
This season has seen the rest of the pack take this to the next level, and now that the dust has begun to settle, there are a fair few teams rising high who could indeed challenge for the title this year.
Here's our list.
#5 - Minnesota Timberwolves
Teague and Butler are two solid acquisitions
The Wolves haven't had a strong enough side to genuinely push to the postseason and beyond since the days of Kevin Garnett.
This season, however, they have managed to find a delightful balance. With Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson, they have to proven NBA starters who will undoubtedly chip in on both ends of the floor, as they have already done for so many years. Jamal Crawford is one of the best 6th men in the game still, despite being on the latter side of the 30s, and is a stellar signing for this otherwise youthful team
But it is Jimmy Butler who is the real hero in this team. Butler can take this team, and the next generation superstars - Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns to the next level. He is thriving with the additional responsibility and is developing into the leader that everybody built him up to be. Butler always wanted to be the main man at the Bulls, and fans saw this last season. But it is now with the Wolves where Butler really has the opportunity to go on to do something big.
Wiggins and Towns have age on their side, and barring injury could thrive in this team that has found the perfect balance between youth and experience. With proven veterans to learn from, the two big men are guaranteed to improve.
While teething problems might continue to happen through the course of the season, once the playoffs round begin and they have had the time to build some chemistry, this team has a very real chance to go all the way.