At the start of the 2017/18 season, several teams harbored hopes of performing better than they had in the previous campaign.

As usual, there have been some surprise packages in the opening months of the year but there are also those who are struggling to live up to expectations.

It's still early in the season and things could change but some teams already look doomed and are not competing at the level they'd hoped.

Here are the three most disappointing teams so far:

Charlotte Hornets

After missing out on the playoffs last year, the Hornets appeared determined to make up for that failure with some interesting acquisitions over the summer.

Their biggest move saw them trade for big man Dwight Howard in a move to reunite him with his former Orlando Magic assistant coach Steve Clifford.

The center was expected to plug the weaknesses in the team, particularly in terms of rim protection. To a large extent, the eight-time All-Star has helped in that regard but there are bigger problems within the roster.

Kemba Walker has had a bad start to the campaign by his standards and scoring has been an issue for the Hornets.

They're currently 11-19 in the east and are likely to have to reel off a long winning streak to just stay within touching distance of the teams currently in the playoff positions.

Charlotte may still be able to turn it around but may need some trades by February's deadline to improve the squad.

Memphis Grizzlies

After seven straight appearances in the postseason, that run looks like ending this season as the Grizzlies have been a mess and are one of the worst teams in the west.

They are 9-21 and are one of only two franchises to have fired their head coach after they surprisingly dispatched David Fizdale.

He and Marc Gasol had a fractured relationship which was his downfall and things have been ugly on the court too as they've lost their identity as a team and have found it extremely hard to get wins.

The injury to Mike Conley hasn't helped as they look like a cohesive unit when he's in the lineup - evidenced by their victories over the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets early on.

But even when Conley returns, it's hard to see how things will get better as they severely lack talent outside of the point guard, Gasol and their one bright spark this season, Tyreke Evans.

The Tennessee-based outfit looks to be heading for the lottery but it may be a blessing in disguise as they could do with a young star to come in and galvanize the team.

Oklahoma City Thunder

OKC should definitely be classed as the most disappointing team as they shouldn't be faltering as bad as they have with the talent at their disposal.

Of course, it takes time to accommodate three All-Stars in the same lineup and teething problems are expected but certainly not the kind they've been experiencing.

Head coach Billy Donovan should shoulder his fair share of the blame as he still hasn't figured out a system that best utilizes the skills of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony.

They're 15-15 and have had some horrible losses already which is leading many to deem this experiment as a failure even though there are still 52 games left to play.

Melo is not getting enough shots and is struggling to fit into the Thunder offense which makes you wonder whether it was the right decision to trade for him.

They should still make the playoffs but those that anointed them as the main challengers to the Golden State Warriors are being proved horribly wrong.