What teams are your dark horses for NBA Eastern and Western conferences?

Question

One team per conference only. Proper explanation needed if you want the ten points.

Answer 1

East: Raptors if Jermaine O'neal can even be a shell of his former self (He used to be the closet PF, to Duncan and KG skill level, early is his career when he led the Pacers to the finals) Having 2 good big men in the east could be crucial, considering the East lacks bigmen. They were already a playoff team, and play good team ball.

West: Mavericks, I believe a trade will go down, where Mavericks will end up with Andre Iguodala, if so he will bring tuffness, and bring something in the past that they lacked, a good slasher that can get crucial points in clutch time and get to the free throw line, he is also a underrated defender. As of now Mavericks depend on Jumpers to much, Iguodala could change all that, and make them legit contenders once again.

Answer 2

Eastern Conference: I see the Miami Heat. With the combination of D-Wade, Shawn Marion (hopefully not traded), and Michael Beasley. Each of the players are guaranteed to average 20+ ppg, along with the addition of their new young PG, Mario Chalmers.

Western Conference: The western conference is probably the most challenging, but I'm going with the New Orlean Hornets. Chris Paul is just getting better and better. David West and Tyson Chandler are both geared up. Peja is still a sharp-shooter. And with the recent acquisition of James Posey, we'll see the Hornets go all the way to the finals.

Answer 3

Eastern Conference: New Jersey- They still have Vince Carter an extremely athletic scorer, Devin Harris is a star in the making who will run the team, Yi Jianlian is a bonafide scorer who will give you double figures night in and night out. Brook Lopez is a great post presence on both sides of the ball.  Ryan Anderson is an underated rookie who can play inside and out. Sean Williams is a great defensive presence. Najera is a scoring threat.  Rookie CDR will make an impact. Josh Boone is a solid player.  This is a solid team with alot of good players and they will make a run in the playoffs.

Western Conference: Portland Trailblazers- Brandon Roy is an all-star and is a great player. Greg Oden will be a star in this league on the both sides of the ball. LaMarcus Aldridge is a great post scoring threat. Jerryd Bayless can do it all when he has the ball. Ike Diogu is a tough and gritty player. Steve Blake is a good playmaker.  Channing Frye is a great playmaker. The Blazer may be a bit of a stretch to make the playoffs in the ultra-competitive West but i see them bonding together to have a chance at being a contender.

Answer 4

east - miami

west - suns

both teams are being overlooked but are probably motivated to prove everybody wrong.  

Answer 5

East: Wizards. If Gil stays true to his word of staying in his limits and our Big Three stay healthy I say the Conference Finals. Brendan Haywood is in his prime, and Antonio Daniels and Deshawn Stevenson make decent backup guards. The rookie Javale McGee should help defensively and Andray Blatche is a very underrated PF/C.

West: Sacramento. I would say Houston or the Clippers, but they made additions that are obvious improvements. People will say, oh yeah their best player's gone, but as far as I know, Kevin Martin is still on the roster. He should be an all-star and Brad Miller, Jason Thompson, and Spencer Hawes should make strong big men that can board. Francisco Garcia is a hard-nose defensive player that goes so hard, he fouled 4 buzzer-beating threes last year. Their point guard is also scrappy Beno Udrih, who is often overlooked as a good player (he single-handedly beat the Spurs last year twice). Patrick Ewing, Jr. is explosive as h**l and Sean Singletary can light it up from 3, so they have an all-around decent team that should pull a few surprises next season.

Answer 6

East- Philadelphia, if they re-sign Andre Iguodala, or trade him for a big name player. They need some serious help with 3-point shooting, but with the addition of Elton Brand they have serious potential to be a major threat in the east. That being said, I still doubt they could make it all the way to the eastern conference finals in one season.

West- I don't have a dark horse for the West. At this point, the only team I have down for Western finals are the Lakers.  

