Inventory: The five most surprising teams in the NBA this season, the Pacers became dark horses, and the Lakers were disappointed

NBA playoffs have always been an arena of "expected collapse" and "miracle birth", and the 2025 playoff stage, accidents and subversion have become the main themes. From being a giant with high expectations to being "Black Seven" to a civilian team that has counterattacked and entered the finals, the league structure has been completely rewritten in just two months. Here are the five most surprising teams of this season:

1. Indiana Pacers: Dark Horse Gene

only ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, but the team defeated their opponents 4:1 against the Bucks in the first round, and eliminated their opponents 4:1 against the Cavaliers, and eliminated their opponents 4:2 against the Knicks. The team has entered the finals and will compete for the championship with the Thunder. The team's performance in the playoffs is impressive.

The coach gave up traditional superstar singles and created a "core-free endpoint" mobile offense, using pick-and-roll cutting and bottom-line cross-cover to create open three-point opportunities. 11 players rotated in the playoffs, 5 players averaged double points per game, and ranked first in the league in assists. Siakam's forward attack, Turner's frame protection, Halliburton's key ball and Nemhard's defense are connected in series, forming a blind spot offensive and defensive system.

2. Los Angeles Lakers: The structural defeat of the three deformed giants

The team won the third place in the Western Conference in the regular season. It was originally thought that the team became a favorite to compete for the championship, but the team defeated 1:4 in the first round against the Timberwolves, becoming the 13th seed in the first round of the NBA history, which led to this situation mainly due to the imbalance in the inside line. Doncic + Reeves' backcourt combination's defensive efficiency third from the bottom in the league. The opponent's success rate after the pick-and-roll was as high as 74%. In this case, although the support of the three giants is difficult to do.

3. Denver Nuggets: The record of the fourth in the Western Conference in the regular season. Due to its weak lineup depth (only 7-man rotation), it is not optimistic about the playoff journey. The opponent in the first round is a strong team with the "rejuvenation version" of Harden and Xiaoka. The team defeated the opponent 4:3. In the second round, they faced the Thunder and fought again in the tiebreak. The team missed the opponent 3:4, becoming the only team in the playoffs that forced the Thunder into the tiebreak. Jokic suppressed Alexander in the MVP showdown. The high-level data (PER 33.2) was the top league. It is becoming more and more difficult to lead the team in the NBA with a single core.

4. Minnesota Timberwolves: Defensive restoration

Entered the playoffs with a record of sixth in the regular season, with second-ranked defensive efficiency in the regular season, and limited the opponent's shooting percentage in the penalty area to 51.4%. In the first round, "bottom-bumping": Eliminate the Lakers 4-1, Gobert G5 hit 27+24 to beat the Lakers' inside line, Curry injured and retreated 4-1 to eliminate the Warriors, Edwards averaged 29.3 points per game in the series, with net wins in the last quarter, and the league was the first, transforming from a scorer to a core of offense and defense.

5. New York Knicks: Unexpectedly, the regular season team won the third record in the Eastern Conference and performed well. The team eliminated the Pistons 4:2 in the first round and defeated the Celtics 4:2 in the second round. However, facing the Pacers team, they were not against their opponents 2:4, and they were able to perform like this. They gave up the "dead fucking main force" mode, and the playoff rotation increased to 9 players. The contribution of players such as Anunobi and Divinchenzo increased. Although they lost to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Final, the Knicks proved that iron-blooded defense + star hard solution can still survive in the playoffs, as long as they rotate moderately to ensure health

Everyone believes that in addition to the above five teams, those teams have performed surprisingly this season. Welcome to discuss!