Poll: Pick The Surprise Eastern Team 2014/15

[closg00]

Which Eastern team do you anticipate surprising big this season? This team may seed 7th/8th shocking everyone.

[hands11]

Closg

Surprise is very subjective.

We already have threads ranking the teams. Some see it one way. Some another. Some will be surprised. Some won't.

If there was to be an underdog team, it would be a younger team that people think are a couple years away. None of the other teams would really be a surprise.

[montestewart]

Heat, Knicks, Nets wouldn't be a huge surprise in the playoffs (maybe even the Pacers, just on experience), but all could surprise with a better regular season record and a higher seeding than anyone anticipated. If the Heat go 50-32 with a 3rd seed and a strong 2nd round, that could surprise some people more than, say, the Bucks or Magic squeaking in with a 36-46 8th seed and a 1st round 4 game bounce.

I'm picking Miami. Lots of aging players, great potential for injury issues, but also lots of experience and potential to play tough defense. Would be interesting to see them patch together a decent playoff run.

[deneem4]

Detroit....

[queridiculo]

Not sure why, but I have a feeling the Wizards may be the surprise team.. in a negative way.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Not sure why, but I have a feeling the Wizards may be the surprise team.. in a negative way.

I kind of agree. I see the season starting very slowly.

I think Charlotte surprises, wins the division and takes the three seed.

[Higga]

Detroit although I don't really consider them as a surprise since everyone is picking them as their darkhorse...

[closg00]

Boston & Miami have been respectable in preseason, but Detroit could be the easy pick for "surprise" team. Over the course of 82 games, Drummond could be hitting his stride right on-time for the play-offs.

[Hidden Eye]

Bucks with the roster and Jkidd I can see them making the playoffs.

[nate33]

Bucks with the roster and Jkidd I can see them making the playoffs.

Agreed. The Milwaukee team has a lot of talent if Kidd can get them to come together. Look at their lineup:

PG Brandon Knight, Kendall Marshall, Wolters
SG Mayo, Jared Dudley
SF Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton
PF Jabari Parker, Ilyasova, John Henson
C Sanders, John Henson, Zaza

They really need the Greek Freak, Knight or Parker to step up and fill the shoes of a #1 scoring option, but they definitely have a ton of depth - particularly in the front line.

A consolidation trade would make sense for this team. It would be nice if they could package some combination of Ilyasova, Zaza, Henson and/or Middleton for a real good young shooting guard.

[Kanyewest]

Bucks with the roster and Jkidd I can see them making the playoffs.

Agreed. The Milwaukee team has a lot of talent if Kidd can get them to come together. Look at their lineup:

PG Brandon Knight, Kendall Marshall, Wolters
SG Mayo, Jared Dudley
SF Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton
PF Jabari Parker, Ilyasova, John Henson
C Sanders, John Henson, Zaza

They really need the Greek Freak, Knight or Parker to step up and fill the shoes of a #1 scoring option, but they definitely have a ton of depth - particularly in the front line.

A consolidation trade would make sense for this team. It would be nice if they could package some combination of Ilyasova, Zaza, Henson and/or Middleton for a real good young shooting guard.

I like their big lineup from an entertainment standpoint that they started earlier this preseaon.

PG- Antetokounmpo
SG- Middleton
SF- Parker
PF- Illyasova
C - Pachulia

Looks like they are starting Knight though who looks like he was injured.

[doclinkin]

Atlanta. Budenholzer with continuity, and the team buying in to the system. A roster with versatile scrappy bigs with face up skill and range, Teague learning to fit that Tony Parker role. Horford healthy off freak injuries that only came from being too well-conditioned (torn pec on each side from working out too hard), now with new trainers working his core strength instead. I suspect they'll catch and pass us, the Heat, and the Jordancats for the Division title.

[Hypnotizer]

Hawks and Hornets.

ATL was very good team before Horford's injury. Made IND more troubles than us.
CHA added Lance and Al was great this year. These 2 teams can shock the world little bit, just like we did last season.

[Hidden Eye]

Bucks with the roster and Jkidd I can see them making the playoffs.

