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It’s one of the big-picture issues for the NBA: The best teams tend to win. We go into the season knowing exactly who the contenders will be come April, May and June. While that seems intuitive and a good thing, it’s not what we like as fans — we want teams to face jeopardy, we love underdogs and upsets. We want chaos.
What teams could provide chaos this season in the NBA? Who are the sleepers, teams that could make the playoffs and even make a little run? Let’s look at a few.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
This team may not be a sleeper anymore, at least the betting market seems to have caught on that the Grizzlies should be very good this season.
Memphis won 50+ games and was the No. 2 seed in the West back-to-back seasons (2021-22 and 2022-23). However, the Grizzlies’ 2023 playoff run fell apart around Ja Morant becoming a distraction and a Steven Adams injury. Last season, no team was hit harder with injuries than Memphis — they lost 561 man-games to injury, more than 150 games ahead of any other team. Morant played just nine games (due to suspension and a shoulder injury), Adams missed the entire season and his backup Brandon Clarke played in just six games, and the list goes on and on (former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. led the team getting in 66 games, he was literally the only player on the roster who could have qualified for postseason awards).
The Grizzlies won just 27 games last season, but that was the anomaly.
This season, Morant and the Grizzlies are back healthy and eager to show they are ready to take a step forward. People seem to have forgotten just how dynamic Morant is on the court.
There are questions — can rookie center Zach Edey fill Adams’ shoes in the paint? — but also veteran leaders like Marcus Smart to provide depth and stability.
If the Grizzlies simply return to their early 2023 form they are, at worst, a top-six team in the West and maybe better than that. Memphis sees that 2023 team as the floor. This is a young, explosive team that defends and them winning a playoff round (and maybe two) is a real possibility.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
For a team that brought back the core of a…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-season-2024-25-preview-214711710.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-10-09 21:47:11
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