NBA Slow Starters: 10 Most Disappointing Players So Far This Season
We are not far into this young season, but already criticism has been thrown around from players such as LeBron James for his rather sloppy ball handling, Kevin Durant for his poor shooting percentage, and the Houston Rockets for...well...not winning.
There is still oodles of time left for players to turn their poor play around, but if they let their game grow stagnant for too long, people's whispers could turn into shouts sooner or later.
Today's NBA is ripe with scrutiny and constant observation, along with that, everybody seems to think that they are an expert, and have their own opinion to share on every player in the league, whether it is well thought out or not.
The thick-skinned players will let most of the talk roll off their backs, but for a small number of players, the talk could ruin their egos and their play could take an even farther tumble.
So, here we have ten players, team, and coaches who need to start working harder or calming down to get rid of their lax play or still lingering opening day jitters.
10. Carl Landry
1 of 10
Carl Landry was part of a three-team deal at last season's trade deadline that sent Kevin Martin to the Rockets.
Landry did a good job with Sacramento last season, but now he is struggling quite a bit.
Just a few months ago, Landry was averaging 18 points on 52% shooting for the Kings, along with a 74% shooting clip from the free throw line.
Now however, his minutes have been cut due to his poor play.
He is down to 12 points per game, on 45% shooting, and a measly 60% on free throws.
Along with his shooting struggles he has seen a substantial decrease in rebounds, steals and blocks (he has none this year).
In his past two games, both Sacramento losses, Landry is a combined 2-10 with eight total points.
9. Steve Nash
2 of 10
Steve Nash is still the same great player that he always has been, but he can't do it the way that he used to.
When Nash won back-to-back MVP Awards in 2005 and 2006, he didn't have the best numbers in the NBA, but he was praised for the way he made his team a cohesive unit, and made everyone else around him better in the process.
He famously beat out Kobe Bryant for the award in 2006, in what was one of Kobe's best years, and he scored the most points since Michael Jordan's 1987-88 season.
Now, however, Nash's dismantled team looks sloppy and uncoordinated.
The seven-seconds offense that he is so famously profound at running is being outscored, as the Suns are averaging 108.3 points, and giving up 109.6.
It is the first time since Nash took over the offense in 2004 that his team is being outscored.
8. Joe Johnson
3 of 10
Let me start out by defending Joe Johnson. There is no way, ever, in any situation that he could live up to the contract that he signed over the past summer.
I'm sure, however, that when the Hawks signed him in an attempt to keep their team as one of the best in the Eastern Conference that they didn't expect him to decline.
He has gone down in almost every major category, however, only showing minuscule increases in rebounding and blocked shots.
They may be winning, but as an owner you can't enjoy that the guy that you just signed to a maximum contract is currently fifth on the team in John Hollinger's ever powerful PER, as he is sitting at a meager (for the money) 16.8.
7. Brandon Roy
4 of 10
This one I'm going to chalk up to the fear of getting hurt.
The Blazers have been injured so often over the past few seasons that they don't just have a team doctor, they have a whole medical practice. Heeeyyy-o!
Okay, so that was horrible, but just as disappointing has been Brandon Roy's shooting.
Roy has gone from 47% a year ago to just above 40% so far this season. His assists and rebounds have also struggled, but his free throw shooting has vastly improved, so my disappointment in him is not major...yet.
6. Chris Bosh
5 of 10
We knew he would score fewer points, that's fine, they have plenty of other guys to make buckets.
What wasn't expected, however, was for him to completely forget how to rebound the ball.
He is averaging four fewer rebounds per game this season. Four!
Along with that, his field-goal percentage has dropped quite a bit, the opposite of what was expected, as it was assumed that he would be getting more open looks with LeBron facilitating on the super-mega team in Miami.
Get it together Chris, or people will stop being fooled and realize that you are not a superstar, just a good player.
5. Kevin Durant
6 of 10
Yea, Durant is getting his points, and lucky for him, so is Russell Westbrook, or the Thunder could be sitting at a record much worse than 4-3 two weeks into the season.
Kevin Durant, as everyone expected, is leading the NBA in scoring at 28.1 points a game, but he is shooting more than he did last year.
Whether he is making too much of his recent leadership role with Team USA in which he was the heart, soul, head, shoulders, and belly button of the team, or he is just slumping, the downturn is noticeable.
Durant has always been an excellent shooter, posting 48% in each of the past two seasons, but now he is shooting at a mere 39%, and teetering on falling below 30% from three point land.
The Thunder were expected to be the biggest threat to the Lakers in the west, but if Durant takes a downturn this season there is no way they can stop the Lakers from taking the conference yet again.
4. Jamal Crawford
7 of 10
It's amazing that, with two of their best players from a year ago playing worse, the Atlanta Hawks are tied for the lead in the Southeastern Division with the Orlando Magic.
Jamal Crawford's downturn has been much more noticeable than Joe Johnson's, by far.
Crawford, who won the Sixth Man Award last season, is doing everything worse except shooting free throws.
His shooting percentage is down three points, his three-point percentage is down ten points, he is averaging fewer points, rebounds, assists, more fouls and more turnovers.
He is doing this all while playing two minutes less than he did a year ago.
It's amazing how good the Hawks could be right now if every player on their team was clicking at the same time.
3. John Salmons
8 of 10
John Salmons was the prize of the trade deadline in February for the Milwaukee Bucks. Now he looks downright terrible.
In 30 games with Milwaukee last season, in which he helped the team teach the world to fear the deer, Salmons averaged 20 points on 47% shooting, 39% from beyond the arc, and 88% from the charity stripe.
Now he looks worse than he did when he started the season with the Bulls last year.
His 11 points on 36% shooting is just terrible. Pair that with a decrease in both three-point and free throw percentage, along with a slight increase in turnovers and you have yourself a struggling player.
Get it together John, and you and your team can climb out of eighth in the conference.
2. Erik Spoelstra
9 of 10
Does anyone really believe that Erik Spoelstra is really the head coach of the future for the Miami Heat at this point?
The only thing I can say good about the guy is that he has them playing good defense.
They are playing sloppy, averaging 13.4 turnovers per game, the most in the league, with no reprimand from Spolestra to tighten things up.
He has been unable to realize that Carlos Arroyo is overmatched by nearly any other guard in the league at this point in his career.
Spoelstra has also done very limited experimenting with the lineup, something which was expected, as LeBron could play any position, and match up with most players one-on-one in the league, but he has been relegated as he same-old point forward role.
Plus, he has yet to uncork my boy, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who has not even attempted a three this season. C'mon Erik, he's a secret weapon, use him!
1. Houston Rockets
10 of 10
The Rockets are a team that was expected to thrive with the return of Yao Ming and be one of the contenders in the Western Conference.
They are, however, sitting at a measly 1-6 because of their inability to close out games.
Four of Houston's five losses have been by eight points or less, and their only win was in a blowout against the 2-7 Timberwolves, showing that if they are not able to get far enough ahead of teams, they can't finish them off.
They started the season off great, outscoring the Lakers by 11 in the first half of their first game, and promptly blew it in the second half, getting outscored 61-48.
They followed that by being unable to stop Golden State from scoring in able to come back in their second game, scoring a measly 43 points in the second half against Denver, getting outscored by New Orleans 64-50 in the second half of their next game, losing a hard fought overtime game to the Spurs, beating Minnesota, and getting triple-doubled by John Wall.
If Houston would start to finish games then they could be excellent, but until then they are nothing more than disappointing.
