NBA 2007-08 Season's First-Half Duds

So after going off my article for the NBA 2007-08 Season's First-Half Studs, I decided to make a list for this season's First-Half Duds, who are the opposite of the most improved or least important person on the team.

This is not a list made for the Kwame Brown's or Darko Milicic's, or for players with season-long injuries such as Gilbert Arenas. But I picked out the players who could've or should've done well, and have underperformed.

So who are the Top 12 Dud's? Let's find out.

12. Andrea Bargnani (Toronto Raptors)

There were some high expectations for Andrea Bargnani coming off a successful rookie season. However Bargnani, who has been compared to Dirk Nowitzki, has gotten off to a rough first-half of the season with injuries and inconsistency that put him in-and-out of the starting line-up. His numbers aren’t as good as last season, but he has shown some life in his last seven games by averaging 17.9 ppg. His shooting and dribbling abilities normally give him a mismatch against other big men, and he is still a 3-point threat. Hopefully he can continue to be aggressive for the Raptors and doesn’t regress back to his softness in the second half.

11. Ricky Davis (Miami Heat)

The Miami Heat tried to add a third scorer for Shaq and Dwyane Wade by trading for Ricky Davis from the Minnesota Timberwolves. But even when Wade was injured, Davis was not a reliable second option and could not create for other players. He is a shoot first, shoot second, shoot third, then pass last player, and is always criticized for his poor shot selection. Miami’s season has also been plagued by very poor defense, and Davis simply does not play defense. Davis, along with the Miami Heat, have been this season’s major disappointments.

10. Kevin Durant (Seattle Supersonics)

Being a rookie in the NBA, there are bound to be growing pains along way. But given Kevin Durant’s size, skill, and shooting ability he could be a much better player. Durant does average nearly 20.0 ppg, but he shoots only 40% on 17 FG attempts. Granted that he is the primary scorer on a poor Seattle Supersonics team, but his overall stats are also poor; despite being 6-9, he only averages 4.1 rpg and commits almost three turnovers a game. Still, there is no doubt that the sky is the limit for Durant. Expect him to bounce back and have a monster season in 2009.

9. Mehmet Okur (Utah Jazz)

After Mehmet Okur made his first All-Star and helped the Utah Jazz make it to the Western Conference Finals last season, he was still expected to be a major contributor this season. But Okur’s production has experienced a major drop-off, and for the first 35 games the Jazz struggled in the competitive Western conference. Not only did Okur’s offensive suffer, but his defense and rebounding hurt the Jazz’s interior defense. But his play recently has improved, especially with the addition of Kyle Korver who can open the floor more. With a more balanced team, we can expect to see more production from Okur.

8. Kirk Hinrich (Chicago Bulls)

You think the Chicago Bulls regret not trading anyone on their roster for Kobe Bryant now? Starting point guard Kirk Hinrich was expected to build off last season’s success and continue to run the Bull’s offense. However, this season, with no significant changes made to the roster, has regressed so much that they’ve fallen out of playoff position. Hinrich’s shooting struggles have not allowed to Bull’s to spread the floor, and his inability to penetrate defenses effectively makes it difficult to create open shots for other players. It’s quite possible that the bar was set too high for Chicago to make a serious run in the Eastern Conference, but if Hinrich and the team don’t play better soon, you can bet there will be some changes for next season.

7. Larry Hughes (Cleveland Cavaliers)

After getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs in last year’s NBA Finals, it was clear the Cleveland Cavaliers needed to make a move to improve the supporting cast for Lebron James. Unfortunately for James, no significant moves were made, and Larry Hughes was still expected to be the team’s second scoring option. For most of the season so far, Hughes had to deal with injuries and has been awful offensively. At one point, he was averaging less than 10 ppg and shooting 33% for the season. Lately, however, Hughes has been on a tear, having scoring nights of 25, 28, 40, and 28, and helping the Cavaliers maintain their hot play. Hopefully it’s not just another case of Bizarro Larry (http://heylarryhughespleasestoptakingsomanybadshots.com/), and we can see this consistently for the second half of the season.

