NBA: 5 dark horse teams that could surprise you next season

3. Boston Celtics

The Bolton Celtics is truly one of those teams which can achieve a playoff berth if they want to. The “surprise” element is because of the fact that they still remain a playoff team after losing Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. With them gone, Rajon Rondo will probably totally control the offense. He, however, has to take a good hard look at his jump shot. Kelly Olynyk, the big rookie (literally), needs to start performing right from the word go. The same applies for sophomore Jared Sullinger. They have quite some depth in their bench with Jeff Green, Gerald Wallace and Brandon Bass.

One big advantage they have is that the Celtics are a decent team in a poor conference. They can easily perform better than the bottom 5. So, it all depends on whether the Celtics want to achieve a playoff berth. This is one team which has truly shaken up it’s roster and can become whatever it wants to be.