16. Phoenix Suns
Heading into this season, it was clear how much was at stake for the Phoenix Suns. With a supremely talented roster, this was the year that it was all supposed to come together for the team. However, instead of everything beginning to click for the Suns, it's been quite a disappointing first half of the season. If you take away their 9-2 start to the season, the Suns are just 10-18. Over the last two months of the season, the argument could be made that the Suns have been one of the worst teams in the league.
There's still time for Phoenix to salvage their season but this is a team that has to get right, and quickly. I'm not sure how much faith I have in the Suns being able to pull that off but you can't deny that if there's any team that will be able to do it, it's the Suns. There's some hope that perhaps a mid-season Jimmy Butler acquisition could go a long way in helping spark this team but even if that doesn't happen, the pressure surrounding this team is still going to be through the roof. If Phoenix can't sort things out down the stretch, expect some big changes during the offseason.
15. Sacramento Kings
Mike Brown was a good coach but it's hard to argue with the results since the decision to fire him. Right after firing Brown, the Kings quickly went on a seven-game winning streak. While it would be foolish to suggest that this team has completely solved their issues from early on in the season, they are certainly trending in the right direction. Finishing as a top 4 or 5 seed in the West standings is not out of the question this season for Sacramento and if they were able to pull it off, it would be quite the turnaround for the team.
I can't stress enough how big this second half of the season is for the Kings. There's an argument to be made that the entire team build will depend on how the rest of this season goes for the team. If they miss the playoffs or are subjected to a disappointing showing in the playoffs, anything and everything could be on the table for the front office heading into the offseason. With how the first half of the season has gone, it's pretty impossible to predict what the next few months have in store for Sacramento.