Answer 7

East: Charlotte Bobcats. They probably had a chance at the playoffs last year. Unfortunately, May and Morrison were injured all season. Morrison should be completely healthy this year and May will be back eventually. But they're set with their talent. They are ready at the two most important positions: center and point guard. Felton is ready to break out and Okafor is an excellent defender. Now with Larry Brown, their talent should be maximized. He's been able to do so with basically ever team he's been with.

West: Portland Trailblazers. The talent on this team is hard to comprehend. They had one of the best benches last season. They will also have one of the best trios this year: Roy, Aldridge, and Oden. Oden dominated at the college level, meaning he should make an immediate impact as a dominant center. Teams with this much young talent can break out at any time and they have a great chance at contending for a playoff spot this year.

Answer 8

East-Miami...I think they have a VERY good shot at making the playoffs...with a Healthy Wade, Marion, and Beasley they have 3 guys who can average 20 ppg+. The only problem with this team is that they don't have a center or a pg...

West-PORTLAND (duh)...I mean come on...Roy, Lamarcus, Oden, Outlaw, Bayless Rudy. What else do I have to say? They have the best bench in the NBA. Also, they have a defensive oriented coach in Nate McMillan. Adding Greg Oden (who I think will eventually be a future MVP/HOF) will help the Blazer's defense so much and he will anchor it. Portland has so much young talent and chemistry that it's impossible for us to be ignored.

Answer 9

From the East the bucks

with mo williams, michael redd, andrew bogut, and now richard jefferson and they have mbah a moute, charlie bell, joe alexander, sessions (amazing guard), and charlie villanueva to back them up

Great mix of young, active guys with legitimate skill and length

and not old but experienced veterans. Solid rebounders, pure shooters, great depth.

From the West the jazz (not much of a dark horse but still)

with ak-47,okur, boozer, and williams

but what gives this team the edge is there huge home court advantage, which is incredibly important in the playoffs, great team defense, and an amazing bench and great depth with brewer, korver, knight, dee brown, harping,millsap, and price. They also can stretch the court and run both half court offense and a fast break offense

Answer 10

In the West I'll take the Los Angeles Clippers because of a post presence that will almost shut out the opposition from scoring with Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman.The bench is absolutely great and its being overlooked.They have Tim Thomas,Cuttino Mobley if he doesn't start,Ricky Davis,and Brian Skinner.Tim Thomas can play great in spurts.The same really for Ricky Davis so the Clippers will have a lot of scorers.Baron Davis playing with a guy thats a younger version of himself with a stronger finish and better jumpshot and thats Eric Gordon.

In the East I'll take the Chicago Bulls.The roster problem will be solved after the Bulls either trade one guard or Ben Gordon signs with another team.Then there will be two point guards with Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich and two shooting guards with Larry Hughes and Thabo Sefolosha or a lot of different ways it can end up.

I am putting faith in Joakim Noah to do more scoring in the post.Drew Gooden just like Joakim Noah consistently plays hard and effectively on defense if not always contributing on offense.Another guy that will play hard is Andres Nocioni who I think should be in the starting lineup.Without having Scott Skiles to get the best effort out of the players having Drew Gooden,Joakim Noah,and Andres Nocioni playing together for long periods of time is going to keep the Bulls in games with more talented teams.The Bulls have two capable point guards right now and they won't get hurt by starting either Derrick Rose or Kirk Hinrich.

At shooting guard any combination of Ben Gordon,Larry Hughes,and Thabo Sefolosha can be effective on offense.Ben Gordon can consistently score seventeen a game and with a bunch of guys that can score he can be very useful.Thabo Sefolosha and Larry Hughes can put up similar numbers and they all play good defense.

Answer 11

In the East Id say Milwaukee. With all their acquisitions, they should make a strong run at the playoffs.

In the West Its hard to see a dark horse making the playoffs. Their at least eleven teams that would contend in the east, so unless you count Portland as a darkhorse (and I dont think anyone really does) there arent really any.

Answer 12

Denver and Toronto

Answer 13

what do u mean by dark horses (ill edit and answer) ?