The New York Knicks and 5 Failing Teams Too Early to Pass Judgment on

Several teams have gotten off to bad starts so far during the 2012 season.

Many people have already written some of these teams off, but there's still a lot of basketball to be played the rest of the season.

Some of these teams, while no doubt struggling, can't be written off so soon.

Here's a look at five teams who have failed to this point of the NBA season but shouldn't be overlooked so quickly.

Boston Celtics

It's been a bad start to the season for the Celtics and back-to-back wins against Orlando have Boston only a game under the .500 mark.

While they still may not be confused with championship contenders today, they still can get things together and force Danny Ainge to rethink about putting the Big Three on the trade block.

New York Knicks

The Knicks may be the NBA's most disappointing team so far and while neither their play, or their paltry 7-11 record that includes six losses to under .500 teams.

There are plenty of problems in New York right now, but if Baron Davis can come in and give them good guard play and Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire get things together, this Knicks team has the talent to go on a roll.

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors sit at 6-11 but have lost four games in the final minute.

Eliminate those mistakes and Golden State could easily be a 9-8 or 10-7 type team right now.

They have talent and if Mark Jackson could teach them how to play to win instead of playing not to lose, the Warriors could still be a team to deal with.

Dallas Mavericks

Dallas hasn't exactly been a total failure, but they could be a heck of a lot better right now.

They started very slow after their roster was gutted and injuries have played a factor, but consider the fact that Dallas couldn't rebound or defend a bad high school team early on and now they are one of the better defensive teams in the NBA.

Also taking a look at their 11-8 record, they've lost three games on three-point shots at or near the buzzer. This team will still be a handle to deal with in the second half of the season.

Los Angeles Lakers

It's been a season of inconsistency for Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, but you can't write them off, even at 11-8 so far.

The one major reason is that Kobe Bryant is playing well, but if Pau Gasol can show the aggressiveness on the offensive end in the fashion that he did against the Los Angeles Clippers, then this Lakers team can go on a roll.

Even though Kobe Bryant may be capable of carrying this team, he can't for the Lakers to win. They need contributions consistently from other people as well.