9. Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls check in at No. 9 because of how much effort this team made to pivot toward win-now a couple of offseasons ago. And considering they have no playoff series wins to show for it is extremely disappointing. The expectation was that hopefully, the Bulls would be able to turn the corner this season, but they didn’t.
A big reason why is the lack of a healthy Lonzo Ball. Even though it was somewhat of a pipe dream to expect Lonzo to be back this season, the fact that he wasn’t available for Chicago at all this season had to hurt their chances of emerging in the East. Whether you want to admit it or not, he was a big part of the team’s early success last season.
And not having at all this season certainly hurt. He was a bit part of the team’s build when they signed him two summers ago. The reason why Chicago is not higher on this list is that you can’t really blame the Bulls for a lack of health.
Still, there’s a good chance that this team misses the playoffs this season. And that is going to be viewed as a disappointment no matter how you look at it.