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New Orleans Pelicans

It's not clear what the New Orleans Pelicans were supposed to be this season—a low-end playoff seed or mid-tier postseason squad. But they were definitely projected to be better than one of the four worst teams in the Western Conference.

Four of the Pelicans' five most-used lineups are registering a positive net rating, so there's that. But they still don't have a top-15 offense or defense, and lineups that feature Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday have, by and large, fallen back down to earth.

Rajon Rondo

The Chicago Bulls are pumping in more points per 100 possessions with Rajon Rondo on the floor, but to say the point guard is validating himself as a quality pickup would be a stretch.

Rondo is shooting under 40 percent from the field, and his turnover rate is nearly six percentage points higher than his usage rate, which is gross. Many of the Bulls' best lineups that include Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade do not feature Rondo, and the defense sputters whenever he's on the court.

Smart people knew Rondo wouldn't have an immeasurably profound impact on the Bulls. But it didn't take a hopeless romantic to think he might be a more valuable contributor—or at least resist the urge to throw a towel at an assistant coach.

San Antonio Spurs' Pick-and-Roll Defense

We should have expected the San Antonio Spurs' pick-and-roll prevention to regress. Tony Parker is 34, Boris Diaw isn't there to make switches easier and with Tim Duncan retired, the Spurs don't have the rim protectors to allow their perimeter corps unconditional aggression.

There is nevertheless something unsettling about San Antonio dwelling inside the bottom 10 of points allowed per possession against pick-and-roll ball-handlers, and in the bottom four when defending divers.

No matter what the roster looked like, the assumption was always that the Spurs would figure it out because they're the Spurs. And though this glaring imperfection hasn't prevented them from deploying a top-three defense overall, it's enough to make you wonder whether this year's team is—gasp—made up of regular human beings rather than the normal mix of extraterrestrial superheroes.