It's been a wild season and just over halfway through the year we've already seen a plethora of new teams emerge from the bottom half of the standings and fight their way into the upper echelon of their respective conferences. With a new surge of talent powering its way through the league and the competition beginning to rev up, it goes without saying that the road to this year's NBA Finals definitely won't be a cakewalk.
Considering the talent and endless amount of highlight-worthy performances that have been put on display across the league, that might even be an understatement. As we dive deeper into what's already been an exciting and historic NBA campaign, we'll now discuss the four teams that could make a surprisingly deep run during the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
Led by the electric play of sophomore sensation Anthony Edwards and All-Star center Karl Anthony-Towns, the Minnesota Timberwolves have played surprisingly well and look primed to make a surprise playoff run in 2022. Not to mention D'Angelo Russell, Patrick Beverly, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt have all played a major part in the Timberwolves' success this season.
Currently sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference, Minnesota is just half a game out of the seventh spot, and with a few more wins under their belt they could surpass both the Lakers and Clippers and climb their way into the playoff mix. Once the postseason comes back around, be sure to keep an eye out for this explosive T-Wolves squad that has all the intangibles to pull off a few upsets and make a surprisingly deep run in this year's playoffs.
After a long and brutal rebuild and a busy offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers have managed to fight their way back into the top tier of the Eastern Conference. With an overwhelming amount of size and length, a multi-faceted scoring punch, and a tenacious defensive style, the Cavs have pulled out several big wins this season and are only getting better with time.
From the stellar play of Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Lauri Markkanen, and Collin Sexton to the veteran leadership of Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo, and Ricky Rubio, the Cavaliers boast one of the deepest and most fearsome teams in the league. Their consistent dominance on both ends of the floor has placed them in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with the potential to climb the ranks even further and gain homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
As the competition continues to heat up out East, the Cavaliers are starting to make their mark and join the pack of new-and-improved teams fighting for playoff positioning. With all this going for Cleveland, watch out for this young and exciting bunch to go on a tear during the 2022 NBA Playoffs and make some serious noise as they aim to make their first postseason appearance since 2018.
Ever since they won the 2019 NBA championship, the Toronto Raptors have been a legit playoff threat and are still very much capable of achieving greatness. With top-notch basketball mind Nick Nurse running the show and the savvy young core of Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr., and Scottie Barnes at the helm, there's no limit to what this youthful and athletic bunch can accomplish this season.
After missing out on the playoffs last season and getting off to a slow start this year, the Raptors are back and looking like playoff contenders once again. With a loaded talent pool out East, the Raps will definitely have their work cut out for them, but if there's a team in this league that can overcome the odds and prove all the naysayers wrong, then it's definitely Toronto.
With Ja Morant's continued rise to stardom and the elite play of Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke, Kyle Anderson, Steven Adams, De'Anthony Melton, and Tyus Jones, the Memphis Grizzlies have climbed their way up to the third seed in the Western Conference. During their current streak of dominance, the Grizz have knocked off some of the best teams in the NBA including the Suns, Warriors, Bulls, Cavaliers, Nuggets, and Jazz.
To everyone's surprise, the Grizzlies look like the biggest threat out West to dethroning the Suns and Warriors during the 2022 NBA Playoffs and if they're able to keep up with this level of play, then they'll definitely spell trouble for anyone they meet in the postseason. Not to mention the return of Dillon Brooks will increase their tenacity and improve their play on both ends of the floor. So it's time for Grit and Grind to move aside, cause this Memphis team is reeling in a new style of play that could lead them to the promised land.
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