Who has been your surprise team in the early season?

[thejamal]

Every year, there always seems to be a team that far exceeds expectations. Last year, it was Phoenix and the Blazers who significantly improved their records in a brutal western conference.

This year, I think the early surprise team as been the Sacramento Kings. Even though they're in the midst of a 3 game losing streak, they're going through a brutal stretch of Western Conference playoff teams and playing extremely competitive basketball. Also, DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay have been as good as any duo in the NBA.

Who's your surprise team early on?

 

[downsouth]

The Knicks. Haha. Joking.I am impressed by a couple of teams in the East. The Wizards and the Raptors. The W/L record of the Raptors is enough at this point for them to be the team that has taken me most by surprise. They were supposed to be contenders yes but they are playing above that. They are struggling to shut down good teams like the Cavs and Mavericks though.

 

[TPhoenix]

The Raptors have been the biggest surprise to me. Ever since the Rudy Gay trade, everything turned around nicely for the Raptors and once they made the playoffs and kicked off the We the North era, the franchise took off even more with the amount of support behind it. But I had no idea they were going to dominate the East and capture such a great starting record in the league, even carrying it on in DeMar DeRozan's absence due to injury. Coach Dwane Casey has done a tremendous job with his players and a bright future waits ahead for the Raptors, no doubt.

 

[downsouth]

The Raptors will make the playoffs if they continue this level of play. But dominating the East ? As weak as the Eastern Conference is you still got the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards to deal with.

 

[thejamal]

The Raptors have been the biggest surprise to me. Ever since the Rudy Gay trade, everything turned around nicely for the Raptors and once they made the playoffs and kicked off the We the North era, the franchise took off even more with the amount of support behind it. But I had no idea they were going to dominate the East and capture such a great starting record in the league, even carrying it on in DeMar DeRozan's absence due to injury. Coach Dwane Casey has done a tremendous job with his players and a bright future waits ahead for the Raptors, no doubt.

The Raptors are a pretty good pick, but they also kind of showed this level of dominance last season after the Rudy Gay trade. It's cool how that trade worked out so well for both teams, but for the Raptors, it opened up the ball for Lowry and Derozan to take over and open up as lead options. But above all, Casey has the Raptors playing excellent defense and sharing the ball. Once Derozan gets healthy, they have enough to go against any West playoff team

 

[Choi]

Not really paying much attention to the Eastern Conference since any team that comes out of the East would surely get pummeled by the team that comes out of the West.

Anyway, the teams that really surprised me were the Warriors and the Grizzlies. I mean, I knew that they are going to one of the top teams out West but to see the level of dominance that they are displaying right now? Didn't see that coming. Curry and Thompson are playing out of their minds right now and I'm very curious as to how long they can sustain their level of play. They Blazers and the Pacers also caught fire at the beginning of last season but they cooled down after the all-star break. I'm waiting to see if the same thing happens to the Warriors.

They have a great bench and a Poppovich disciple in Steve Kerr but I don't know why I still don't consider them as contenders. There's still something missing from that team and I don't really know that that thing is. Hmmm.

 

[thejamal]

Don't agree that the East would be push-overs this season. Cavs, Hawks, Raptors, Bulls and Washington are all legit teams that can play defensive, have depth and legit playoff tested franchise players. I'd put those 5 teams right up with any of the top teams out West.

That said, I think the Grizzlies and OKC will be the teams to be come playoff time. That Grizzlies defense is going to be absolutely filthy to try and score on in the playoffs, especially if they have home-court throughout the playoffs. And with Gasol developing as a more reliable scoring option, it solves the problem they've had in the past of not having enough scoring. With OKC, and Westbrook developing into a MVP type candidate, once Durant gets healthy, they're going to be so hard to stop come playoff time. And while missing them for 15 games put them behind the eight-ball so to speak, it gave their role players a chance to develop and become better players.

 

[seanohare]

The grizzles are not really a surprise to me to be honest. My surprise team (if you consider this a surprise) is the Mavs. I think they should be considered a favorite. They have constantly been thrown under the bus. The situation in OKC will be interesting with the injuries, we will see where they end up being seeded in the playoffs...

 

[Waynefire]

My surprise is going to be the fact the Cavaliers have not managed to win more games. Yes, LeBron has been injured, but I would have to say the Cavs do have a talent rich roster. So it is surprising to me that they have not done any better than what they have so far on the season.

 

[goldenmaine]

I know the Atlanta Hawks have been a really good team ever since. They have consistently been able to make it to the playoffs. But they are a surprise team for me because they have been winning a lot of games and had long winning streaks. They don’t really have superstars on the roster but they do have some all-stars, role players and great team chemistry and team basketball. It is a surprise for me that they have been winning and having streaks because in the past they were not that popular and talked about, but this season they are considered title contenders and the Spurs of the East, because of their team basketball and simple but effective plays and players. I am really betting on the Hawks to make a deep run in the playoffs and this would be another added surprise for this team.

 

[Kappys]

The grizzlies are a good team, but i had never thought they would completely dominate the eastern conference. They don't have too many titles, and their roster is rich with talent but they always come up short in comparison with everyone else.

 

[westmixxin]

The cavilers have surprise me as well because they truly have everything they need to be considered ah great team I get that Le Bron is out but still.

 

[spgagle]

I really didn't expect the Golden State Warriors to start off this hot with Steve Kerr as their coach. Its going to be fun to watch what they can do over the next 5 years or so in the western conference!

 

[Jordan94]

Not really sure. I am very disjointed with the Lakers. I thought they would have their problems fixed by now. We really don't have many good players anymore. It's been 4 years since they have started going downhill. I don't know if it's because of the coaches that they have had or if it's more of a player thing. I personally think that it's a little bit of both. I'm just not sure. I'm hoping they do good this season.