As we approach the 'one-month-out' mark heading into the 2015/16 NBA season, one of the most intriguing topics is who has really boosted their squad and has the potential to take the NBA by storm. Today I will be looking at my 3 tops teams that will have the biggest impact in the NBA this season, so without further ado.
1. San Antonio Spurs
What the Spurs managed to do in this offseason's free-agency period in signing behemoth free-agent Lamarcus Aldridge was a huge step in fortifying their big-man dominance behind Tim Duncan. Also the inclusion of smaller role-players has meant that a spurs side that at some points last season looked 'tired' are definitely back to being contenders.
Their All-Star front court of Khawi Leornard, Lamarcus Aldridge and Tim Duncan will arguably be one of the best in the league. So for the spurs, the challenge will be putting their new pieces together and gelling as one unit, which, with a coach like Greg Popovich, should not be too difficult. You can be sure to see a firing Spurs outfit in 2015/16.
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Spurs fans should be excited with new Aldridge addition.
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2. Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers have been an interesting team for a number of years who have had one of the toughest starting line-ups in the NBA. With superstars Chris Paul and Blake Griffen, and solid players Deandre Jordan and JJ Reddick, the clippers have been contenders but they just have not had the bench depth to make any real impact on the more complete teams of NBA. However, this offseason they finally did something about that, whether people agree with their choices or not.
They added players Josh Smith, Lance Stephenson, Paul Pierce, Wesley Johnson and others. This addresses their main problem which is having a solid player at the small forward position, which they missed dearly. They also add some big names to their bench, which enhances their bench and will make them vastly more competitive in 2015/16. Clippers fans should be very excited heading into this next season, they just have to hope that Doc Rivers can make sure that the team plays as a team and not as a group of individuals.
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| Some of the Clippers new signings in the 2015 offseason. |
3. Indiana Pacers
Just to change things up, despite their not being too much action in the Eastern Conference compared to the Western Conference, i feel that one of the dark horses in the East and potentially in the NBA are the Indiana pacers who are coming off a down season, where they struggled all year with chemistry issues and injuries, in particular, the absence of All-Star small forward Paul George.
However this offseason, Larry Bird (operations and team manager) has made a number of moves that could address a number of their issues. Firstly, bearing in mind that if they are all healthy, the Pacers starting lineup is quite strong. With the addition of Monta Ellis in free-agency and Miles Turner in the draft (who performed extremely well in summer league), the Pacers have added two pieces that could boost their performance dramatically. With a starting lineup, at this stage, of George Hill, Monta Ellis, Paul George, and either Jordan Hill, Miles Turner or Ian Mahinmi filling out the two big-men positions, the Pacers do look strong.
The poor season last year, did in fact have some advantages, as it meant that their bench had plenty of minutes to develop their games, which means that they could be much improved this season. Players like Soloman Hill and Rodney Stuckey should look to make a real impact for the Pacers in 2015/16.
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| The Pacers key to success lies in PG13 and Monta. |
So there you have it, those are definitely three teams to keep your eye on in 2015/16.
