NBA: 5 dark horse teams that could surprise you next season
Every off season, the story remains pretty much the same – a lot of trades, signings and surprises. There has been a lot of shuffling of players this off season, rather more surprising than usual. Some teams strengthened their squad, some rebuilt theirs while others are hoping they don’t perform worse than before. I have listed 5 teams which, in my opinion, will surprise the fans next season, for the better. They are listed in no particular order.
The timberwolves will be hoping that their team doesn’t get ravaged by injuries for the second season in a row. Last season, Kevin Love played just 18 games and when he did play, he couldn’t play up to his full potential. Throughout the season, Nikola Pekovic, Andrei Kirilenko, Brandon Roy, Ricky Rubio all got injured and had to miss extended periods of time. Due to these injuries, Minnesota managed to post just 31 wins last season.
They have a formidable team on paper. Ricky Rubio, a potential rising star, is at point. Kevin Love, All Star, is at Power Forward. The Wolves have signed Kevin Martin which means that they wouldn’t be affected by Brandon Roy’s weak knees anymore. Pekovic, Love and Ronny Turiaf form a solid frontline while Rubio, Martin, Jose Barea, Brewer and Chase Budinger can rotate the guard positions between themselves well. I would be very surprised if they do not end up in the top 5 of the Western Conference.