The NBA landscape has shifted dramatically this offseason with free agent signings, trades and the NBA Draft changing the outlook for all 30 teams. The Golden State Warriors are the obvious betting favorites to win an NBA championship after adding Kevin Durant but there are a number of teams that reached the postseason a year ago and will have a tough time getting back there after failing to add the necessary pieces this summer. Here is a look at which playoff teams that made the postseason in 2015-16 won’t make it back there this coming season.
Houston Rockets
Expectations were high for the Rockets a year ago but they failed to meet them as they followed up a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2014-15 by barely qualifying for the postseason as the eighth seed in 2015-16. Houston opted not to pay Dwight Howard as a free agent this offseason and while they did bring in Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon it wasn’t the type of impact move they needed to put them over the top. There was a long list of players that the Rockets missed out on including Durant and Pau Gasol and after downgrading at the center position it’s hard to imagine them being a better team in 2016-17. The Western Conference has improved with Utah, Sacramento, Denver and Minnesota all on the rise so Houston will have a difficult time making the playoffs this coming season.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks overachieved by making the playoffs a year ago thanks to a handful of players performing at a high level than expected while a number of teams underachieved in the Western Conference. Dallas opted to give Harrison Barnes a max contract after a horrible NBA Finals performance and then brought in a player the Warriors didn’t want anymore in Andrew Bogut. The Mavericks couldn’t convince Chandler Parsons to return and while Bogut and Barnes are still decent players they won’t make them a significantly better team this coming year. The odds of Dirk Nowitzki, Wesley Matthews and Deron Williams all staying healthy and playing at a high level this season are slim so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Dallas took a step back in 2016-17.
Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte finished sixth in the Eastern Conference a year ago thanks in big part to a dominant record at home where they went 30-11. However, they failed to carry over the momentum from last year’s run in to the offseason where their most notable addition was Marco Belinelli. The issue is that they lost Al Jefferson, Courtney Lee and Jeremy Lin. Of course, all of those players are replaceable but when you’re a team like the Hornets and you make the playoffs by the slimmest of margins, losing 32.6 points per game is going to hurt.
The Hornets are set in the backcourt where they are led by Kemba Walker but they could have used another big man to give them a stronger presence in the paint. Yes, they acquired Roy Hibbert but he’s mostly a scarecrow these days. The New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic all expect to contend for a playoff spot in 2016-17 and that could result in the Hornets getting bumped out.
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers figured out a way to sneak in to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference but they got rid of a very good head coach in Frank Vogel and they will have a much different look this coming season. Moving out George Hill in order to bring in Jeff Teague should be considered an upgrade at the point guard position but signing Al Jefferson isn’t a guarantee of anything because of his history of knee injuries. He’s on the downside of his career. Thaddeus Young isn’t a substantial upgrade in their frontcourt; he’s had multiple opportunities to show that he’s a regular contributor but that hasn’t happened. He seems to have good numbers but minimal impact on the game.
The Pacers did what they felt necessary to improve their roster for this coming season but with a number of teams improving in the Eastern Conference, Indiana will be in tough to make it back to the postseason in 2016-17.
