5 NBA Teams That Can Cause Some Problems the Rest of the Way

This list is about five NBA teams that can be pesky for other teams in contention.

Now that doesn't mean these teams are contenders but have a chance to cause some headaches. They're statistically better than their records (except the Mavericks, who seem to be playing as well as their record) and at times that can show when they play well against the better teams.

We know the NBA is currently dominated by four teams: the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.

These four teams have been playing so well that it's tough to even create an argument for anyone else.

So if the Spurs, Warriors and Cavaliers and the Thunder are some mix of the top tier (depending on who you're talking to) consider these five teams the annoying pests in that third tier that will give the better teams surprisingly good games.

(And, because there are three good-to-great teams in the West, this list is East dominant. The teams in the East have a better chance to beat the Cavaliers to make the Finals than the Warriors, Spurs and Thunder.)

Charlotte Hornets

Record-wise, the Hornets are struggling. 

At one point, they were 15-10, but a 2-8 stretch has dropped them out of the playoffs for now. They're 17-18 and 11th in the standings.

But, looking deeper, beyond the one game under .500, and the Hornets could still cause some teams trouble.

In those eight losses, the Hornets were beaten by teams like the Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Thunder and Toronto Raptors. Of course they're going to lose those games. (And they're currently split 1-1 for the season series with the Raptors.)

The Hornets are 15th in pace at 98.24, per NBA.com, one point away from being ranked in the top 10. As in the video above, they move on the break and can turn defense into easy buckets.

And during the barrage of possessions they get, the Hornets score. They're 10th in offensive efficiency and 15th in true-shooting percentage, one percentage point away from being in the top eight.

Don't get me wrong, the Hornets won't win a series, especially if they get the Cavaliers in the first round. 

And they're a middle-of-the-pack defensive team.

But that doesn't mean they can't catch one of these teams on an off-night and steal a game.

Miami Heat

When the Miami Heat were one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, it was due to a frenetic pace set by the freakishness of LeBron James.

Now, the Heat are a top defensive team because they have one of the best rim protectors in the league, Hassan Whiteside.

The Heat are strange offensively. They're 29th in pace at less than 95 possessions per 48 minutes, according to NBA.com, but they do make those possessions count as they're 11th in offensive rating.

But where they make their bones is defensively.

The Heat have the sixth-best defense in the league according to rating at 98.9 points per 100 possessions.

They hold opponents to the fourth-worst field-goal percentage at a shade below 43 percent, per NBA.com 

Whiteside's rim protecting is strong. He leads the league in blocks at 3.9 per game, and it doesn't count the shots he alters. 

Opponents guarded by Whiteside score an average of 9.3 percent less than other defenders within six feet of the hoop, per NBA.com

More, Whiteside's defensive range extends beyond just the paint as shown in the video above.

The Heat probably won't run teams out of the gym anymore without James, but that defense is still there and they are capable of grinding out games.

Dallas Mavericks

Probably the surprise in the NBA so far this season, head coach Rick Carlisle is working something special in Dallas.

At 21-15, the Mavericks are currently the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, having won seven of their last 10. They are playing well despite the third-oldest roster in the NBA at 29.3 years.

For one, the Mavericks are eighth in offensive efficiency, per NBA.com.

Second, they are sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.65 and are second in turnover ratio overall behind who other than the Charlotte Hornets.

Simply put, the Mavericks don't turn the ball over.

We've seen the resurrection of Deron Williams in Dallas as he's having one of his best seasons in recent years. Dirk Nowitzki is still one of the most effective shooters in the league and Zaza Pachulia is turning into a gem of a find at center.

There's no way they make it through the gauntlet of facing the Spurs, Warriors or Thunder to win the West, but they are more than capable of stealing a game or two from them.

Indiana Pacers

The NBA is just a better league with Paul George in it.

With the uncertainty of George's health still in play, the Pacers let go of big men David West and Roy Hibbert in favor adapting to the pace-and-space era.

Right now they're struggling, having lost six of 10 games, but this is still a team that can cause problems.

George is back to being a perennial All-Star and at worst a top-seven player in the league.

He's the league's seventh-leading scorer, and we know how much a team can elevate from the play of a superstar in the playoffs.

As a team, the Pacers are still elite defensively, giving up 98.6 points per 100 possessions, fourth in the NBA.

They're holding teams to a sixth-best 98.4 points per game and are holding opponents to 44 percent shooting.

While the effects of shifting to the pace-and-space won't make a huge difference this season, the Pacers are obviously still the ferocious team defensively when they did run out big lineups.

The Pacers won't take James to seven games in a playoff series either this season, but if they don't face the Cavaliers in Round 1, who's to say they can't steal a series?

Boston Celtics

With a backcourt that houses vicious on-ball defenders Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley, the Celtics could make some noise the rest of the way.

To be fair, Boston will never outscore a team in a shootout, considering it's 25th in the league in offensive efficiency, according to NBA.com. It's also 23rd in true shooting percentage at 52 percent.

And it gets killed on the boards, giving up a third-worst 46.5 rebounds per game.

But where it wins games is on defense. 

In the video, notice how it attacks the ball. Forward to 40 seconds and see Boston's help defense. When the Warriors' Marreese Speights tries to go right after the middle of the paint is closed off, Boston's Jae Crowder dropped down and blocked his shot.

The Celtics lost (completely contradicting two paragraphs above), but it took two overtimes and the Warriors were held to under 40 percent shooting for the game.

Defensively, the Celtics have the second-best rating at 97.9 points per 100 possessions. 

They hold opponents to 42.9 percent shooting, fifth best in the NBA. And, when it comes to the three-point-line, Boston is holding opponents to a fourth-best 32.1 percent.

The Celtics are only four games out of the No. 2 seed. If they can dodge the Cavaliers in the first round, don't be surprised if they win a series or at least take it seven games.