6. Eddy Curry (New York Knicks)

Frankly, the whole New York Knicks team should be near or at the top of this list. But Eddy Curry especially should be on this list after having a moderately successful campaign last season, by averaging nearly 20 ppg and a career-high 7.1 rpg. This season, his production has dropped dramatically, which could be because of the addition of Zach Randolph. Still the 6-11, 285 lb center only averages 4.8 rpg, and a pathetic team high .5 bpg. After showing some promise and helping the Knicks stay in the playoff hunt last season, he has fallen back to being one of the league’s most disappointing centers and biggest laughingstocks.

5. Ben Wallace (Chicago Bulls)

To have a second Bulls player on the list shows how high the expectations were for the team this year. But Ben Wallace deserves to be this high on the list after what he was able to do for the Bulls last year. Wallace brought in energy and a defensive tenacity that vaulted the Bulls into one of the top defensive teams last year. His defense could cover the quickest guards or the biggest post players, and he always hustled to loose balls and offensive rebounds. But that energy has been missing this season, and Wallace has always been unhappy for not being more involved in the offense. I don’t really blame the Bulls though for not including Wallace in the offense because he is such a liability. Maybe endorsing Starbury Collection at the start of the 2006 season was a mistake (coming up). If Wallace can’t anchor the Bulls energy level, the team may start to give more playing time to younger talents in Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas.  

4. Stephon Marbury (New York Knicks)

It’s got to be Stephon Marbury’s shoe brand, Starbury Collection, that has led to Marbury’s declining play and health. One year after endorsing Starbury at the start of the 2006 season, Marbury is averaging career-lows in almost every major category and is possibly out for the rest of the season. Coincidence that Ben Wallance and Marbury are both having tanking seasons on terrible teams after one year? There isn’t too much to say about Marbury’s poor play. He’s unhappy with management and coaching, wants to be a selfish scorer, doesn’t want to play defense, and the Knicks are simply awful. Look on the Brightside: at least he has his own shoe brand like Shaquille O’Neal.

3. Jermaine O’Neal (Indiana Pacers)

It was a good thing the Los Angeles Lakers left management to Mitch Kupchak, otherwise we might’ve seen Kobe Bryant just simply unhappy with a damaged Jermaine O’Neal.  O’Neal’s gimpy knees and injuries have prevented him to be the player who averaged around 20-10-2.5, and has led him to career-low average since his first season as a Pacer in 2000. There was a point in the season where we might have seen to old O’Neal come back to form, but injuries have continued to hamper his effectiveness. If O’Neal can return sometime in the season to provide some interior offense and defense, the Pacers may be able to sneak into the playoffs. But with age and declining health, there is little hope that O’Neal can return as the same player in previous years and help the Pacers become a playoff contending team.

2. Shaquille O’Neal (Phoenix Suns)

Shaquille O’Neal desperately needed a change in scenery after seeing the Miami Heat fall off the face of the NBA, two years after winning a championship. Now that O’Neal is back onto a championship contending team in the Phoenix Suns, we should expect to see a rejuvenated Shaq to help get the Suns to the Finals, just like he did in Miami. But prior to the Shawn Marion-Shaq trade, Shaq’s age clearly caught up with him. Shaq has played just over half of Miami’s games and his presence in the middle has never looked emptier. Shaq has always been injured in his 3.5 seasons with Miami, but the Heat were always able to cope with injuries and make the playoffs. But the Heat have fallen to last place in the NBA, and Shaq wanted out. Now he is hoping to return to the Phoenix Suns healthy and help them make a push for a championship.

1. Vince Carter (New Jersey Nets)

I was very disappointed in Vince Carter when he said there were nights he didn’t play hard during his time with the Toronto Raptors. A person with that much skill and talent should give their team a chance to win every night. Carter can be a top-tier player with Kobe Bryant or Lebron James, but chooses not to, which is why he makes it at the top of the list. With the amount of talent in New Jersey, the Nets should be playoff contenders every year, but this year they are on the verge of falling out of the playoff race. Lebron James was able to take his team to the Finals with much less talent, and it was his competitive fire that help vault Cleveland to the top in the East. You can tell by Carter’s body language on the floor that he doesn’t put his heart into the game, or into his team. Now with Jason Kidd soon to depart to the Dallas Mavericks, maybe Carter needs to change in scenery like Shaq, or maybe he should be taking a note out of James, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, or Kevin Garnett’s books. Whatever Carter is contemplating, he ultimately needs to change his attitude in order to get his teammate's respect and help his team win games.