7 Young NBA Teams That Will Make Second-Half Runs
As we hit the halfway point of the NBA season, some teams are starting to grow up and play beyond their age level.
There are some young teams in the NBA, and young teams struggle with consistency throughout the course of the season, but some of these teams have enough talent to compete and can use the second half of the season to get back into things.
Here's a look at a few young teams that have the ability to make second-half runs.
Minnesota Timberwolves
1 of 7The Timberwolves are one of the youngest teams in the NBA, with an average age of 24.9. Only the Sacramento Kings are a younger team, with an average age of 24.69.
Currently, the Wolves sit a game under .500 at 16-17, but are prepared to make a solid second-half run at a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
So far, the Wolves have played in 12 games that have been decided by four points or less and only have a 4-8 record in those contests. A few bounces go their way, and Minnesota is sitting over .500 right now.
They are a young team that needs to learn how to win close games.
Their schedule is tough down the stretch, as 19 of Minnesota's 33 remaining games are against over .500 teams, but they will be tough down the stretch and put together a run.
Perhaps adding a shooter down the stretch will help, but opposing teams shouldn't take Minnesota for granted.
Golden State Warriors
2 of 7Mark Jackson's Warriors are off to a slow 12-17 start to the season, but the Warriors have the talent to make a run at .500, and potentially, the No. 8 seed in the west.
They are the third highest scoring team in the NBA (99.0 PPG), and if they are healthy and can keep Stephen Curry in the lineup for the entire second half, the Warriors could get hot.
The issues have been at the defensive end for Golden State, who has an average age of only 25.43, but if Jackson can get this team to rebound and play defense, then the Warriors could be tough to beat down the stretch.
Houston Rockets
3 of 7The Western Conference has some of the better young teams in the NBA, and the Rockets, average age of 25.6, are no exception.
To date, Kevin McHale's team has overachieved at 19-14, but they have the talent to build off that after the All-Star break.
They have a dynamic backcourt with Kyle Lowry and Kevin Martin and do a lot of things fundamentally well.
They could be an extra productive big body away from making a run into the top half of the Western Conference.
New York Knicks
4 of 7The Knicks got a tad bit older in the past couple of weeks, but they have an average age of only 26.53.
If there is a team in the Eastern Conference that has the talent to make a serious run throughout the second half, it's the Knicks.
They are 16-17 at the moment and have a pretty tough schedule going forward that features 20 of 33 games against teams that are currently .500 or better.
Yet, once Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin can prove that they can co-exist in Mike D'Antoni's offense, the Knicks are poised to go on a big run.
Memphis Grizzlies
5 of 7The Grizzlies will show in the second half that they are more like the team that took the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in last year's playoffs than the inconsistent team that's been present during the 2011-12 season so far.
Marc Gasol is an All-Star, and Rudy Gay should have been one, so the talent is there.
Memphis, average age of 26.78, is a pretty good defensive team, but have been inconsistent on the offensive end.
They've managed to fight through all the injuries and inconsistencies to go 18-15 so far this season, and if they get lucky and get Zach Randolph back healthy, the offensive problems in Memphis could be solved internally.
Indiana Pacers
6 of 7Indiana started out the season great, but has come back to earth as of late.
The Pacers have an average age of 27.09 and are still a solid 19-12 team, but look for them to get hot again and make a serious run at holding onto one of the top-four seeds in the East.
They are a very good rebounding team (43.6) and play good team defense, holding opposing teams to only 92.2 PPG.
Indiana has also played only 13 home games to date, so they will get a good stretch of their games at home during the second half on the season and get to play 20 of their 35 remaining games against under .500 teams.
New Jersey Nets
7 of 7The 10-24 Nets make this list only for the fact that there is still a chance they could acquire Dwight Howard.
The Nets have been as banged up as any team in the NBA this season, but if they can find a way to land Howard to pair with Deron Williams, the Nets could find a way to make a run at the the No. 8 spot in a not-so-tough Eastern Conference.
