NBA: Biggest surprises and disappointments midway through 2019-20

Who’s proven the doubters wrong and who’s failed to reach their potential this season thus far in the NBA?

Every season has its fair share of predictions for who’s going to go all the way and take the league by storm, and who’s going to try their hardest to get a top-five pick in the next draft. However, as it has been proven time and time again, predictions are just predictions. Every year there’s teams and players who don’t meet the general public’s expectations or soar above them. This season’s no different.

Portland Trail Blazers – Injury-ridden

Granted the Western Conference is the more difficult of the two, it still doesn’t excuse the Portland Trail Blazers for their underwhelming performance this year. What can be used as an excuse is any and all of the staggering number of injuries this team has suffered.

First and foremost, starting center Jusuf Nurkic still out after breaking his leg last March with ways to go in his recovery. The Blazers also lost key frontcourt players in Maurice Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu last summer to free agency. Portland was in the Western Conference Finals last season and are 18-26, sitting in the 11th seed in the West.

The Blazers have dealt with a number of depth-crumbling losses this season which can safely be seen with Carmelo Anthony as the starting power forward (who’s actually been doing really well all things considered). As great as the infamous backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are, they aren’t enough to take this beaten-down team back to the postseason. Trading for Hassan Whiteside was a temporary fix at the center position but Portland still lacks several pieces with varying timetables for return.

The mediocrity of the Trail Blazers this season isn’t so much the fault of the front office or the stars of the team, it is the absence of everyone except for the former.