Most disappointing team this season?

[SCeltic34]

Straightforward question. 

Houston
Thought to be a title contender at the start of the season with the addition of Lawson and the return of the majority of their roster from last year (minus Josh Smith, who they now have back), which went to the Western Conference Finals.  Lawson clearly didn't work out.  Fired McHale after a slow start, but their current coach definitely isn't any better.  Currently they're just 1 game above .500 with a 33-32 record in a Western conference that is much weaker than last year, and don't project to be a true playoff threat in the West as expected.

Milwaukee
Supposed to be a team on the rise with their youth and size, at minimum thought to be a playoff team this year.  Giannis heading into his 3rd year, Parker getting healthy off of his ACL tear, and Middleton was resigned after a solid previous year.  Added Moose who was a highly coveted free agent.  Currently they're just 27-38 with major defensive issues (defensive rating 105.6, 9th worst in the league) and will not make the playoffs this year. 

Washington
After a decent playoff run last year, Washington has underperformed this season.  Beal has been injured, but Wall and Beal form one of the most formidable backcourts in the league.  They have a decent mix of youth and veterans.  Although they're just 2.5 games from the 8th seed, a 30-34 record is less than impressive and they probably don't pose a threat to the better teams in the East if they do happen to make the playoffs.

Chicago
Obviously the injury to Butler was huge (as well as Noah being injured), but I personally can't help but be disappointed with Chicago.  After being one of the best defensive teams last year under Thibs (top 5, if I'm not mistaken), they've regressed defensively and are still one of the worst offensive teams in the league (offensive rating 100.9, 5th worst, just ahead of Brooklyn), something that Hoiberg was supposed to help address. They're also constantly collapsing in the 4th quarter.  According to a Bulls fan, the Bulls have the 3rd-worst net rating in the NBA at -6.5 since February 1st, with only the Suns and Sixers being worse.  The Bulls are just at. 500 (32-32) and will miss the playoffs if they don't get their act together soon.

Honorable Mention
New Orleans - injury-riddled season, but they shouldn't be as bad as 24-40.  There's enough talent on that roster to do better than that.

My vote:
Houston, although I never counted on Houston being a true contender because the addition of Lawson wasn't sufficient to make them favorites over Golden State.

I think Houston will probably have the most votes just because of expectations, but in my opinion Milwaukee is just a hair behind.  I expected Milwaukee to be at least a 6-8 seed this year and see them as a highly underperforming team.  Just goes to show you how important chemistry is, both in Milwaukee's case and also for Houston, who has two superstars that don't like each other.

[saltlover]

New Orleans is my vote.  This was supposed to be a team on the rise that won 45 games last year, and has one of the true superstars in the league on it.  I know there are injuries, but they haven't been to AD (for the most part).  It's one thing to not be at championship level yet -- it's another thing to not even make 35 wins.

[Redz]

From where they were last year you have to say Houston is the biggest disappointment.  Especially with the way they acted at the start of the season.  Brooklyn could be considered a bit of a disappointment for their fans too I'm sure.  Though their whole existence since the glitzy move to Brooklyn has been one big disappointment.

[mahonedog88]

This is a surprisingly tough question for me.  I don't buy the Rockets, such a predictable season for them in my opinion, especially with a fraud like James Harden leading your team.  Don't forget, I mean, they were down 3-1 in the second round last year, it's not like they rolled their way to the western conference finals.

New Orleans is a good one, because I think everyone thought they'd only continue to improve and with Alvin Gentry as the new coach who I think we all agree is pretty solid, they'd be good to go...but that 1-11 start they had was massive.

I think ultimately I'll go with the Bulls.  Fred Hoiberg was handed something fairly close to a championship roster.  It wasn't like a Brad Stevens situation where he had no pressure on him in year 1 and could feel his way through coaching in the NBA.  Chicago had expectations.  They got rid of a great coach and replaced him with someone that they felt could get them over the hump.  Yes the Jimmy Butler injury has been big, but let's not pretend like Derrick Rose and Butler playing together was working up to its potential before Butler got hurt.  They don't fit together, which is why I fully expect the Bulls to try real hard and trade one of them this summer

[2short]

Bucks got my vote.  First and foremost the rockets are a sham.  Harden WORKS at not playing defense, Howard is a chump and they fired McHale.
Bucks have all the assets in place.  Add Monroe to what should be a good young team and you have.....  I'd think they'd be the 3 seed not us!  A few years away from pushing for ECF not 500 ball.  I'd think they need a new coach maybe thbs to instill a defensive pride.

[PhoSita]

I'm disappointed the Jazz were never healthy enough for us to see how good they could have been.

[GC003332]

I go with the Lakers
They tried to get Aldridge in the off season , so they weren't planning on tanking this season, acquired Williams, Hibbert & Bass to try and at least be somewhat competitive, had a relatively easy schedule to start the season but Kobe was so brutal to start the Season 29%fg and 20% 3 pts in November that their season was virtually over before it began.So they went into tank mode to try and save their pick from the Sixers.
From where they had hoped to be at the beginning of the season to almost certainly having the worst record in Lakers history is the most disappointing performance this season.

[colincb]

Sixers obviously. After all the glowing reviews I read here, they're looking at a third less wins than last year's clusterF. They'll suck next year too, but that's great!