Agreed. The Milwaukee team has a lot of talent if Kidd can get them to come together. Look at their lineup:

PG Brandon Knight, Kendall Marshall, Wolters
SG Mayo, Jared Dudley
SF Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton
PF Jabari Parker, Ilyasova, John Henson
C Sanders, John Henson, Zaza

They really need the Greek Freak, Knight or Parker to step up and fill the shoes of a #1 scoring option, but they definitely have a ton of depth - particularly in the front line.

A consolidation trade would make sense for this team. It would be nice if they could package some combination of Ilyasova, Zaza, Henson and/or Middleton for a real good young shooting guard.

I like their big lineup from an entertainment standpoint that they started earlier this preseaon.

PG- Antetokounmpo
SG- Middleton
SF- Parker
PF- Illyasova
C - Pachulia

Looks like they are starting Knight though who looks like he was injured.

Atleast Jennings isn't chucking it up there anymore.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Detroit is going to be the surprise team. Stan Van Grundy is a tremendous coach. He will figure out how to get the most out of Drummond, Monroe, and Josh Smith. Once Kentavious Caldwell - Pope gets healthy the Pistons are going to be tough.

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[Rafael122]

I'm high on Milwaukee. I think they have a decent shot at the 8th seed in the East.

[Ruzious]

I think the East is still a year away from not being epically bad - though there are teams with bright futures. I like Doc's and Hypno's choice of Atl. My sleeper is Boston. They could be horrible, but I'm just very intrigued by how their backcourt will work. I think it's the best defensive backcourt in the NBA - with Rondo, Smart, and Bradley - but can any of them shoot? I'm hoping Smart surprises in that area. They really need a 3 that can run - to take advantage of the turnovers that the backcourt will cause. Problem is - none of their bigs are defenders, but they can all shoot. Maybe they make up for the guards lack of shooting?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Ruzious, Boston really could surprise. Brad Stevens is a winner and he relies heavily on his analytics staff that he brought with him from Bradley. Boston has three young bigs who each can make a huge leap--Sullinger, Olynyk, and Tyler Zeller. The Wizards put a lot of money into retaining Gortat but I would rather they had Ariza back and a cheap young big like Zeller. I think Zeller has a huge basketball IQ. As he gets physically stronger he will be able to be an effective high post C.

Sullinger is my favorite kind of player. Not a great athlete, but an outstanding player. He's similar to Paul Pierce. He uses leverage and his strong base to keep his opponents off balance. He's a great scorer and he is a beast on the backboard.

Kelly Olynyk is strong on offense and weak on defense. Guys like Smart and Avery Bradley figure to complement his game.

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[nuposse04]

Ruzious, Boston really could surprise. Brad Stevens is a winner and he relies heavily on his analytics staff that he brought with him from Bradley. Boston has three young bigs who each can make a huge leap--Sullinger, Olynyk, and Tyler Zeller. The Wizards put a lot of money into retaining Gortat but I would rather they had Ariza back and a cheap young big like Zeller. I think Zeller has a huge basketball IQ. As he gets physically stronger he will be able to be an effective high post C.

Sullinger is my favorite kind of player. Not a great athlete, but an outstanding player. He's similar to Paul Pierce. He uses leverage and his strong base to keep his opponents off balance. He's a great scorer and he is a beast on the backboard.

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I think it really depends on what route they go towards. They could be pretty pesky if they keep Rondo but not anywhere close to being a contender. My guess is they'll off Rondo eventually for decent value.

I have to admit I was wrong on Sullinger, he's slowly becoming an offensive juggernaut (relative to his draft position) and staying relatively healthy (which is important when leg is longer then the other).

Oly played pretty much as good as I thought he would given his age, but his post allstar numbers are damn good. He might be an offensive force going forward. The problem is that neither of their 3 bigs can protect the paint. They can all stretch the defenses but I have no confidence in their interior defense. They got good perimeter defenders but thats about it on that end IMO.

We shall see if your man-crush on Zeller is validated this season, although I'm not sure at 24 he got all that stronger in the offseason, he should have mostly filled out by now.

[cwb3]

I pick the Bucks every year when this poll topic comes up. . .I'll be right eventually!