Sports Cipher

NBA Teams That Will Be Among The Most Improved

NBA training camps start in less the week. It’s the first step of the Championship hunt for many contenders. However for other teams its the first step out of mediocrity and into building a successful franchise. I’ll talk about three teams that will make a significant leap in the wins column.

New Orleans Hornets

Prior to the start of the 2010-11 season the New Orleans Hornets traded away their franchise player Chris Paul. That was a clear indication that the team was rebuilding. In this year’s draft they found their foundation in player of the year, and overall 1st pick Anthony Davis. The Hornets also picked Austin Rivers with their 10th pick.

They certainly won’t be in the playoff hunt in the tough Western record. Nevertheless they will defiantly improve their 21-45 record from last year. I see them improving by 10-15 games. I like their size and versatility in their front court. Ryan Anderson and Robin Lopez is a great addition to the team. The franchise player Anthony Davis will make a impact early, setting an example for his teammates on defense. Coupled with a possible high scoring backcourt of Austin Rivers and Eric Gordon will put more W’s in the win column. The Hornets will have it’s struggles as a young team, but the will show flashes of a future contender.

Cleveland Cavilers

The Cleveland Cavilers roster is not anything particular special when I take a look at it. Except for one name on the roster, and that’s reinging rookie of the year Kyrie Irving. Irving is just a special type of player, and I see him raising his game in his sophomore in Cleveland. The Cavs will go as far as Kyrie Irving will take them, like that last franchise guy before him.

Kyrie Irving had an impressive rookie campaign averaging 18.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, and 5.4 apg. Including great moments with game winners in Boston and Denver. We already know he is a confident in his abilities, as we saw in his bold challenge to Kobe Bryant. Irving is a star in the making, and this future All-Star will add 15-20 games to the Cavs 21-45 record.

Brooklyn Nets

Everything will be changing for the Nets next season; new jerseys, new logo, and the biggest change a new home in a new city. The Nets will turning things around in their new home of Brooklyn. After a few disappointing seasons, the hype around the Nets will be at it’s highest since their back-to-back appearance’s in the NBA Finals.

The Nets will make their debut in Brooklyn with the best starting backcourt in the league with Deron Williams and Joe Johnson. In addition a very efficient front court trio of Brook Lopez, Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries. They also have quality players coming off their bench. Now that the Nets have Deron Williams completely bought Nets will make some noise. Deron Williams is an 3x All-Star that makes the players around him better, and winning will re-energize him. The Brooklyn Nets will improve by 20 games from their 22-44, and have them in the contention for the 6-8 seed of the playoffs.