8 NBA teams set to disappoint in 2024-25, including the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers

The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping that replacing Darvin Ham with JJ Redick will be the change that helps to get this roster back to the top of the West. On paper, it is a sensible idea. But it is also a very risky one. The NBA veteran has no head coaching experience and his friendship with Lebron James no doubt played a role in getting hired.

While he is respected around the game, it does not mean he will be a great NBA head coach. Furthermore, the team’s top stars are not locks to stay healthy. This Lakers team is more likely to disappoint than surprise this season.

The Miami Heat continue to roll the dice by staying the course and not making major changes to elevate their roster. Sooner or later their overreliance on an aging Jimmy Butler and head coach Erik Spoelstra will cost them. This will be the year that happens. As Butler shows even more obvious signs of wear and tear and the team’s very talented coach finally has an off year trying to create an elite team with an okay roster.

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Ty Lue is one of the most respected coaches in the league. However, in the summer he lost Paul George and Russell Westbrook. He is also stuck with a top star that is unreliable to ever stay healthy throughout the season in Kawhi Leonard. James Harden is also another season further removed from his prime. The Los Angeles Clippers coach will try his best this season but the team is sure to regress in 2024-25.

There is no denying Joel Embiid is an elite player. Or that adding Paul George was a good move for the Philadelphia 76ers this summer. However, both have an ever-growing injury history that makes them hard to trust during the season. Furthermore, the team has revealed neither will play on back-to-back nights. Don’t expect this Philly team to finish with one of the best records in the East in 2024-25.

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The Denver Nuggets have the best player on earth in Nikola Jokic. However, there are some big questions about the pieces around him, and if Jamal Murray has taken several steps backward from the player he was two seasons ago. Plus, the rest of the West has gotten better and that is not good news for Denver. The Nuggets will no longer be the dominant force they were the last two seasons in the Western Conference.

The New Orleans Pelicans have a roster that should be able to compete with any team in the league. However, it features a player looking to get a big contract in the summer (Brandon Ingram), a star who is always injured (Zion Williamson) and another who may not be the winning player some believe he is (Dejounte Murray). New Orleans is set up to be a mess and it will likely cost head coach Willie Green his job.

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We all know the Indiana Pacers can fill it up. It is why the team ended up reaching the Eastern Conference finals in 2023-24. However, this group seems allergic to defense at times. In a conference where many of the elites can play good D and score at a high clip, Indiana is not as complete as it needs to be to really compete. Expect them to be good this season, but come nowhere close to meeting the expectations Pacers fans have.

It feels like the Milwaukee Bucks missed a great opportunity in the spring. Due to injuries to many key players, the Bucks could have easily reached the East Finals to face the Celtics. But their own injury woes reemerged at the worst time in the season. This should be a great team in 2024-25. However, their key players are a year older and it is hard to trust Doc Rivers can take any team without Kevin Garnett or Paul Pierce to a championship.