The 2015-16 NBA season is off to a roaring start – for some teams, players, and fans, anyway! As of this writing, the spectacular Golden State Warriors are undefeated and superstar LeBron James is still in peak form. But not all teams and players are doing quite so well. In fact, there have been some pretty big NBA disappointments so far in this 2015-16 season. Here are the guys we’re shaking our heads at right now.
Houston Rockets
With raw talent in the form of James Harden and Dwight Howard, the Rockets were supposed to be a Western Conference contender. And hey, maybe they still are! It’s a long season, and at least they have marquee wins over the Clippers and Thunder.
But the Rockets also have some really ugly losses in the early days of the 2015-16 season. They’re 4-7, and that loss column includes some very forgettable games. When the woeful Brooklyn Nets finally got their first win of the season, guess which team they topped to do it? That’s right, the Rockets. And that game was in Houston, too. Yikes. Their other bad losses were to the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat. Worst of all, most of their losses weren’t particularly close.
Kobe Bryant
Hey, we knew Kobe was old. He wasn’t going to play in 2015 the way he did in his prime, and that’s okay! We were prepared to see Kobe look mediocre. But, if we’re being honest, we weren’t prepared to see him play badly. Especially not this badly. Kobe is bricking shots that he shouldn’t even be taking, and he looks completely outclassed by the younger players on the court. Kobe himself has said that he “sucks” and is “probably the 200th best player in the NBA.” The worst part was that, after he made that statement, several sportswriters ran pieces that purported to figure out where Kobe actually ranked among active NBA players, generally putting him one or two hundred spots behind that 200th mark. Ouch.
Kobe is a tragic figure at this point in the season. Fans who are too young to remember his glory days are mocking him on social media. Bryant’s Lakers are altogether disappointing, but it’s Kobe that stands out as the most heartbreaking part of the team. Just retire, man!
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans made the playoffs last year, and a lot of us had them penciled in for another run this year. Things are always tough these days in a Western Conference dominated by the Warriors, but the Pelicans have star power forward Anthony Davis and a young team that seemed capable of building on their 2014-15 success.
That hasn’t been the case, at least so far: the Pelicans are 1-9, which is worse than the record of the dismal Los Angeles Lakers. Early injuries have been a big part of this team’s demise. That’s unfair, but the damage might be done; in the brutal Western Conference, the Pelicans may have dug themselves a hole too deep to get out of.
