Everyone will be talking about how improved the Timberwolves and Lakers are, but these teams are quietly making their own strides towards success. Cred. Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
The happiest time of the year has finally arrived. The NBA season is back in full swing and fans are ready to cheer on their favorite teams and argue about which team of their teams is better. Most of the discussion has been surrounding Kevin Durant shaking up the Western Conference and how he will adjust to playing for the Warriors, or the newly revamped New York Knicks who will have to adjust to new faces and a new head coach. Fans have also been talking about the young teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers who have invested in their young players and are looking for it to pay off, with a new system and a new head coach. Although the Lakers and Wolves are making all the headlines, there are some other teams that are quietly improving as well. This season, these teams are looking to make the next step towards a better future:
Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves rising star Karl-Anthony Towns. Cred David Zalubowski/AP
The Minnesota Timberwolves are arguably the most improved team in this list, and they haven’t made any drastic changes to their roster. That is thanks to the Karl-Anthony Towns, who is slowly becoming one of the premier big-men in the league, in only his second season. KAT averaged 18 points and 7 rebounds on his way to the rookie of the year, and with Head Coach Tom Thibodeau signed on to coach the Timberwolves, they’re expecting to push the envelope this year.
The Wolves have a young core that sounds Karl-Anthony, and with them growing as a unit, the Wolves could become a scary team in the Western Conference sooner than later. A core of LaVine, Wiggins and Gorgui Deng, will be looking to enforce Tom Thibodeau’s defensive style this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to make a run for the playoffs but this team still has a long way to go before they can become contenders in the West and it all start’s with the Karl-Anthony Towns.
Los Angeles Lakers
D’Angelo Russell will be a pivotal part of the Los Angeles Lakers future. Cred. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers will always be a topic of discussion for NBA fans around the world. Whether you hate them or love them, this team is going to be good in a couple of years. Despite not having the type of offseason Lakers fans wanted by not signing a big name free agent, the Lakers went on to sign Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov which is a good consolation prize for a team just trying claw it’s way out of the bottom of the Western Conference.
Arguably their biggest move of the summer was drafting Brandon Ingram with the 2nd overall pick, and although he has a long way to go before making his own name in Los Angeles, he has a huge upside. With the Kobe Bryant-era over in Los Angeles, its time for a new age of young and exciting players and Ingram fits the role. Along with Ingram, the Lakers have their young core of D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle, which have shown their own flashes of brilliance throughout last season and this pre-season. With a new Head Coach in Luke Walton and a bright future ahead of them, the Lakers will be one of the most exciting young teams to watch this year.
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets have the ability to become the Boston Celtics of the Western Conference. Cred. Chris Humphreys/USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Nuggets have the chance to do what the Boston Celtics have done in the Eastern Conference. With a plethora of role players on their squad and a good head coach, the Celtics turned themselves into potential contenders. Now the Nuggets have the chance to do that with Head Coach Mike Malone and his cast of youth. They drafted Jamal Murray and Malik Beasley this year which should help strengthen the back court that already holds Emmanuel Mudiay, Gary Harris and Will Barton.
Along with their main scorers Danilo Gallinari and Kenneth Faried, their front court also has two young european big men in Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic, who both have developed their game through international play. The potential is exciting for a team of such talented young role players, but like the Celtics, it all starts with players buying into a system and playing style that the coach implements. If Coach Mike Malone can get these players to buy into a system of team basketball and defence, the sky is truly the limit.
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are looking to move on from their rebuilding process. Will this year be the year? Cred. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Orlando Magic are much further down the road in their rebuilding process than any team on this list and are looking to see results now. In a way, this makes this season even more important for this young team. You could tell the Magic weren’t happy with their current roster when they shook it up and traded one part of their backcourt duo, Victor Oladipo, for defensive big man Serge Ibaka. They went on to sign former Raptor’s big man Bismack Biyombo, which made their already crowded front-court, even more crowded.
That being said, it will be almost impossible to score on this team in the paint. With Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon as their two young and exciting players, and snubbed all-star Nikola Vucevic, this team will try to push for a playoff spot in the East this year.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers have a crowded front court with Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid. Who will the 76ers trade? Cred. Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports).
The Philadelphia 76ers will be missing their 1st overall pick, Ben Simmons, for the first 3 months of the regular season and even potentially the whole year. It seems like every time the 76ers see the light at the end of the tunnel in the rebuilding process, they get hit with a huge setback. Despite this, I think the 76ers will take a step forward this year, with a slightly improved roster and a healthy Joel Embiid. Although having a loaded front court, Embiid will finally get to show the NBA what he’s capable of.
They still have yet to resolve their problem of finding a proper back court to facilitate the paint, but they’ve added Jerryd Bayless and signed Spaniard Sergio Rodriguez in hopes of giving them some extra depth at the guard position. I think the 76ers will be active during the regular season, trying to reduce some of their congestion in the front court by trading Nerlens Noel. Noel is an athletic defensive player who can help out a team that is lacking interior defence, so the demand for him would be high. Either way, the ceiling is high for a 76ers team that just hasn’t had the time to jell together. I can’t wait until we can see Ben Simmons, Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid playing for the same team. #TrustTheProcess.
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