NBA Predictions 2011: 10 Players Who Will Underperform This Season

The NBA Lockout is finally over and I am excited for the start of the NBA season!

However, before any season we must all scramble to come up with our own little fantasies as to how everything is going to play out.

Of course, these fantasies should be supported with some fact and analysis, but until we see some games, there is really no way to know if the prediction was accurate or not.

So, with that said, I will get going on my own prediction about which players will not perform as well as expected this year.

Hope you enjoy!

10. The Rookies

Let's get the easy stuff done with.

This rookie class from the outside looks very shallow and not too many players are looked at as potential future stars.

Oddly enough, one of the players that is considered a potential star is Kyrie Irving (pictured) whose college career lasted a whopping 11 games.

Based on looks alone, this is not a very impressive draft class to say the least.

However, one should never judge a book by its cover and every draft contains surprises and unexpected successes.

With that said, rookies this year missed a whole lot of training time, and will no doubt be coming in rusty. This is made worse when considering that they have zero NBA playing experience.

Overall, it should not be surprising to see that many of the rookies will struggle this year even more than usually the case.

9. Tim Duncan

This at first can look like a very controversial pick, but really sit back and look at this.

Duncan averaged only 28 minutes a game last season, the lowest average of his career and thus saw his statistics drop significantly.

However, in the playoffs his minutes rose considerably and that only led to a decrease in his overall production.

The man is now 35 years old and it is perfectly understandable that he is no longer able to produce at a high level.

However, many fans and experts still see him as a threat and as someone who can put up very solid production if given the minutes.

Fact is, that's simply not Duncan anymore. He is now in cruise control as a leader and a support player for his team.

Is he still a force? Of course he can contribute to his team, but it can no longer be said that the Spurs have a definite advantage at the forward position every night, those days are done.

8. Tyson Chandler

The fact that the Mavericks look to be willing to give Chandler some real cash is baffling to me.

He is a solid player, he is, but he is not a good player. While, I would love to have Chandler on my team, I would not be willing to pay him a large amount of money for multiple years.

When I think Tyson Chandler, I think injury prone and I think inconsistent. Those two to me are like a giant "Stay away" sign.

However, it looks like I am in the minority with my opinion on Chandler, but any team that signs him better hope he improves his game and does not get hurt midseason.

7. Marc Gasol

Marc Gasol is a terrific player with a great potential.

This has led to teams willing to invest a decent chunk of cash in him over a period of multiple years. This in my eyes is a problem.

While, he is a solid player, he has shown himself to be very inconsistent and has not impressed on the boards or on the defensive side of the ball.

He is not worth the money he will receive this offseason and the team that lands him will not get the player they paid for.

6. Any Shooting Guard Brought in by the Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are no doubt one of the top teams in the entire NBA, but one of their biggest weaknesses has been their shooting guard position.

If they can fill that spot, like they will no doubt try this free agency, it is believed they will become very serious contenders for the title.

However, the problem arises in the fact that their starting point guard and league MVP is not a pass first player.

I cannot picture Rose wanting to share touches with anyone else any more than he did this season.

When taking this into consideration another scoring threat really does this team no good considering that the person they put on the team will most likely not receive that many opportunities.

While a shooting guard would no doubt provide help on offense, it will still be a Derrick Rose show with little change to the game plan.

5. The (Old) Big Three

Three Hall of Famers are all approaching retirement and their solid play will not last up to that point.

I think this is the first year in which the NBA audience will be able to see a big decline in production from the Old Big Three.

4. Tyreke Evans

He was one of the brightest young stars in the league two years ago and his stellar play won him the Rookie of the Year award over Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings.

Even so, concern was raised over his leadership and his lack of a shooting touch. Last year, he had an undeniable dip in production which is by no means inexcusable, but I highly doubt he will ever surpass his 2010 form again.

He is quick and athletic, but has shown no improvement in key areas and his maturity can also be questioned due to some reckless behavior off the court.

 If he can manage to straighten his act and start focusing on becoming a better player, then this spot would prove to be undeserved, but I doubt there will be any change.

3. John Wall

John Wall came into the league riding a huge wave of hype and expectation and he delivered a pretty decent rookie season to start his career.

However, I do not believe that the NBA fans will see a much improved version of John Wall and while he will be a better player overall, he won't even begin to reach his potential next season.

This lockout has really hurt his ability to make a big impact in the NBA, but look for a very strong season out of this young man in 2013.

2. Russell Westbrook

While his playoff showing left much to be desired, Westbrook still ranks near the top of the league in terms of point guards.

However, he has not yet learned his proper place on this team and that is the role of a distributor who reserves the ability to score.

He seems to want to dominate the stat sheet and score as many points as possible when he has the best scorer in the NBA just standing there waiting for a pass.

In no way am I saying this guy never shares the ball, but he needs to be consistent and learn his place.

1. Kobe Bryant

Oh here we go!

I imagine this page is not going to get me too much love, but I hope you all can at least read my points before jumping on me about how wrong I am.

Kobe Bryant had one of his worst seasons last year and it all ended with an ugly sweep at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.

This immediately caused an eruption of opinions as to how Kobe and co. will bounce back.

One of the more popular opinions suggested that Kobe would have an absolutely amazing year in 2012 and perhaps even challenge for the league MVP.

However, the fact still remains that he is only getting older and his body is only getting weaker. Last season, he showed us all how truly weak his body is and while he played through the injuries, he played poorly.

He is not the same player he was years ago and there is absolutely no reason to believe that the 33-year-old Bryant is able to reach that level again.

His numbers will decline yet again and the Lakers record will go along with him. Without Phil Jackson coaching, he might also struggle to play under the newly hired Mike Brown.

Due to the amount of money he is being paid and the expectations set, there is no doubt that this season Kobe Bryant is only headed for failure.

Thank you for reading!

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