NBA 2018-19 season: 5 teams that could surprise people

#2 Washington Wizards

Los Angeles Lakers v Washington Wizards

There's a lot of people who are of the belief that adding Dwight Howard to an already unpredictable mix of players in Washington could be subtraction by addition, but I have high hopes for the franchise this season. While they were the #8 seed last season, much of that can be attributed to their lack of roster depth and John Wall's recurring injury troubles through the course of the season.

Their core of Wall, Beal and Porter are headed into the prime of their NBA careers now, and are their most consistent players. Markieff Morris and Howard round out their starting five, which was already one of the best in the league before the Gortat-for-Rivers trade engineered by the front office.

Replacing Mike Scott with Jeff Green might affect their bench offense, but is a definite upgrade on the other end of the floor. Kelly Oubre Jr, Tomas Satoransky and Jodie Meeks round out a reasonably strong bench lineup that has the ability to hang with the best second units in the league on paper.

If everything clicks, the Wizards have the potential to be a top 4, maybe top 3 seed in the East.