The Most Surprising Teams From The 2019-20 Season
Today I will be naming the most surprising teams from the 2019-20 season.
Happy July 4th!
With the 2019-20 regular season all but over, we can now review the teams that were the most surprising during the year. Most of these teams were not expected to do well, or they were and they just exceeded what they were supposed to do this season. Today I will be naming the 3 most surprising teams from the 2019-20 season.
Oklahoma City Thunder
After trading away both Russell Westbrook and Paul George, everybody in the league expected the Thunder to be in a rebuilding phase. They had so many first round picks for the future, that they would be back into playoff contention in a few years with the right scouting decisions. The Thunder acquired Chris Paul and many expected them to trade him. They didn’t, and they wanted to keep all 3 of their talented guards.
With Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder leading the way at guard, many people still did not expect them to do well. Along with these 3 guards, you had guys like Terrence Ferguson, Steven Adams and Danilo Gallinari. This team had lots of good players, but they were not expected to do well.
They were expected to win 31 games this season, which was not the playoffs. Yeah, that didn’t happen. The Thunder are currently 40-24 and sit at the 5th seed in the West.
The 3 guard experiment for the Thunder actually worked:
Chris Paul: 17.7 points and 6.8 assists while shooting 48.9% from the field and 36.2% from 3.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 19.3 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 47.3% from the field and 35.1% from 3.
Dennis Schroder: 19.0 points while shooting 46.8% from the field and 38.1% from 3.
So, yeah. This “experiment” worked. I myself did not expect this, but the veteran Chris Paul has meshed well with the two young guards. Along with these guys, you had guys like Danilo Gallinari and Steven Adams pitching in.
Danilo Gallinari: 19.2 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 43.9% from the field and 40.9% from 3.
Steven Adams: 10.9 points and 9.4 rebounds while shooting 59.1% from the field and 33.3% from 3.
You can’t deny it. This team was not expected to do this well and nobody expected this to happen. But these group of players have meshed into one of the better teams in the Western Conference.
Miami Heat
The Heat had a lot of remodeling during the off-season. They added their All-Star and leader in Jimmy Butler. They added Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn from the draft. They added Myers Leonard. Lots of new pieces came in for the Heat. While the Heat were projected to be solid, not many people expected them to be as good as they are. Sure a playoff team, but not one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Lots of their added success has been from guys breaking out. Guys like Bam Adebayo. Last season Adebayo averaged 8.9 points and 7.3 rebounds. Solid, but nobody expected him to turn into what he is this season. This season, Adebayo is averaging:
16.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists while shooting 56.7% from the field. He was also an All-Star for the first time.
With Adebayo being an All-Star level player, the Heat have seen lots of improvement. Along with Adebayo, lots of guys have stepped up.
Tyler Herro: 12.9 points while shooting 39.1% from 3.
Kendrick Nunn: 15.6 points while shooting 44.8% from the field
Goran Dragic: 16.1 points and 5.1 assists while shooting 37.7% from 3.
Lots of guys like Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro have been having great rookie seasons. Goran Dragic is having a bounce back season since being injured for most of the 2019 season. The Heat may not have stars at every single position, but they have great guys who know their roles.
The Heat were expected to win 43 games this season. The Heat are currently 41-24 on the year. They would have 17 games left in the season, and they would have easily surpassed this prediction.
At the start of the season, the Heat were expected to be a solid team and nothing more. Now many people expect them to be the dark horse in the Eastern Conference.
Memphis Grizzlies
After getting the #2 overall pick many expected the Grizzlies to add their replacement PG in Ja Morant and a cornerstone in their rebuilding stage. But they were not a playoff team. The Grizzlies had some nice pieces like Jaren Jackson Jr., Dillon Brooks, and Jonas Valanciunas. But, they were not a playoff team. This Grizzlies were expected to win 25.5 games, which would be near the depths of the Western Conference. And yet, here we are in July now, and the Grizzlies have a legitimate chance to be in the playoffs.
The Grizzlies are currently 8th in the Western Conference with a record of 32-33. This would put them around 40ish wins if they played all 82 games. All of their success could be pegged towards one man. Ja Morant.
While many expected Morant to be great, they all expected him to be a consolation prize to Zion Williamson. This season, Morant has been the best rookie this season, and there is no denying it. This season, Morant is averaging:
17.6 points and 6.9 assists while shooting 49.1% from the field and 36.7% from 3.
Morant has also had help from his teammates like Jaren Jackson Jr. who is averaging:
16.9 points while shooting 46.8% from the field and 39.7% from 3.
While Morant has had some minimal help, lets he honest. This team should not be in the playoffs. Not without Morant and even with him this team should not be in the playoffs. But like the Thunder, this team just meshed together and they will in all likely hood make the playoffs this year with the Blazers and Pelicans being too far behind to take the 8th spot in the Western Conference.
But, what do you think? Which one of these teams was the most surprising this season? Are there any other teams you would add? Leave all of your comments down below.
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