It wasn’t long ago that the Detroit Pistons were considered among the biggest disappointments in the NBA but waiving Josh Smith and experiencing an unexpected resurgence to close out the first half, they are suddenly knocking on the door for an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Few outside of the Pistons franchise expected such a dramatic turnaround following Smith’s release but everything seemed to fall in place after that move and now Detroit is looking like a playoff contender. While the Pistons have found their stride, there are still a number of teams that haven’t been able to live up to expectations. Here is a look at the three biggest disappointments from the first half of the NBA season.
Cleveland Cavaliers (22-20)
When LeBron James returned and brought Kevin Love with him to team up with Kyrie Irving, this team was supposed to be an NBA Championship contender. But James has struggled with injuries and inconsistent play while Love has been benched in key stretches of games because he is considered a defensive liability.
Head coach David Blatt is on the hot seat with rumors flying around that LeBron and company have tuned him out. Though it’s reasonable to give this team an extended period to gel considering the amount of new pieces in play, there aren’t much positives to take from the first half. The raw talent is there for Cleveland to be a contender in the East but they’ve already hit the panic button, taking on the contracts of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, while throwing two first-round picks at Timofey Mozgov.
Those moves could have a substantial impact in time but, if they don’t pan out, the Cavs will have even less ammunition to work with in terms of building a title contender. Hovering around the .500 mark is not where this team was expected to be and that’s why they’re the biggest disappointment so far this season.
New York Knicks (6-36)
Phil Jackson arrived and the franchise retained superstar Carmelo Anthony, but it didn’t take long for all of that optimism to dissipate. Now a team that was once considered a lock to make the playoffs is sitting in the basement of the NBA standings. Monday’s win over New Orleans marked the first time the Knicks held a double-digit lead over an opponent at Madison Square Garden all season but it wasn’t enough to convince fans to take the paper bags off their heads. That’s because Monday’s win was their first in 17 games.
It has been a hard fall for a team that finished second in the Eastern Conference with 54 wins just two years ago and it’s going to get worse before it gets better as management has pushed this team into tank mode. Many people thought the Philadelphia 76ers would be the worst team in the NBA this season but the Knicks have taken that crown.
Charlotte Hornets (17-25)
It really is no surprise that another Eastern Conference team closes out this list, especially when you consider that the final two playoff seeds currently belong to teams with records below .500. The Hornets are somehow still knocking on the door for a postseason spot despite being eight games below .500, but that’s hardly an accomplishment for a team that was expected to take a major step forward from last season’s playoff berth.
Lance Stephenson has largely been a bust, while the additions of Marvin Williams, Jason Maxiell, and Brian Roberts haven’t panned out either. Stephenson is reportedly being shopped around the league and, as was the case in Detroit with Josh Smtih, it could be a case of addition by subtraction if they are able to move him. The Hornets still have a shot at making the postseason if they can turn things around with a strong second half but to this point, they have to be considered among the biggest disappointments so far this season.
