NBA 2011-2012: 9 Teams on the Rise

Every year, some NBA teams see a drop off in the wins column, and at the same time, a handful of teams improve.

Usually the "old" teams are expected to get a little worse with age, and the young "rebuilding" teams are expected to improve. While it's common that happens, sometimes rising NBA squads fail to maintain a high level of play without any apparent reason, and sometimes old NBA squads just refuse to go away (like the Spurs).

There are many deciding factors which will help us guess how a team will do, but because we haven't gone through free agency and the summer league, we really can't make a very accurate guess right now.

Keeping that in mind, here's a slideshow of nine NBA teams on the rise for the 2011-2012 season (based on current rosters).

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks are expecting a playoff team for next season.

In the 2009-2010 season, Milwaukee finished with a very solid 46 wins and locked the sixth seed in the playoffs. The Bucks took the third-seeded Atlanta Hawks to seven games in the first round of the playoffs despite playing without their star big-man Andrew Bogut.

The Bucks had a core of both young players and veterans, and it looked as though Milwaukee was finally in position to make multiple playoff runs.

The 2010-2011 season was far from what fans wanted from Milwaukee. The team failed to make the playoffs and finished two games behind the Indiana Pacers for the eighth playoff spot, despite adding scoring Forward Corey Maggette and big man Drew Gooden, all while keeping leading scorer John Salmons on the team.

Young guard Brandon Jennings digressed from his rookie season as his shooting percentages dropped, the team failed to mesh together and was very poor offensively, and Andrew Bogut didn't come back to All-Star form this past season.

This offseason, John Hammond did an amazing job erasing the mistakes he made last summer, while adding solid pieces which will put Milwaukee back in the playoff race.

John Salmons and Corey Maggette were both overpaid and failed to contribute as they were expected. The Bucks sent Maggette to Charlotte and Salmons to Sacramento in a deal which got them Steven Jackson, Shaun Livingston and Beno Udrih.

The Bucks didn't totally miss out on the draft either, as Tobias Harris will be a solid pro.

Udrih will be a solid PG and will play the important role Luke Ridnour played two seasons ago. Steven Jackson is expected to bring what the motivated John Salmons brought two seasons ago and has a reputation of leading bad teams to the playoffs.

The young players on the Bucks will improve with another summer under their belts, and we should be hearing the "Fear the Deer" slogan once again.

New York Knicks

The Knicks are considered contenders and will prove their worth next season. New York dealt nearly half of its roster for Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups in the middle of the season, and the team struggled to mesh in such short time.

The Knicks finished with a mediocre regular season record of 42-40. Injuries, lack of depth, and troubles adjusting kept this team from making a deep play-off run.

Next season the Knicks will have a full training camp together, and with a few roster changes designed to complement their star trio, the Knicks should have no problem being a top 4 team in the East next season.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Wolves have been a bad team for a long time. It would require a very skilled G.M to orchestrate another 15-win season in Minnesota.

The Timberwolves have a very talented young core of Kevin Love, Micheal Beasley, Derrick Williams, Ricky Rubio, Wesley Johnson, Anthony Randolph, and Luke Ridnour.

Rubio and Williams are not your average rookies, and are both nba-ready players who will produce from the get-go. Anthony Randolph and Wes Johnson are two young players who should see an increase in production starting next season as they grow both physically and mentally. Kevin Love is an all-star and so is Micheal Beasley a 22 year old who still has untapped potential.

If Beas or Williams is traded, it will bring in another all-star caliber player; and the Wolves have a ton of cap-space they could use towards adding even more talent.

It took seven seasons of losing, but the T-Wolves have a chance to grab the 8th seed next year.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz have a good team, and might not enter a "rebuilding phase" after losing their star PG Deron Williams.

Utah selected two very talented rookies in Enes Kanter and Alec Burks, both being players who could start as rookies. Kanter could be an all-star Center, and has a similar game to former all-star Mehmet Okur. Kanter has the skills to contribute right away and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him score 12 PPG and grab around 8 rebounds as a rookie. Burks is one of the most prolific scorers in the draft, and has fits the bill as a proto-type shooting guard. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Burks score in double figures as a rookie.

The Jazz have a very solid team with borderline all-stars in multiple positions. Devon Harris is an above average starting PG who be great for the Jazz regardless if he ever returns to all-star form or not. The Jazz have a young beast in Derrick Favors who will continue to develop as the season progresses.

Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson are two Big's who can bring back a very talented player, and the Jazz also have the expiring contract of Mehmet Okur to use as a trade chip.

Expect the Utah Jazz to rebound after having a down season last year.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers have been one of the biggest "what-ifs" this past few years. Portland continues to make the playoffs despite its key players suffering from injuries and they have one very stacked team.

Gerald Wallace was the franchise player in Charlotte, Lamarcus Aldridge has proven his worth as one of the top Power Forwards in the game, Wes Mattews proved to be one of the biggest steals last year and still has room to grow, Raymond Felton was an all-star before being benched in Denver, Batum is a 22-year old who would start on most teams, Marcus Camby continues to produce despite being 37 years of age, and then you have young players like Luke Babbit and Nolan Smith who could surprise at any moment.

The Blazers will improve next year because Raymond Felton could is a major upgrade over the aging Andre Miller, and if the young players on this team continue to improve, the blazers will have one of the deepest teams in the league.

If they retain Greg Oden and he steps on the court, and Roy can maintain around 15 PPG in limited minutes, that should put this team over the top.

Expect Portland to have another 50-win season, but don't expect them to lose in the first round again.

The Question Marks

There are a number of teams which could take a leap forward depending on what they do in free agency, and exactly how much their young players continue to improve.

Here are three teams which could surprise but aren't likely to do so:

Charlotte Bobcats?

The Bobcats were a bad team last year. Micheal Jordan passed on resigning Raymond Felton, traded away Tyson Chandler for pennies, and traded away Gerald Wallace for a little more than that.

Had he known Felton would have a break out season, or that Chandler would stay healthy, I'm not sure MJ and the Bobcats would have torn down the roster like they did.

Looking forward though, the Bobcats could either improve or completely hit the bottom. Drafting offensive stud Kemba Walker and defensive beast Bismack Biyombo, the Bobcats have two core players to build around for the future. The problem about these two rookies is that: while Kemba could turn out to be a Brandon Jennings and Bismack could be a Marcus Camby, there's also the bust potential in both of those guys.

So how can they improve? Assuming Kemba and Bismack don't hit the ground sprinting (even though it's very possible they do), Charlotte will still improve because they have the financial flexibility to add solid long term pieces and they also have valuable trade chip in D.J Augustine.

Losing leading scorer Stephen Jackson might not be all that bad for Charlotte considering Corey Maggette could be even better then Jax. Maggette didn't fit with Milwaukee and had a nagging ankle injury which forced him to come off the bench.

Maggette is a proven scorer who can get to the line at will, and should fill up the stat sheet as the number one option in Charlotte. Maggette scored 12 PPG in only 20 minutes of playing time last season, and if you were to adjust those numbers to 36 minutes, Maggette would have scored 20.7 PPG.

If Kemba Walker could score 15 PPG and if Bismack Biyombo could be pull down 10 boards, I could see Charlotte winning about 40 games next season.

Toronto Raptors?

The Raps have a lot to look forward to. The next CBA will determine how much they will spend on free agency, but the team is poised to add two impact players to the team.

One of which is expected to be a Center which is the biggest glaring need for the Raptors. The remaining cap space could be used for a solid starting forward.

The Raptors have a very young core of talented players such as Derozan, Bayless, Ed Davis, Amir Johnson, James Johnson, and they also have proven talent in Jose Calderon, Bargnani, and Barbosa.

If the Raptors land a legitimate Big man and slide Bargnani over to the four spot, the Raptors could surprise people and be a playoff team.

Toronto selected Jonas Valanciunas with the fifth pick in the draft, and will not see him in uniform until next season. Had they picked a prospect ready to play today, this team would be more likely to see the playoffs.

Overall Toronto will be good if they land a Marc Gasol/Tyson Chandler esque Center; but that's one huge IF.

Indiana Pacers?

The Pacers already have a solid young core of Darren Collison, Danny Granger, and Roy Hibbert, but they have the potential to go even further.

The Pacers traded for George Hill who will remain one of the best sixth men in the league, and could even overtake Collison's starting spot.

Indiana has some very good young players on the team including Tyler Hansbrough, Paul George, Lance Stephenson, and they are likely to hold onto Josh McRoberts.

Indiana has the most cap space available this summer (or whatever season Free Agency will be in), and reports have suggested they are already eyeballing NO big man David West. If they choose to spend a good chunk of change on free agents, there's a possibility Indiana could become a contender in the east.