2012 NBA Schedule: Projecting the 5 Biggest Disappointments This Season

As much as the Heat-haters would love for the team to be amongst the biggest disappointments, it won't happen. The Heat will win the NBA championship this year, barring some major injury to either Dwayne Wade or LeBron James.

Chris Bosh will have a great year, but as good as he will be, the Heat would still be on the same level as the best teams in the league without him.

After all, isn't James, Wade and the rest of the Heat, minus Bosh still better than the last two Cleveland Cavaliers' teams James led to the best record in the NBA?

This list will touch on the players and teams that will let fans down, based on expectations. Here we go:

5. David West Will Not Pay Off for the Pacers

Pacers' fans better get used to seeing their new power forward in this attire.

West has a bad knee, coming off an ACL tear. West has only missed 12 games over the past two years but he did have his share of injury concerns early in his career. Even if he bounces back to play a good percentage of Indiana's games, expect to see a drop-off.

Now, he is 31 years old and the torn ACL is huge for a player that wasn't especially athletic to begin with. The two-year, $20 million deal will not pay off for Indiana. Luckily, they have a quality young roster without him, and they may experience that feeling a lot this year.

4. Enes Kanter's Slow Development

The Jazz' young big-man is 19 years old, and though he is skilled, he is raw. To compound things, he'll be playing behind Al Jefferson, Derrick Favors and Mehmet Okur.

Kanter will not be handed playing time by head coach Tyrone Corbin. Those that are expecting an impact from Kanter this year will likely be in for a year with a stat line something like this:

Four points, three rebounds per game.

Still, he is very young and talented and ultimately will be a part of the Jazz' future.

3. Dallas Mavericks Won't Successfully Defend Their Title

The Mavericks had a great run in 2011, but they shouldn't have defeated the Heat in the finals. Without the Game 2 collapse, and with just a smidge of LeBron being...LeBron, the Heat win that series in five or six games.

This year, Dallas loses Tyson Chandler from their interior defense, and generally get older at almost every position. In a playoff series, the Clippers and the Thunder look better.

Dallas will likely exit in the second round of the playoffs, depending on where the seeds shake out.

2. Bulls Still Can't Beat the Heat

Even with Richard Hamilton improving the Bulls biggest area of need, even with a healthy Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, the Bulls—my Bulls—are not good enough to beat Miami.

As much as I and all the Heat-haters would love for that not to be the case, it is.

The Bulls lost in five games to Miami last year, including two games on their home court. That is more than a Rip Hamilton and healthy frontcourt away from overtaking the Heat.

Chicago will be better, but unfortunately for the Bulls, so will Miami. The Bulls lose to Miami in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

1. Defenseless NY Knicks Will Still Be No Better Than a Third Seed

Knicks fans are so excited as they have a full training camp for Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony to work together. They have Tyson Chandler to man the middle defensively, and Iman Shumpert will be an all-rookie selection and could unseat Landry Fields as a starter.

They have even hired Mike Woodson to shore up the defense, but none of it will supersede the fact that no Mike D'Antoni coached team will ever win an NBA championship.

The style on offense just doesn't lend itself to a suitable defensive approach. Now comes news that the Knicks have agreed to sign Baron Davis, and have interest in possibly adding Gilbert Arenas? The defense gets worse with every new addition. The Knicks will experience a second-round exit.

How long before Glen Grunwald calls up Phil Jackson to clean up D'Antoni's mess?