NBA dark-horse contenders? Raptors, Warriors among teams that could make unexpected run

Somehow, someway, we are only days away from the onslaught of media day and the opening of training camps in the NBA. A summer full of ideas, concepts, defensive schemes and drawn-up sets is closer to coming to fruition. Optimism can come and go, but this is the time of year where you can say the majority of teams are going to feel the most hopeful.

My mind starts to think about the contenders. Not just the Knicks, Spurs, and Thunders of the world, but the dark-horse contenders — the teams who believe they can make that leap. And whether it was last year’s 60-win Pistons, the 64-win Cavaliers from two years ago, or the 51-win Grizzlies from 2022-23, someone always emerges.

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And that’s the beauty of basketball, it’s not black and white, it’s full of gray. No matter what it feels like, there truly is no one way to win. So here is my dice roll on some teams — whether they are already good and are being slept on, or that I think could get better throughout the season — that maybe, just maybe, just maybe could make a deep run in the playoffs.

(Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

It’s not a gigantic surprise that a team featuring Kawhi Leonard may not only have championship aspirations but a route to get it done. He’s quite literally done this in Toronto once before, and I’m not sure people get how much better the Raptors got over the course of last season. There’s a reason they took Cleveland to seven games in the first round.

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The regular season may have to get managed with Leonard, but his presence and self-creation should stabilize and elevate the Raptors in the half-court. His ability to draw the attention from the defense should pay dividends. I thought Brandon Ingram was great for the Raptors last year, but he had to make a lot of shots before defenses would blink. Not the same here.

Toronto can also offer different lineup combinations where RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickly have additional opportunities to shine (and they will be key). And none of what Kawhi does should disrupt or interrupt the continued growth of Scottie Barnes. Both can do a little bit of everything…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/nba-dark-horse-contenders-raptors-warriors-among-teams-that-could-make-unexpected-run-170347587.html

Author : Steve Jones

Publish date : 2026-09-24 17:03:00

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