[Lucky17]

Houston. Essentially the same roster last year made it to the WCF. This year, it's looking like they'll need to fight to the end of the regular season to make the playoffs.

I thought Milwaukee overachieved last year, so missing the playoffs, while a disappointment, is less surprising considering how much that team relies on young and still-developing players.

Washington and New Orleans underperforming can be rationalized, to a degree. Injuries might provide some excuse, but front office (roster construction) and coaching are also to blame.

[mctyson]

New Orleans is my vote.  This was supposed to be a team on the rise that won 45 games last year, and has one of the true superstars in the league on it.  I know there are injuries, but they haven't been to AD (for the most part).  It's one thing to not be at championship level yet -- it's another thing to not even make 35 wins.

Don't think you can say New Orleans because they changed coaches.  Also rules out Chicago.

Houston is obvious.  No major changes to the roster, same coach, went to the WC Finals in 2015, what most people would consider a top 5 player in the league....and they are basically at the same place the Celtics were last year.

[SparzWizard]

I had Milwaukee as a top 3 team in the East after all their offseason acquisitions.
Aaaaaand they're going to miss the playoffs. 

The Bulls' only championships will be the ones coming from Michael Jordan. They've never fared well against LeBron James so they were never gonna make it to the finals with Derrick Rose. They've definitely regressed a lot this year.

The Wizards lost Paul Pierce and so they collapsed.

[alldaboston]

New Orleans is my vote.  This was supposed to be a team on the rise that won 45 games last year, and has one of the true superstars in the league on it.  I know there are injuries, but they haven't been to AD (for the most part).  It's one thing to not be at championship level yet -- it's another thing to not even make 35 wins.

Don't think you can say New Orleans because they changed coaches.  Also rules out Chicago.

Houston is obvious.  No major changes to the roster, same coach, went to the WC Finals in 2015, what most people would consider a top 5 player in the league....and they are basically at the same place the Celtics were last year.

Clearly this means we've swapped with Houston.

Houston last year to this year: WCF to possible first round sweep.

Celtics last year to this year: First round sweep to ECF!

[saltlover]

New Orleans is my vote.  This was supposed to be a team on the rise that won 45 games last year, and has one of the true superstars in the league on it.  I know there are injuries, but they haven't been to AD (for the most part).  It's one thing to not be at championship level yet -- it's another thing to not even make 35 wins.

Don't think you can say New Orleans because they changed coaches.  Also rules out Chicago.

Houston is obvious.  No major changes to the roster, same coach, went to the WC Finals in 2015, what most people would consider a top 5 player in the league....and they are basically at the same place the Celtics were last year.

Sure I can.  That team is a huge disappointment with the talent on it, and it was since day 1.  I thought switching coaches was stupid last summer and it still is now, but this is essentially the same roster that won 45 games last year, and is mostly comprised of players between 23-28 years old.  They've had a very steep drop off with a roster that probably should have seen more wins.  Given that the organization apparently felt that 45 wins was a disappointment last year, which is why they fired their coach, they set expectations to take a step forward, not two steps back.

[RockinRyA]

New Orleans is my vote.  This was supposed to be a team on the rise that won 45 games last year, and has one of the true superstars in the league on it.  I know there are injuries, but they haven't been to AD (for the most part).  It's one thing to not be at championship level yet -- it's another thing to not even make 35 wins.

Don't think you can say New Orleans because they changed coaches.  Also rules out Chicago.

Houston is obvious.  No major changes to the roster, same coach, went to the WC Finals in 2015, what most people would consider a top 5 player in the league....and they are basically at the same place the Celtics were last year.

Sure I can.  That team is a huge disappointment with the talent on it, and it was since day 1.  I thought switching coaches was stupid last summer and it still is now, but this is essentially the same roster that won 45 games last year, and is mostly comprised of players between 23-28 years old.  They've had a very steep drop off with a roster that probably should have seen more wins.  Given that the organization apparently felt that 45 wins was a disappointment last year, which is why they fired their coach, they set expectations to take a step forward, not two steps back.

But without those injuries they might not have the same dropoff that houston had.

[mctyson]

New Orleans is my vote.  This was supposed to be a team on the rise that won 45 games last year, and has one of the true superstars in the league on it.  I know there are injuries, but they haven't been to AD (for the most part).  It's one thing to not be at championship level yet -- it's another thing to not even make 35 wins.

Don't think you can say New Orleans because they changed coaches.  Also rules out Chicago.

Houston is obvious.  No major changes to the roster, same coach, went to the WC Finals in 2015, what most people would consider a top 5 player in the league....and they are basically at the same place the Celtics were last year.

Sure I can.  That team is a huge disappointment with the talent on it, and it was since day 1.  I thought switching coaches was stupid last summer and it still is now, but this is essentially the same roster that won 45 games last year, and is mostly comprised of players between 23-28 years old.  They've had a very steep drop off with a roster that probably should have seen more wins.  Given that the organization apparently felt that 45 wins was a disappointment last year, which is why they fired their coach, they set expectations to take a step forward, not two steps back.

If you are a 45 win team, change coaches, and suffer a ton of injuries, you will be a bad team.  You cannot consider that disappointment.

Houston has basically nothing different from last year, when they won 50+ games and were close to the NBA finals.  They are barely out of the lottery.  THAT is disappointing.