We're in the final week of the 2021-22 NBA regular season, and 20 teams are punching their tickets into the postseason and play-in rounds. Unfortunately, 10 other franchises are heading into an early offseason with the draft lottery in their futures. With just a few games remaining, here's a quick rundown of each team that has missed the cut to compete in the playoffs.
Teams eliminated from playoffs
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Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons entered the season knowing they were in the early stages of a rebuild so the postseason was never really something that was on their radar, despite the fact that they would come out and compete every single night. With players like Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey as cornerstones of the future, Detroit could be a few more good draft picks away from returning to playoff contention.
Houston Rockets
When you take into consideration the fact that the Houston Rockets willingly paid John Wall to not play for them this season, it is safe to say they had no real playoff expectations. However, with a potential franchise cornerstone in Jalen Green already in the fold, the Rockets have at least one legitimate building block to create a roster around.
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers made some major changes to their roster at the deadline and are now looking toward the future after being eliminated from postseason contention this past month. While they still have decisions to make concerning some players on their roster, mainly Myles Turner, Indiana does have some intriguing young talent that it can build around moving forward.
Los Angeles Lakers
What a disappointing season for LeBron James and Co. The purple and gold underachieved in a major way over the course of their 82-game regular-season schedule and will be watching the playoffs from home as a result. Injuries to James and Anthony Davis certainly played a part in their fate, but this roster was just not built correctly and that was evident from the jump. It will be on Rob Pelinka to figure out how to right the ship by next season.
New York Knicks
The New York Knicks took the NBA by storm last season, finishing fourth in the East for their first playoff appearance since 2013. And though they crashed out in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks, the future seemed pretty exciting. Julius Randle won Most Improved Player, they had some bright young talent in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley and head coach Tom Thibodeau had built an elite defense.
All of it came crashing down this season. The team's offseason moves did not pan out, and both Randle and the defense took major steps back. The writing has been on the wall since a brutal 3-17 stretch in January and February, and now the Knicks have been eliminated from playoff contention. From fourth in the East to failing to even make the play-in tournament, quite a disappointing turn of events.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks like a future star in this league, but despite the promise the young point guard has shown since coming to Oklahoma City, the Thunder are simply just not a team that was built to contend for a playoff spot right now. Given the plethora of draft picks that Sam Presti has acquired over the years, they should have all the assets they need to put themselves in a position to become a contender again sooner rather than later.
Orlando Magic
Much like other franchises entering the offseason early, the Orlando Magic were never really expected to contend for a playoff spot this year. It remains to be seen how close they are to getting back to that stage, but some of their young players, namely Mo Bamba, have taken major strides this season. Despite that being the case, the Magic were the first team in the league to be eliminated from playoff contention this season.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers' season really took a turn for the worse once Damian Lillard went down with an injury. Shortly thereafter, CJ McCollum was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans and Portland officially punted on the 2021-22 season in hopes of building toward the future. The Blazers were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs this past week.
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings saw their playoff drought extend to a 16th season on Sunday night following their loss to the Golden State Warriors. There really isn't much to say when you're approaching two decades straight of missing out on the postseason. It remains to be seen whether or not the combination of De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis will be enough to end that trend next season.
Washington Wizards
After making a number of major changes this offseason, including trading Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Wizards got off to a tremendous start. They were playing great defense, beating some elite teams and had a real positive energy about them. Through the first month of the regular season, they were 10-3 and in first place in the East.
Unfortunately, that was the high point of their season. They lost 12 of their next 17 games and were never able to get back on track. There were rumors of infighting, Bradley Beal needed season-ending surgery and they eventually blew things up at the trade deadline. Now, they're officially out of the playoff race.
