It has been the year of the underdogs in the 2014 NBA Playoffs. Although most of the teams still standing alive in the postseason are the ones which entered the playoffs as the favorites, the underdogs made their presence felt and they did in a fancy manner. Let’s examine those teams and talk about their potential for the next season.
Atlanta Hawks
If you didn’t know who Mike Scott is up to the first round of the postseason, now you know. I bet you didn’t know several other players from the Atlanta Hawks or at least you weren’t aware how capable they are. The Hawks managed to drag their first round series against the Indiana Pacers to seven games and they achieved that playing without their starting center, Al Horford. The Hawks proved that they have what it takes to protagonist in the East and they are expected to do just that next season, when Horford will be active, too.
Toronto Raptors
Raptors fans were so happy to eventually see their team participating in the postseason, that every time the Raptors played a home game during the playoffs, the Air Canada Center was sold out and there were around 10,000 fans outside of it, too, watching the game. And all those fans have a good reason to feel optimistic about their team. Toronto has a core of young, emerging players, with Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas forming the big three of the team. Certainly, the team still needs much more work but the foundation is there. Look for the Raptors to continue to emerge next season.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies were considered as underdogs mainly due to two reasons. First of all they played against the Oklahoma City Thunder and secondly they entered the postseason as the seventh – seeded team. Nonetheless, as they proved last year, when they reached the Conference Finals, they are certainly a very powerful team. The Grizzlies will most probably continue to be very strong next season and if they manage to add a few more quality and depth, they could even contend for the championship.
Golden State Warriors
The Dubs entered the 2013 – 2014 campaign as one of the strongest teams in the Western Conference. However, they didn’t start the season well and they did experience tons of ups and downs throughout its course. As a result, they dropped to the sixth seed and they entered the postseason as an underdog. Nonetheless, the Golden State Warriors are and will continue to be a title contender, or an underdog title contender next season. As long as the Splash Brothers continue to play as well as they did this past season and if the Dubs can finally fight off their health issues, they will have a unique chance to make it to the top next season. The Warriors made their presence felt during the 2014 Playoffs and they will enter the next season with good chances to win the title.
Thank you for reading. Ron Leyba is the lead editor of Fantasy Basketball Money Leagues, and a LastWordOnSports NBA Analyst. For more of his articles, follow his updates at Google+ or follow him on Twitter – @ronniedare. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and “liking” our Facebook page.
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