Five teams that could be headed for a fall

Monday, we brought you the five teams most likely to make the jump from the Lottery to the Playoffs. For every new team that reaches the postseason, there's an empty seat on the stage in Secaucus. And somebody's got to take it.

It's always easier to find teams that are likely to improve than ones that are likely to get worse. And this summer, it seems like the ones likely to get worse are mostly teams that were bad already. But there are a few teams that made the Playoffs this year and could have some trouble getting back.

Who are they? Here are the top five candidates, with last season's record in parentheses.

Yao Ming is out for the season. Tracy McGrady might as well be. And Ron Artest is now a Laker. In the competitive Western Conference, it's hard to imagine the Rockets holding on to a playoff spot.

With Trevor Ariza and Shane Battier, they should still be solid defensively on the perimeter. But without Yao, they have no center to keep guys out of the paint and challenge shots at the rim. Offensively, Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola can do work one-on-one, but they have no anchor who can draw double-teams and get other guys open looks from 3-point range.

A Rockets team that doesn't defend as well and doesn't get open shots from the outside is going to struggle. Houston will need to take its lumps this season and hope Yao makes a full recovery from surgery on his foot.

With loads of cap space this summer, the Pistons had the opportunity to reload and bounce back from a terrible (by their standards) season. But was signing Ben Gordon for $55 million and Charlie Villanueva for $35 million the best way to spend their money?

Both players are talented, but limited. Neither seemingly does anything to help the Pistons restore their reputation as a tough, defensive team. And the Pistons are still lacking any sort of interior presence in the paint.

Allen Iverson and Michael Curry are gone, and hopefully, they take the chemistry problems of last season with them. But new coach John Kuester will need to establish a new identity in Detroit and get his players to buy in, because with Toronto and Washington getting stronger over the summer, reaching the Playoffs will be more difficult this season.

If they don't convince Lamar Odom to come back to Miami or the Jazz to send them Carlos Boozer, the Heat are looking at essentially the same roster that relied too heavily on the brilliance of Dwyane Wade last season.

It probably isn't smart to doubt Wade, but can he pull off another amazing year with little help from his supporting cast? His 79 games in 2008-09 were one of several career highs, and it was clear that he was on a mission to prove that he's still one of the best players in the game.

The Heat also fed on the weaker teams last season, going 27-12 against teams below .500. This year, the East figures to be a little stronger, and if they don't get Wade some more support, Miami will need to improve from within to stay afloat.

The questions with the Sixers start at point guard, where they lost Andre Miller and will now need to count on Louis Williams and rookie Jrue Holiday. Williams is talented, but not a true point guard, which will make things tougher for Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young. Further, Philly's running game won't be as potent without Miller leading the break.

The Sixers will be getting Elton Brand back, but the questions continue there. Will the addition of Jason Kapono help give Brand the space he needs in the post, or is Brand just a bad fit with slashers like Iguodala and Young?

With a lot of youth, this team still has room for improvement, especially if second-year big man Marreese Speights can step up and take Samuel Dalembert's spot in the starting lineup. But with a lot of questions to be answered, a third straight trip to the postseason is not a sure thing.

This spot was reserved for a second Western Conference team (perhaps the Jazz or Hornets). But last year's gap between the top nine and the bottom six in the West makes two changes hard to fathom.

A more likely scenario is the Raptors and Wizards returning to the postseason, and either the Sixers or Pistons hanging on. In that case, either the Bulls or Hawks would have to slide out. Chicago lost Ben Gordon, but will be getting Luol Deng back from injury and will have Derrick Rose with a year of experience under his belt. Further, the experience of taking the Celtics to seven games should help them like it did the Hawks a year earlier.

Atlanta could be set for a letdown. They clearly improved last season, but just aren't ready to take the next step. The addition of Jamal Crawford (who has never made the Playoffs in nine seasons, by the way) could make things easier on Joe Johnson, or it could create a chemistry problem. And they're still playing Al Horford at center.

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