22. New Orleans Pelicans
Despite flashes of improvements over the last couple of weeks, the New Orleans pelicans simply can’t put together a consistent set of games in order to move up substantially in the Western Conference standings.
The Pelicans are only three games out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference but have really good teams in front of them in the standings – and it’ll be tough to jump them all. The Pelicans still seem a year away from true playoff contention in the West.
21. Atlanta Hawks
Before the season, there were high expectations for the Atlanta Hawks heading into this year. After what they did during the offseason, it’s quite disappointing to see them out of the top 8 in the Eastern Conference at nearly the midway point of the season.
That said, the Hawks still have enough talent on their roster where they could turn their season around. They’re only 1.5 games out of the fifth seed in the East and two games out of hosting a first-round playoff series.