Top 5 NBA Disappointments of 2008-09 Season
Written February 8, 2009 by Jason Lowry
1. Detroit Pistons
It’s hard to fault the Pistons for trying to add a little extra to their team by trading Chauncey Billups for superstar Allen Iverson, but as it stands right now it just doesn’t look like the trade has made this team a title contender, as they currently have just the 5th best record in the East at 26-21, after posting the second best record last season at 59-23. For a franchise that has spent most of this decade as the top dog in the Eastern Conference, its hard to figure out what this team needs to do to make it a legit threat to contend this season. It looks as though this team is going to make the playoffs, so we could be completely wrong on this one if they can somehow turn it on and make their way through Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland.
2. Phoenix Suns
There are few that thought the Suns would be approaching the All-Star break with a record of just 27-21, after going 55-27 all of last year, and they had a whole offseason to get use to the big man in Shaquille O’Neal. The Suns have already made some moves this season adding Jason Richardson to bolster the starting lineup, and there is a lot of talk that the Suns might make a few more moves before the trading deadline. Right now the Suns would be watching the playoffs if they started today, and with so many good teams in the Western Conference, they better figure it out real soon, or it could be the most disappointing season this franchise has ever had.
3. Toronto Raptors
The Raptors were suppose to make that big jump to the elite class of the Eastern Conference, but instead have dropped to the cellar of a pretty weak division and have already fired one coach, as they are just 19-33. Chris Bosh is having another solid season and the addition of Jermaine O’Neal does’t seem like a bad move, but they are getting little to no production out of their bench. The Raptors have also been pathetic on their home court, as they are just 9-15 when playing in Toronto. The crazy thing is, as bad as these guys have been playing, they are just 5 games out of the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference, so if interim head coach Jay Triano can get this team playing basketball, they can actually get back in the playoff picture
4. Golden State Warriors
Don Nelson can’t be too happy that he stuck around to coach the Warriors this season, as they have went to one of the most entertaining and dangerous teams to play, to a team that simply scares no one. The Warriors are just 16-35 and look nothing like the team that won 48 games last year. Stephen Jackson, Coery Maggette, and Jamal Crawford are all scoring about 20 points a game, but other than these 3 points have been hard to come by. Its pretty easy to see that without Baron Davis this team is no where near the rest of the Western Conference, and we don’t think they would be much better if they played in the East.
5. Utah Jazz
This is a little unfair to put the Jazz on this list, as they are 29-22, but they are just a half game away from being out of the top 8 teams that make the playoffs in the Western Conference. This team has been devastated by injuries, as they have had well over a 100 games combined missed by its projected starting 5 to start the season. The fact that this team has won 29 games with Carlos Boozer playing in just 12 games is a bit shocking, and really gives credit to the rest of the team and head coach Jerry Sloan. Boozer and Andrei Kirlienko are both out with injuries right now, but both could be back as early as right after the All-Star break. If the injury bug keeps biting this team, then it will be a real disappointing season, considering the talent this team is capable of sending on the floor.
Close Behind: Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Chicago Bulls
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