Jeremy Lin and 6 Players Who Will Slump in Second Half

The first half of the NBA season has come and gone, and as usual, the second half is likely to feature a number of outstanding performances from teams and individuals alike.

But while the best of the best will do what they can to get their teams into the postseason, some players out there will simply not step up when it counts the most.

Whether they ride their early season struggles all the way to the end, or fall off the map following a great first half, there are a few players who just might disappoint entering the post All-Star portion of the 2011-12 season.

Jeremy Lin

It took Jeremy Lin only a matter of days to convert himself from undrafted benchwarmer to household name.

But can he keep up the Linsanity?

Averaging 38 minutes per game since his emergence, Lin could suffer fatigue heading down the stretch considering he was only averaging nine minutes off the bench early this season. 

Lin had been averaging nearly 24 points per game and more than nine assists during his miraculous 9-2 run with the New York Knicks.

Thursday, however, the Miami Heat showed that he is indeed human, holding him to just eight points and three assists while forcing eight turnovers.

Lin, who will likely never be a player to rely on athleticism, had a difficult time with the double-team and admitted that it was difficult to even "take dribbles" against the Heat defense.

It may just be one game, and it may have been a game against arguably the league's best team, but if defenses are going to begin honing in on Lin the way the Heat did Thursday night, don't be surprised if Lin has similar performances moving forward.

Ricky Rubio

While Ricky Rubio has done a sufficient job of proving the many doubters wrong early in his NBA career, there is a whole lot more basketball to play.

Coming from Spain where he played far fewer games last year, the main concern has to be whether or not he can hold up throughout an entire NBA season.

Like Jeremy Lin, Rubio isn't likely to ever rely on his athleticism to get it done on the court, and in a league of big-time athletic point guards, the competition could catch up to him.

Wilson Chandler

Wilson Chandler could make his NBA comeback with the Denver Nuggets and be exactly what the team needs to make a push at the playoffs this season.

Having spent so much time away from the NBA, though, could make his return a less-than-glamorous one.

Chandler's former teammate, J.R. Smith, has been able to jump into the New York Knicks' system and play well enough to deserve the minutes.

Smith, however, who has never been shy about putting up shots, has struggled to find his stroke early, shooting just 26 percent from behind the arch.

Chandler has never been the shooter Smith is, and shouldn't be expected to light it up coming back to the NBA. But on a team that is averaging the second most points in the entire NBA this season, Chandler will need to find the stroke at some point if he is to thrive in the Nuggets system this year.

Chandler won't have to contend with the star studded lineup that Smith has with the Knicks, but when it comes to re-establishing his place on the team, he will have to compete with the type of solid depth that won't plague Smith any time soon in New York.

Gerald Wallace

Gerald Wallace has been off and on this year for the Portland Trail Blazers, but the source of his inconsistency has been fairly easy to spot.

At home this season, Wallace is averaging 17.2 points and looking like the attack-first player that Portland fans love to watch.

On the road, however, his numbers drop to just 9.6 points per game and he has struggled to find the energy that the hometown crowd provides for him.

With more than half of the Blazers' remaining schedule away from the Rose Garden, including a seven-game road trip in March, Wallace could see his production slip even further behind Nicolas Batum, who was recently added to the starting lineup.

Wallace has thrived off of athleticism for most of his career, and although he's only 29 years old, his body has some added mileage on it due to his aggressive style of play. That could spell trouble for the second half of a condensed season.

Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett is putting up a decent 14.4 points and 7.9 rebounds this season, but if you've watched the 35-year-old forward play this season, those numbers don't quite tell the whole story.

A lack of rebounding bigs in Boston has allowed Garnett to put up decent numbers on the boards. But on the offensive end, a lot of his points are credited more to the play and distribution of Rajon Rondo than the lethal combination of finesse and aggression that he was once touted for.

Garnett has stayed relatively healthy this season, but whether it be a late-season injury, or simply the miles wearing down him, the second half of the season could prove tiring for Garnett.

Metta World Peace

The forward formerly known as Ron Artest is having by far the worst season of his NBA career.

Averaging just 4.9 points, .8 steals and shooting below 24 percent from the three-point line, Metta World Peace has disappointed fans to the point of wondering if the Los Angeles Lakers will use the Amnesty Clause to rid themselves of the struggling player.

It isn't going out on a limb to say that he will continue to struggle deep into the season, and while World Peace has proven he can step it up in late-season situations, don't expect too many miracles from a player whose best days are clearly behind him.

Carmelo Anthony

While Metta World Peace might be the safest bet on this list, Carmelo Anthony just might be the riskiest choice for a post All-Star slump.

Anthony has already been having a not-so Carmelo-like season, averaging his fewest points since his sophomore season and shooting a career-low 39 percent from the field before his injury.

However, since returning to the lineup, Anthony has averaged just 15 points per contest.

Anthony, who is a constant threat to put the ball in the basket, may just be recuperating from his injury-filled few weeks, but one still has to question whether the production has anything to do with the emergence of teammate Jeremy Lin.

The Knicks look like a whole new squad entering the second half of the season, and with Lin, Baron Davis and J.R. Smith as new pieces, it will be interesting to see how well Anthony plays heading into the playoffs.

His numbers may not drastically fall after this weekend's All-Star Game, but if he continues to struggle on offense and his numbers don't increase toward the postseason, he won't resemble the Anthony we've seen year in and year out for nearly the last decade.