The NBA season is set to relaunch today. The 22 championship contenders will finish the season in the “bubble” in Orlando, FL, after the NBA suspended the season in early March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone has their favorite to win, but there may be three sleeper teams that may benefit from the bubble rules and give the top seeds a run for their money.
Portland Trailblazers
The Portland Trailblazers announced their presence last year, in the playoffs, when they made a run to the Western Conference Finals. They ended up getting swept by the Golden State Warriors and have not been able to rebuild their momentum this season. Despite the Blazers looking in at the playoffs, the current rules have provided them a path to the finals.
According to the bubble rules, if a team finishes the regular season within four games of the 8th seed, the 8th and 9th seed must have a play in tournament. The 9th seed will require two wins to advance while the 8th seed will advance after one win. Currently, the Blazers are one of three teams (New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings) that are 3.5 games behind the 8th seeded Memphis Grizzlies.
The main reason to fear the Blazers making the playoffs is that they are finally healthy as a whole team. The Blazers have not had their full frontcourt rotation all season. Center Josef Nurkic, who did not play at all the first half of the season due to a broken leg, is back and ready to make some noise. Nurkic’s stats from the 2018-19 season (15.6PTs 10.4RPG 1.4BLK 1.0STL) show that he is a guy who can easily average a double-double.
The Blazers are also getting back another critical piece to their team, F/C Zach Collins. Collins had his season cut short after only three games when he suffered a shoulder injury and required surgery. With the extra-long break, Collins is fully healthy and ready to come back to his starting role at PF. He is a very versatile player who also has the skills and ability to play the SF position. This gives the Blazers depth that other teams do not have. And, at 7’0, Collins would provide the Blazers with one of the biggest frontcourts in the league.
You mix a healthy Nurkic and Collins with the well-rested Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Carmelo Anthony, you have a team that every team should fear.
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets do not technically count as a sleeper team since they are currently 3rd in the Western Conference, but analysts seemed to have dismissed the Nuggets as a real contender in the West. I believe that they can not only win the West but win the title.
The Denver Nuggets have the best, and most underappreciated, center in the league, Nikola Jokic, as well as one of the best up and coming point guards, Jamal Murray. But the real reason teams should be worried about the Nuggets are two young players are soon to be unleashed, Michael Porter, Jr. and Bol Bol.
When the Nuggets drafted Michael Porter, Jr. in the 2018 draft, they had to be elated. Initially thought to be a top-three pick, Porter fell to 14th overall because of injuries. The Nuggets knew that they had a solid core that had ended the season with a record of 46-36. Despite missing the playoffs by one game, they felt they could take a chance on Porter, knowing he might not play his first year. The Nuggets finished the 2018-19 season with a record of 54-28, making them second in the Western Conference. Porter sat out the entire season to further recover from his injuries. When the 2019-20 season began, the Nuggets took it slow with Porter, only letting him play about 14 mins a game. But now, with all the extra time off, Porter should be ready to show why he was worth the investment.
Much like Porter, Bol was considered to be a top 10 pick before the season started. Bol ended up having a foot fracture in his freshman season, which made him a scary prospect for the 2019 draft. Once again, the Nuggets invested. The Nuggets traded to acquire Bol Bol, who was initially picked up by the Miami Heat in the second round at pick 44. A healthy Jokic has allowed the Nuggets to allow Bol to fully heal from his injury. Bol began the season with the Windy City Bulls of the G-league, the NBA’s developmental league, where he averaged 19.2MPG 12PTs 5.8RPG 2.3BPG. These are not eye-popping numbers, but with the extra time off, Bol looks like he is ready to return the investment the Nuggets made on him. From the first scrimmage game, Bol had everybody talking, and the stats show why. 16PTs 10REB 6BLK all in 32 minutes. A definite step up from what he was playing in the G-League.
The added depth and talent these two players give an already great team makes them even more dangerous than they already were.
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat will start the NBA restart as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, but they have all the pieces to take down the Milwaukee Bucks and make the NBA finals.
The Heat came into the 2019-20 season without their longtime guard, Dwayne Wade. Wade, who retired at the end of last season, had been a cornerstone of the Heat for 14 of his 16-year career. After the Wade farewell season ended (39-43), the Heat decided to make a trade for superstar G Jimmy Butler from the Philadelphia 76ers. Butler was signed to a four year, $142 million max, signaling that the Heat are ready to move on from Wade and get back into the playoffs. Butler has widely been regarded as one of the best two-way players in the league, which is exactly what Miami needed to replace Wade.
The other reason the Heat is primed to make it to the finals is the budding superstar C Bam Adebayo. The Heat drafted Adebayo at pick 14 in the 2017 draft to play alongside talented big man C Hassan Whiteside. The Heat limited Adebayo’s play to about 19.8MPG and increased it to 23.3MPG for his second season. Now that the Heat traded Whiteside away, the way for Adebayo to show his full potential. Adebayo’s breakout season stats (34.4MPG 10.5RPG 5.1APG 1.2SPG 1.3BPG 16.2PPG) are all career highs, earning him his first All-Star game. At 23, Abedayo has a lot more to give.
The playoffs will be a great proving ground for this Heat team and with the combination of Veteran Jimmy Butler and the rising talent Bam Adebayo. Teams in the East should be wary of how good this Heat team can be.