As the NBA season draws near, fans and pundits are trying to get a read on the upcoming year, as to best gauge which teams and players will break through, and who will falter.

In this piece, we’ll take a look at three teams that could end up achieving disappointing results, which will be followed up by a piece tomorrow looking at three teams that could do the exact opposite.

Orlando Magic

While the Magic made the playoffs this past season, and played a strong brand of regular season basketball, it’s fair to question whether they have enough to level up, and into a whole new tier.

For young teams, it’s all about building on top of what has already been established. Orlando had some of the best defense in the league last season, but they struggled to create easy offense, and experienced plenty of spacing issues.

During this summer, they signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and drafted Tristan Da Silva. Those aren’t insignificant upgrades, but did the Magic solve anything via those two moves?

The organization wants to run its offense through Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, to the point where they haven’t prioritized acquiring a lead guard. The idea has some merit, given that both can playmake, but if that plan fails, it’s difficult to see who should get the ball, and run the offense instead of them.

Jalen Suggs is more of a 3&D combo guard. Cole Anthony is a scorer, who isn’t a natural playmaker. Is Anthony Black ready for a bigger role?

Mind you, this isn’t doom and gloom in Orlando. The team will, pending health, make the playoffs again. That much should be a lock, particularly in the Eastern Conference.

But do they have enough internal improvement to catapult themselves into the next tier, as to stand toe-to-toe with, say, the Bucks or Knicks? If not, the returning Magic team could have a strong resemblance of last year’s.

Memphis Grizzlies

It’s understandable to be high on Memphis. Ja Morant is returning. Desmond Bane should be healthy. Jaren Jackson Jr is still around. They finally sorted their center position with Zach Edey, and found two wings last season in GG Jackson and Vince Williams Jr, which they sorely needed in years past.

That said, the Western Conference is a beast, and the Grizzlies will likely find themselves in tough games against most of the teams in that conference.

It then doesn’t help that Jackson is out due to a broken foot until at least December, nor does it help that, as currently constructed, the Grizzlies still seem to be shy some necessary shooting, as to best flank Morant, who isn’t known as a floor-spacer.

For the Grizzlies to truly be in the thick of things come postseason time, they’ll need to have spent the regular season feasting on poor West teams, and the majority of teams in the Eastern Conference.

Is that a fair expectation when the organization essentially spent a whole year off due to numerous injuries, and will have to re-establish their chemistry, timing, and on-court cohesion?

That said, the Grizzlies do have a strong starting point, which is why expectations are fairly significant. If their star trio stay healthy and productive, they should stand a chance at realizing those expectations. But given their recent history, that’s a pretty big ask.

Indiana Pacers

By making it to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers will consider anything but a return to that series a disappointment, and understandably so. No team is in the business of moving the goalpost down after a strong season.

It makes sense for the Pacers to look at it that way, especially when you factor in the assumed health of Tyrese Haliburton, who played in just two games of those East Finals, and who generally saw his production drop off immensely during the second part of the season, due to a hamstring problem.

Furthermore, the Pacers will get Bennedict Mathurin back, who was out for the entire playoffs.

So, why the skepticism?

The New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers got significantly better, to the point where expecting the Pacers to beat either in a playoff series appear optimistic, unless the opposition is heavily injured.

Indiana also lost Jalen Smith, one of the most efficient scorers in the league last season, which could see their offensive rating drop a bit. Given that they are far from being a defensive juggernaut, they can’t pivot into relying more on their defense as to balance things out.

The Pacers, like the Magic, will still be good, and should make the postseason. But building on their success could prove difficult.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.