NBA Predictions: 6 NBA Players Who Are Hurting Their Teams More Than Helping

The 2011-12 season is full of players who have surprised fans with their stellar performances—like rookies Kyrie Irving and Ricky Rubio—and players like Kyle Lowry and Andrew Bynum, who have legitimately stepped up their game.

Unfortunately for some teams, there are also players who are either regressing in their careers or not living up to the expectations placed on them, which results in those players doing their teams more harm than good.

Whether it's because of their lack of efficiency, lack of consistent production or their sudden inability to score, these players are holding their teams back, and they will continue to do so unless they significantly improve their game.

Ahead is a list of players who, based on their current production, are hurting their teams more than they are helping them. 

Phoenix Suns SF Grant Hill

Grant Hill is suffering from lingering issues to his knee and groin, but that isn't the only reason his production is down this year.  

The main reason why Hill's production is suffering this year is because he's just getting too old.

Hill is currently averaging 8.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.4 apg with a PER of 9.15.  Those averages are all significantly down from both Hill's career numbers and his performance last year.

The main reason why Hill is hurting the Suns more than he's helping them is because he signed a one-year, $6.5 million contract, and the Suns are not getting near their money's worth with Hill.  

If the Suns are going to turn the corner from their 5-9 record and become contenders in the West, Grant Hill must step up his game.   

New York Knicks PF Amar'e Stoudemire

Let's get one thing straight: Amar'e Stoudemire isn't playing badly this year, but his problem is that he's being outplayed when it comes to overall efficiency by both Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler.  

Anthony and Chandler have been getting a lot of heat for the Knicks' slow start this season, but I think the real problem is with No. 1 on the Knicks roster.

Stoudemire isn't necessarily playing badly, but the one stat that stands out when you look at his production so far is his seriously below average field-goal percentage, which currently sits at 40.8 percent.  

That shooting percentage might not be bad for most players, but keep in mind that Stoudemire's career shooting percentage is an impressive 53.4 percent.

The New York Knicks don't need to add J.R. Smith, and they don't need to add a veteran point guard to their roster to get better.  All they need is for Amar'e Stoudemire to be more like the player he was when they signed him.   

Washington Wizards SF Rashard Lewis

The Washington Wizards' failure so far this season isn't all because of small forward Rashard Lewis, but he sure hasn't done anything to help the Wizards out.  

On a team that lacks serious veteran leadership, Lewis has failed to bring that to the court or the locker room. 

For the first time in 12 years, Lewis is averaging less than 10 points per game as well as shooting below 37.5 percent from the field.  Lewis's 2011-12 averages look like this: 8.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.8 apg, with a 10.26 PER.  

I'm pretty sure that's not the kind of production the Wizards expected out of Lewis when they traded for him and the then-$40-some-odd million left on his contract.

While the Wizards are to blame for not using the amnesty clause on him this offseason, there's no getting around the fact that Lewis is doing nothing but hurting the Wizards, both on the court and in the front office with his ridiculous contract.

Boston Celtics PF Kevin Garnett

The Boston Celtics aren't necessarily struggling, but they aren't necessarily doing that well either.  

The Celtics have been a streaky team this year, starting the year off on a three-game losing streak, only to follow that up with four straight wins, which were followed then by five straight losses.  

If the Celtics' win/loss pattern repeats itself, the Celtics are on pace for a six-game winning streak, but only time will tell.

Anyway, Kevin Garnett hasn't been terrible throughout the Celtics' first 13 games, but he hasn't been himself, and that's undoubtedly hurt the overall chemistry of the Celtics.  

Garnett is averaging 6.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game less than his career averages, and that's one of the biggest reasons why the Celtics are sitting at 5-8 overall.

The biggest concern surrounding Garnett so far this season is that he's shooting around 5.5 percent less from the field this year than he has in all of his past seasons with the Celtics.  It's not that Garnett is playing poorly this year, it's just that he's not finding ways to help his team win this year.  

Garnett seems to have lost a step against the younger power forwards in the league, and whether that's attributed to the health of his knees or his age, Garnett needs to figure out a way to step up his game if the Celtics plan on being a serious threat come playoff time.  

Utah Jazz PG Devin Harris

One of the biggest questions that no one is asking is: What has happened to Jazz point guard Devin Harris?  

When the Utah Jazz traded Deron Williams for Devin Harris, Derrick Favor, two draft picks and $3 million in cash, it seemed like the Jazz made out like bandits.  Now, with Harris' production significantly declining, that trade doesn't look as great as it once did.

I know the Jazz are currently 9-4, which is definitely a solid record, but their success isn't in response to anything that Devin Harris has done of late.  Harris is currently averaging 8.6 ppg, 4.8 apg, 1.3 rpg, 37.6 percent fgp with a PER of 12.88.  

Those stats rank among the worst when compared to all other starting point guards in the NBA this year.

The Utah Jazz have shown that they can win without Devin Harris playing at an All-Star level, but for the Jazz to be considered a legitimate contender in the Western Conference, they will undoubtedly need him to to step up his game and solidify the point guard position in Utah.

If Devin Harris continues to struggle shooting the ball, with a 37.6 percent field-goal percentage so far, the Jazz's recent success won't be long-lived.    

Dallas Mavericks PF Lamar Odom

Lamar Odom would have been better off putting his ego aside after being trade bait for Chris Paul so that he could have stayed in L.A., because his stint in Dallas isn't working out nearly as well as he or the Mavericks had hoped.

The 2010-11 Sixth Man of the Year is having the absolute worst statistical year of his career, averaging a measly 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game with a PER of 7.51.  

It should be said that Odom is averaging the least minutes per game of his career, with only 20.6 mpg, but at the same time, those minutes aren't equalling the production that the Mavericks expected out of him.

The one statistic that speaks volumes about Odom's year so far is his incredibly below-average 31.2 percent field-goal percentage.  It's clear that Odom just doesn't have the same passion about the game that he did when he was in Los Angeles.

I'm sure when Dallas traded for Lamar Odom just a few weeks ago, they thought they'd get a more efficient and more productive player than Odom is right now.

If the Mavericks are going to contend for the NBA championship in 2012, they definitely need Odom to step his game up, because all he's doing right now is holding his team back.