The NBA's 5 Sleeper Teams to Keep an Eye on in 2011-2012

Now that the abbreviated NBA season is officially underway, it's time to look past all of those predictions that come at this time of the year (e.g., MVP, Rookie of the Year, League Champion) and focus on some of the little guys. The unexpecteds. The sleepers. 

Every year there are a handful of teams that play over their heads and put a bit of a scare into the big boys. Last year's Indiana Pacers, who overachieved their way into an eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs despite firing their coach mid-season and wound up giving the top seeded Chicago Bulls a real run for it in the first round, are a prime example.

Looking at some of the upgrades made by certain teams headed into this season, post-lockout, the 2011-2012 NBA year should prove no exception to the rule of the sleepers.

So with that, let's take a look a few of them now.

5. Sacramento Kings

The Kings haven't made the playoffs since coach Rick Adelman left following the 2005-2006 season, and this season should be no exception.

However, there are real signs of life coming from California's state capital, and a lot of them are centered around third-year shooting guard Marcus Thornton, who was acquired in a deadline deal last year for forward Carl Landry.

Thornton averaged 21.3 points in roughly 38 minutes per game for the Kings following the trade, a big step up from the 16.1 MPG he was playing for the Hornets. Sacramento went 10-17 with Thornton on board, but did achieve a four-game winning streak and a run of six wins in eight games during that stretch.

Along with fellow youngsters Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins, wily veterans John Salmons and Chuck Hayes, and rookie bomber Jimmer Fredette, the Kings look like they could be going places with a little more time together under their belts—evidenced by their impressive, opening night win over the Lakers.

4. Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks took a step back last year, failing to improve on their playoff appearance after the 2009-2010 season, which was the franchise's first in five years. They were among the worst offensive teams in the league statistically, finishing dead last in points per game and shooting percentage.

Center Andrew Bogut suffered a gruesome elbow injury near the end of that 2009-2010 campaign, forcing him to miss the season's final 13 games and the playoffs. Bogut was never quite right last year, his 12.8 PPG (down more than three full points per game from the previous season before the injury) as proof. For the Bucks to go anywhere this year, they'll need Bogut to better resemble the player he was before hurting his elbow.

If Bogut is healthy, there's reason to believe the Bucks can get back to at least near where they were two years ago.

Gone are black hole Corey Maggette and ball hog John Salmons, replaced by noted scorer and leader (as well as part-time head case) Stephen Jackson and sharpshooting forward Mike Dunleavy. Center Drew Gooden, held to just 35 games last year due to injuries, is back and looks healthy. And third-year point guard Brandon Jennings, who was electrifying in his rookie year only to stumble a bit last season, is off to a hot start so far. 

A lot of the Bucks' potential success hinges on their collective health, as well as whether or not they choose to tune out notoriously edgy coach Scott Skiles. If they don't and can avoid the injury bug, the Bucks should make a return to the postseason.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves

After plummeting to the depths of the NBA gutter in 2009-2010, the T'Wolves did little to improve last year, winning just two more games (17) than they did the year before.

But there are still reasons for hope in Minneapolis, starting with the enormous emergence of power forward Kevin Love.

In just his third pro season, Love exploded last year, averaging 20.2 points per game and a whopping 15.2 rebounds—a number that led the league. Now Love has a real coach leading him (proven winner Rick Adelman, replacing the wildly overmatched Kurt Rambis), his teammates and a pure point guard in rookie Spaniard Ricky Rubio. Love—along with No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams, scoring machine Michael Beasley and defending NBA champion JJ Barea—might actually start to see some results in the win column.

The Wolves aren't anywhere near the playoffs, but they seem to be on the right track following years of woe since the Kevin Garnett trade. They could definitely sneak up on some people this year.

2. Golden State Warriors

Last season, yet another without any playoffs for the Warriors and their rabid fanbase, didn't hurt quite as badly as so many previous failed campaigns—that's because Golden State's long-time owner Chris Cohan, who'd overseen nothing but one lousy defenseless squad after another, sold the team.

And with that sale, some hope for better days to come settled over Oracle Arena in Oakland.

For starters, former player Mark Jackson was hired from the broadcast booth to take over as head coach. Despite having no experience coaching, Jackson's name seemed to come up for one vacancy after another over the past few years. With his hiring, Jackson promised to implement some toughness and some defense—two characteristics any Warriors fan would be hard-pressed to find in most previous incarnations of their favorite franchise.

(The fact that Jackson vowed to make defense a priority when his top three players are three of the worst defenders in the league is a column for another time).

Jackson will try to win with a triumvirate of powerful offensive weapons. Guards Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry, even though they are eerily similar as players, can both be counted on for at least 20 points per game. And power forward David Lee, though undersized, is an excellent low-post player who can really rebound. Lee averaged 21.5 and 9.5 last year, and has snared just under 10 boards per game over his six-year career. 

After those three, there's a bit of a drop-off. But the Warriors have a raft of young talent, starting with superhuman athlete Epke Udoh, and continuing down the line with three-point gunner Dorell Wright and swing man Brandon Rush, newly acquired from Indiana. 

Jackson has work to do in bringing his young group together and getting them to understand that there's much more to the game than trying to score 150 points every night. But he can make some significant progress thanks to all that talent—starting with this season.

1. Indiana Pacers

The already mentioned Pacers look as primed as any team in the NBA to take the next step. They have depth all over their multi-faceted roster, truckloads of young talent and a young coach who looks like he belongs.

Frank Vogel took over a listless franchise that hadn't been to the playoffs in five years and was waffling along at 10 games under .500 last season. The Pacers then went 20-18, and Vogel led them to the postseason and that stellar showing against the Bulls in the first round. President of basketball operations Larry Bird rewarded Vogel with a contract extension, and with it—along with the emergence of some key cogs—came hope for a team that, for a 17-year stretch in the 1990s and 2000s, was a standard of the Eastern Conference. 

In addition to Danny Granger, who's been the face of the franchise for a few years now, Indiana features solid players at every position.

Center Roy Hibbert is a potential monster, looking like he's added a very nice set of skills in the paint and an already impressive acumen on defense. Second-year man Paul George looks like a star in the making. Point guards Darren Collison and George Hill (who comes over from as good an atmosphere as there is in San Antonio) are solid players.

And to top it all off, the Pacers were gifted two-time All-Star forward David West, who came over from New Orleans having averaged at least 19 points and 7.5 rebounds in each of his last five seasons.

There are still questions here, though.

Can the Pacers survive having expectations? Will West's surgically repaired knee hold up? Can George and Granger, so similar as players, coexist? Will Vogel have a similar impact as he did last year?

We'll see.

But given all the momentum garnered over the last couple months of last year and the experience garnered over that stretch by this group of players, it seems a very safe bet that the answer to all of those questions is a hearty yes.