NBA: 10 Thoughts As The Stretch Run Begins
By Evan Dyal
Disappointing Teams This Year
Every year in the NBA, there are teams that exceed expectations and those who disappoint. My three most disappointing teams this year are the Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers.
Lets start with Portland, they are now 26-35 and 1.5 games out of the 8 seed in the West. They may have been a little too overhyped this season, and the Evan Turner signing made no sense, but they are better than this. Portland is a mess defensively, their bench is inconsistent, and Al Farouq Aminu has regressed. As explosive as their backcourt is, I’m not sure they can co-exist defensively in the long run. This disappointing year, will leave the Blazers making some tough decisions this offseason.
The Pistons were a team that I thought was ready to take the next step instead they have been a slightly below average team. Reggie Jackson got hurt, and hasn’t been the same since he came back, the Pistons are finishing games with Ish Smith. Andre Drummond has not taken the next step, and his effort on defense leaves lots to be desired at times. Tobias Harris has gone to a bench role, and the problems go on and on. This is a team who will also have some tough questions to answer in the offseason.
The last disappointing team has been the Indiana Pacers. They are an average team, and have the talent to be better. They took too long to realise Monta Ellis is no longer a starter, Paul George’s effort has disappointed at times. Indiana seems stuck in an identity crisis on offense, and play too many bad defenders. That being said, this team has talent in Paul George, Myles Turner and Jeff Teague. This team should have about 5-7 more wins. As I wrote about earlier, I think the Pacers will trade George in the offseason and start fresh.