Are Clippers the Most Disappointing Team in the NBA?

The Los Angeles Clippers went back to their losing ways after briefly getting on the W column on Friday against the Mavericks. With back-to-back losses to the Celtics and the Sixers, the Clippers are now 4-10 for the season. For a team that was considered a Western Conference contender at the beginning of the season, this is a disastrous start. But, are they the most disappointing team in the NBA so far this season?

Before the season, the Clippers' over/under in win totals was 49.5 in most sportsbooks. This was tied for fourth-best odds in the Western Conference, only behind the Thunder, Nuggets, and the Rockets. On FanDuel Sportsbook, the Clippers had the second-best odds to win the Pacific Division and sixth-best odds in the West to make the NBA Finals.

They have obviously been nowhere that level through 14 games. They are currently on a 23-win pace and have a -7.1 net rating per Cleaning The Glass. This is in line with a 25-win team.

No Team Has Been More Disappointing Than the LA Clippers So Far

This means that the Clippers are on pace to win at least 25 fewer games than what was expected of them before the season.

The Grizzlies, Mavericks, Pelicans, and the Kings are other candidates to be the most disappointing team in the league. Based on the same preseason odds and the Cleaning the Glass data, Memphis is on pace for 19 fewer wins, Dallas 17 fewer wins, New Orleans 18 fewer wins, and Sacramento 20 fewer wins than their over/under win totals suggested.

The only team that is remotely in the Clippers' ballpark is the Indiana Pacers. They are currently 1-13 after having a 37.5 over/under before the season. Their net rating of -15.2 puts them around an 11-71 record, per Cleaning the Glass. This would be 26.5 fewer wins for the Pacers than expected.

Although the Pacers may have played below expectations in a more significant way than the Clippers, their fall is more understandable. They have been more injured than any other team in the NBA. In addition to Tyrese Haliburton's absence, Andrew Nembhard, TJ McConnell, Obi Toppin, and Ben Mathurin all missed at least half of the team's games. Plus, even in their best-case scenario, the Pacers were expected to be a play-in team in the Eastern Conference, so them being a lottery team is a far less significant failure than the Clippers being on track to miss the playoffs entirely.

The Clippers have also had their share of injuries. Kawhi Leonard has missed eight games already, and Bradley Beal is now out for the season. Those, however, are far more predictable injuries that the Clippers should have been better prepared for. It is baked into the preseason odds that the Clippers' old veterans, especially Leonard, would miss significant time in any given season.

There is still over 80% of the NBA season left to be played. Things can and will change dramatically between now and the spring. Currently, the Clippers are on pace to be the most underwhelming team in the league by a wide margin. It will require a huge effort from everyone involved to change this reality.

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