NBA Playoffs 2012: Failing Playoff Teams That Need Complete Chemistry Makeover

In almost every NBA season, we see teams make the playoffs before floundering out against superior competition.

Whether it's low-seeded teams failing against championship-hopeful squads, or it's perennial playoff teams that can't seem to get over the hump, there is no doubt that some rosters will have to undergo some serious changes before the 2012-13 campaign kicks off.

It wouldn't be surprising whatsoever for all of these teams listed below to be active in trade discussions in the offseason as they all look to build a team capable of winning a title.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are a classic case of a team being "stuck in the middle."

Joe Johnson's contract is going to be impossible to move, and that means it's going to be one of either Al Horford or Josh Smith who finds himself in trade rumors this summer.

This is nothing new for Smoove, who was a topic of hot discussion before the 2011 draft and was very much in play for the right deal.

While Horford's name hasn't come up in trade rumors, the Hawks need to do something to shake up this team with the hope of improving the long-term outlook of the franchise.

Orlando Magic

This is a team that is built directly around Dwight Howard.

Orlando is built as a team that uses its perimeter players to knock down the open shot when Howard commands double- and triple-teams beneath the basket, but without Howard in the lineup, this is a club that leaves a lot to be desired.

Jason Richardson hasn't looked like the player he once was in the first season of his new four-year deal, and players like Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu are simply too inconsistent for the Magic to thrive.

Ryan Anderson will be due a major pay raise as a restricted free agent after winning the Most Improved Player Award this year, and with Orlando having little financial flexibility at this time, the front office needs to get creative in finding ways to really improve the team.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have the same problem as the Hawks: They have a maximum-contract player who doesn't play like someone who deserves to be on that deal.

Rudy Gay just isn't playing the way he needs to for his team to be clicking on all cylinders, but that's just a part of the problem.

Memphis needs way more from Zach Randolph after the big man signed his lucrative four-year extension, and the Grizzlies need to find a way to get Marc Gasol more involved in the offensive flow regularly if the club is going to play up to its potential.

Until the Grizzlies can find a way to make the Gay-Randolph-Gasol three-headed monster work, there will be major question marks in regards to the ceiling of this group.

Denver Nuggets

Although the Nuggets are an impressively deep team, that's not the type of roster that traditionally finds success in the postseason.

Denver has two very talented young players in Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson, but the Nuggets never sought a superstar to join the fold in the post-Carmelo Anthony era.

It would be wise for general manager Masai Ujiri to explore trading some depth for an impact player to pair with Gallinari and Lawson, who could use additional help in closely contested games.