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#2 New Orleans Pelicans
Rookie sensation Zion Williamson underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn right meniscus and is projected to miss at least six to eight weeks. He is yet to suit up in a regular season game for the drooling New Orleans Pelicans fanbase. Meanwhile, as NOLA miss their star from Duke, they have been failing miserably to capitalise on their dynamic young roster. As a result, Coach Alvin Gentry's side is 6-11 (0.353) this season, down at the 10th spot on the West standings.
Moreover, the Pels are also missing Josh Hart (Knee/Ankle), Derrick Favors (Lower Back Spasms) and Darius Miller (Achilles). Headlined by the talents of Zion, the Pelicans squad was expected to make a positive splash on the NBA landscape. But aside from Brandon Ingram's strong numbers, they barely have any positives to draw out of this season so far.
#3 Brooklyn Nets
Missing out on a year of watching one of NBA's all-time greatest scorers is something that hurts the league just as much as it hurts the Brooklyn Nets franchise. Kevin Durant is expected to miss out a full year of basketball as he nurses his Achilles injury suffered during the 2019 NBA Finals.
As the team was getting accustomed to a Kyrie Irving era, he too went down with a right shoulder issue and is expected to miss the upcoming road trip (and probably more). So, basically, the Nets are back to being the same squad that they were last year minus an All-Star in D'Angelo Russell.
Nevertheless, Brooklyn have somehow managed to maintain a respectable 8-8 win-loss record so far, though their initial lineup was capable of doing much better.
