NBA Teams on the Rise
By: Nelly's Sportsline
With all the excitement of the bowl season and the upcoming NFL playoffs, in addition to the start of the conference season in college basketball it becomes easy to overlook the NBA at this time of the year. Pro Basketball continues to be a consistent profit-maker for us and it can be for you as well. This article will take a look at some of the NBA teams on the rise that could be teams to continue to back this season. If you are a serious NBA player you're well aware of the success some of these teams have been producing and if you're a casual fan, you may want to take note as these teams are quite a bit better than you might realize.
Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizzlies have been an afterthought in the Western Conference the last three years, winning between 22 and 24 games in those years. Memphis met heavy criticism for gifting their best player Pau Gasol to the Lakers but the youth movement is paying dividends after a slow start to the year. Memphis started the season 1-8, but is now a .500 team. The Grizzlies are just on the edge of the playoff race and since the calendar turned to the month of December the Grizzlies are 11-4.
The schedule has certainly played a role in the emergence, as only six of the last 15 games have been on the road but it is telling that progress is being made as Memphis has won four of those games. All four losses in the last 15 games came against teams that would make the playoffs if they started now and Memphis also has a handful of wins over top notch teams, beating Dallas, Cleveland, Denver, and Phoenix in this span. Memphis is not a great defensive team as they allow teams to shoot nearly 48 percent but the offense can match those numbers and this is also one of the better rebounding teams in the league.
Memphis lacks a true superstar but Rudy Gay has emerged as a quality scorer and the young tandem of Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo appears to be finding some rhythm. Marc Gasol has also taken great strides this season and the maligned acquisition of Zach Randolph is providing the inside toughness that the Grizzlies have lacked. Three rookies are also contributing as Sam Young, DeMarre Carroll, and Hasheem Thabeet are getting playing time making this team that could really be dangerous by the season's end and looking ahead to next season.
Toronto Raptors: Being in playoff contention in the Eastern Conference does not mean a whole lot, but despite a losing record, the Raptors would be a playoff team at this point. Among a jumbled group of mediocre teams that have similar records, the Raptors look like a team that can really get on a run and get comfortably into playoff position. After winning the Atlantic Division in 2006-07, the Raptors were .500 in 2007-08 and made the playoffs again. Last season was a disaster however as Toronto finished 33-49. Toronto started this season 7-13 and did not appear to be heading anywhere but the Raptors are 9-5 in the last 14 games. There are few impressive wins on the resume in that timeframe but the Raptors are beating the teams that they should beat, and that is a big step.
The slow start for the Raptors should have been expected as eight of the first twelve games came on the road including road trips to Texas and out west. The Raptors are 11-5 at home this season which in one of the better marks in the Eastern Conference and should help Toronto improve its standing in the coming months. Toronto is allowing nearly 106 points per game on the season but since allowing 146 points in an ugly loss in Atlanta in early December, that average has dropped to 98 points per game. That loss has been the catalyst on the recent surge of strong play and this is a team that should be in many play-on situations the rest of the season and is likely to finish with a winning record.
Many have been quick to label the big Hedo Turkoglu signing as a bust as his scoring numbers are way down from last season but he is doing a lot of positive things for this team. He is averaging nearly five assists per game and also providing a decent rebounding presence. He still hits three-pointers at an over 40 percent clip and is a great free throw shooter even if he is not the best defender. Chris Bosh continues to deliver great numbers in what is assumed to be his last season in Toronto. Bosh is on pace for career highs in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage. Jarrett Jack has been a nice addition to the team as has Marco Belinelli. Rookie DeMar DeRozan also continues to improve and is now starting for the Raptors and his development as a scoring threat will only improve this team that is already headed in the right direction.
New York Knicks: At 13-20 it might be a bit of a stretch to call the Knicks a team truly on the rise but by most accounts this team has exceeded a lot of very dire projections. New York is definitely in the waiting game looking to add a superstar free agent but this has been a competitive team with the lineup that is in place. Amazingly the Knicks are just a good week from being in the playoff picture in the weak Eastern Conference and this is a team that unlike most losing teams, seems to compete well away from home. The 7-10 home record is discouraging but the Knicks provide an offense with a high scoring ceiling and a tough match-up in certain scheduling spots.
New York started the season 3-14 and is 10-6 since and the poor start was overshadowed by the struggles of the Nets down the road. That 7-10 home record was built in that poor start and the Knicks are actually 6-2 in the last eight home games including wins over Phoenix, Portland, and Chicago, while only losing by double-digits once overall despite some high quality competition. There have also been some great road showings with two wins at Atlanta, and wins in New Orleans and Detroit. The biggest difference has been improvement on defense and totals players should take note as well, as the 'under' is 10-3 in the past 13 New York games.
Jared Jeffries looks like wasted space in the box score at times but he has emerged as a premier post defender and the Knicks are starting to build the personnel that could excel in the Mark D'Antoni system, sans a superstar or a scoring point guard. New York has great size and all the big men can run and play the fast paced offensive style. Chris Duhon is capable in the backcourt but a point guard with better shooting numbers would really add a lot to this team. Second year forward Danilo Gallinari has also taken a big leap this year as he has nearly tripled his scoring output from his rookie season. David Lee is also making a case for some all star consideration, scoring 19 points per game and becoming a leader on this team.
As of the release of this article Nelly's Sportsline is on a 5-0-1 run in our last six NBA packages. With basketball being the only game in town soon we'll expect to have more pick releases and many attractive packages and big games in the coming weeks as we continue an incredibly profitable pro basketball season.