18. Sacramento Kings
When you begin to talk about some of the most disappointing teams in the Western Conference, you can't begin to have that conversation without the inclusion of the Sacramento Kings. After making the bold move to acquire DeMar DeRozan via sign-and-trade from the Chicago Bulls, the hope was that his presence on the roster would at least help alleviate some of the teams' issues from last season. However, even though DeRozan has been productive on the offensive end of the floor, there's reason to believe that this move could've been a mistake.
The Kings have not been improved so far this season and are currently on pace to not only miss the playoffs but to miss the postseason entirely. Sacramento is currently ranked outside of the top 10 in the West standings and with the teams that are ranked in front of them, it's hard to imagine that this team is going to be able to make up a ton of ground. At this point, if this season does end with the Kings missing out on the postseason, it could lead to some huge future-defining questions that will need to be answered by the franchise.
17. Atlanta Hawks
Over nearly the first third of the regular season, I'm not sure there's been a more intriguing team to watch than the Atlanta Hawks. Even though they didn't enter the season with much expectations, this is a team that does have plenty of talent on their roster and one that almost no one can predict where they are moving forward. Nevertheless, after a somewhat inconsistent and expectedly shaky start to the season, the Hawks have begun to play quite well over the last few weeks of the season.
The Hawks have won seven of their last eight games and have some pretty impressive wins during that span. Over the last few weeks, the Hawks have beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers in back-to-back games and the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks on the road. Overall, this team is playing much better of late and you'd have to wonder if they could suddenly emerge as a potential dark horse threat to make the playoffs in the East. Even though the Hawks still very much have plenty of questions about their future, this is a team that could quickly develop into one that no one will want to face in the playoffs. The combination of Trae Young and the team’s young talent does make for a dangerous upset recipe.