The rapid spread of the coronavirus has caused panic around the world. The pandemic became real for sports fans when it affected the NBA season. Multiple NBA players have tested positive for the virus and NBA season is on hold for the moment. The NBA playoffs were around the corner and now we're going to miss out on some intriguing playoff matchups.
However, since no basketball is being played its time to reflect on the season thus far. Let's look at the teams who did not live up to expectations placed upon them entering the season. All the teams on this list were expected to make that leap to whatever their next level was.
Coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance last season, the Trail Blazers were looking to exceed their success from last voyage. There was no reason coming into to the season to see why they couldn't do just that. Portland was returning mostly the same roster from the previous year, and the newfound NBA parity gave them a better chance to advance further.
From the beginning of the season things didn't go quite as planned. Portland started the season 5-12 and haven't been able to fully turn it around. Currently, they sit in the ninth seed in the Western Conference, 3.5 games back of the eighth seeded Memphis Grizzlies.
One of the many reasons for Portland's downfall is their lack of defense. The Trail Blazers allows 115 points per game and rank 27th in defensive efficiency. Although, they rank second in blocks per game, the perimeter defense is lacking. A wing scorer and defender has been position Portland has been looking to fill for several years now.
Also, unprecedentedly this season the Trail Blazers have become over reliant on their superstar Damian Lillard. If Lillard doesn't have a big game, or pull off late game heroics the team tends to lose.
To keep the Blazers afloat in the playoff race Lillard went on a historic scoring streak that had not been seen since the likes of Kobe Bryant. Nonetheless, once Lillard went down with a groin injury shortly before the all-star break the team was unavailable to overcome not having their superstar on the floor.
For the Atlanta Hawks the emergence of Trae Young has been the highlight of the season. Young went from a promising rookie to a potential franchise player for the Hawks. However, Young averages of 29.6 points per game and nine assists per game have not translated to wins.
Similar to the Trail Blazers, the Hawks rank at the bottom of the league in majority of defensive categories. They have nobody on their roster known for defense, and their lack of effort also contributes to their lack of defense.
After a 127-88 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on March 2nd, Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce had no answers in the post game press conference.
“I don't know what to teach, you can't teach effort you can talk about it but effort is effort.” Pierce said.
With the duo of Young and John Collins already on the roster the Hawks were expected to compete for a playoff spot in an eastern conference that is wide open. Especially after Atlanta added two lottery picks in last years draft in Cam Reddish and Deandre Hunter.
The Hawks have even shown that they're not trying to tank. Making a deal to acquire Clint Capela from the Houston Rockets, shows the front office is building for now and not the future.
Youth however just might be the problem for the Hawks, there is something to learning how to win in the NBA. There are teams such as the Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls who also have great young talent but can't translate that to wins.
Instead of competing for a possible bottom playoff seed the Hawks will once again be drafting high in hopes of adding another young star their core.
If the Detroit Pistons missed the playoffs this season that wouldn't have been a major surprise. However, the surprise is how they went from the eight seed last year to the beginning of a new rebuilding process this year.
After it became evident that this season was a waste the Pistons got rid of two of their three best players. Trading Andre Drummond to the Cleveland Cavaliers and just outright releasing Reggie Jackson.
To make matters worse their supposedly best player Blake Griffin has declined this season. From averaging 24.5 points per game and seven rebounds per game, to a career low 15 points per game and four rebounds per game.
Expectations for Detroit weren't high, but at the bare minimum we expected them to compete for a lower playoff seed in the eastern conference again. Now Detroit is headed towards another rebuild where they'll be searching for a new franchise player.
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