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The Warriors are already tanking this season
In the offseason, we saw some blockbuster moves that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers, Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers. Free agents Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant chose to sign with the Brooklyn Nets, while Kemba Walker joined the Boston Celtics and Kawhi Leonard joined George in LA.
Two weeks into the NBA 2019-20 season, the Golden State Warriors are struggling like they have never struggled before under Steve Kerr's tutelage while the Los Angeles Lakers (7-1) are at the top of the Western Conference Standings. Boston Celtics, led by Kemba Walker, once again look like the team to beat in the East.
The NBA has never looked this balanced in recent times and this is only expected to increase the league TV ratings. While many teams have delivered to expectations and even exceeded them in some cases, some franchises have simply flattered to deceive. In this article, we take a look at five teams who have disappointed the most so far this season.
#5 Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards entered this season without their franchise player in John Wall and have been struggling to get it going in his absence. While his backcourt mate Bradley Beal has been at his usual best scoring effortlessly, the team still lacks the firepower to get over the line.
The Wizards are arguably one of the weakest teams in the league and in the absence of John Wall, Scott Brooks will have to build a new offense for this team. However, with Isaiah Thomas back in the starting lineup, it remains to be seen whether they will improve their performance on the offensive end.
Equally bad is their defense as they have the third-worst defensive rating (112.7) in the league. One thing is for sure, the Wizards are not making the playoffs and the fans should get ready for an early offseason once again.
#4 New Orleans Pelicans
With Anthony Davis wanting out of New Orleans, the Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon and the executive vice president David Griffin have done a great job of getting the best package anyone could have asked for in return, from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for the 6-time All-Star.
This team is loaded with talent now and it just doesn't make sense that they are 2-7 at the moment. However, none of their losses have been a blowout and most of the time, they have been giving way in the fourth quarter.
Brandon Ingram appears to be the one who benefitted the most from the players involved in the Anthony Davis trade as he is averaging a staggering 25.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in 32 minutes of work per game.
If they can adjust their defensive game (currently, they are one of the worst teams in the league defensively), it will be only a matter of time before they start picking up wins.
#3 Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies have a very young roster and a tough challenge lies ahead for head coach Taylor Jenkins this season. This will be a fresh start for the Grizzlies in the post-Conley era and the fans should have low expectations for this team.
The second overall pick of the 2019 NBA draft, Ja Morant has been playing exceptionally well and has already shown that he has the ability to lead this team, be the future of the franchise.
Even though the team lacks experience, by and large, there are players like Valanciunas and Crowder who have been to the playoffs several times in their careers. The team is not short on talent and can really perform at a high level.
However, defense is one thing they have been struggling very badly and with a defensive rating of 111.4, there are not a lot of other teams in the league that are performing worse on the defensive end.
#2 New York Knicks
This is going to be yet another long season for the Knicks fans as the team is struggling to pick up wins and is currently at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. After failing to attract All-Star free agents in the 2019 offseason, the front office was quick enough to sign players like Marcus Morris, Julius Randle, and Bobby Portis.
They also had the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and selected RJ Barrett of Duke. The Knicks entered the 2019-20 NBA season, coming off a franchise-worst 17-65 record, with a new-look roster hoping to change their fortunes.
However, nine games into the season, they hold a disappointing 2-7 record and they are all but certain to miss the postseason once again.
#1 Golden State Warriors
We have a shocker here. After dominating the league for five straight years, winning three NBA championships, the Warriors are having the taste of their own medicine as the teams all around the league are bringing the pain on Steve Kerr's side.
With key players like Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston leaving the team and Klay Thompson out with ACL injury, the Warriors team's struggles this season were expected even before the season started. However, their situation worsened with Stephen Curry breaking his left hand and Draymond Green injuring his finger.
They have been trying to get the starting combination right in their absence and at 2-8, they hold the league's worst record right now and with the latest reports saying that Curry is unlikely to return this season, things are only going to get worse for this team.
Guess the Lakers players!
