26. Brooklyn Nets
Any outside shot the Brooklyn Nets had at potentially sneaking into the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture has all been evaporated - thanks in part to the team's continued inconsistent play on the floor and the fact that they're well on their way toward pivoting into the rebuild after trading both Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Schroder. With the way the recent reporting is shaping, it's pretty safe to assume that Cameron Johnson is probably next on the chopping block for the team.
Despite the on-the-court struggles for the team, the Nets are sitting in a pretty good position heading into the trade deadline and eventually the offseason. For the Nets this season was never about wins and losses; it was always about putting themselves in the best position to strike a rebuild. And that's exactly what the team has managed to accomplish so far this season. There's still work to do between now and the trade deadline but it's hard to be disappointed if you're a Nets fan.
25. Utah Jazz
After dropping their first six games of the season, the writing was on the wall for this team. From the opening tip, we should've known just how difficult of a year this was going to be for the rebuilding Jazz. For one reason or another, I still believed there was an outside shot that Utah was going to be able to muster some level of competitiveness in order to join the conversation of teams vying for a spot in the Play-In Tournament. But that never truly materialized for the team this season.
For the Jazz, I can't help but chalk the first half of this season as a disappointment for two very big reasons. First, the team hasn't been able to make a huge addition to Lauri Markkanen. That's not a great sign considering the team just signed him to a huge deal with the hope of building a potential winning roster around him. But even aside from that, the team hasn't made a ton of progress in terms of their young development. They have some good young players but I'm not sure any of them are foundational figures just yet.