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Last week we brought joy, highlighting five players who have started the season surprisingly well. Now, we must bring the pain. Some guys just haven't lived up to their billing so far. It's early, so hopefully for their teams' sake, they'll turn it around. But for these five players, it has been an ugly first few weeks. To be honest, they look totally lost.
Roy Hibbert | C | Indiana Pacers
Where's the guy who put 19 points, 18 rebounds and 5 blocks on Miami in that close playoff series just over six months ago, the guy who averaged 14.7 points and 13.3 rebounds as Indiana put the eventual world champions in a 2-1 hole?
The last time anyone saw that guy was when he signed his $58 million contract with the Pacers last summer. Since then, all we've seen is the Roy Hibbert who had folks wondering whether he could be a starter in the league. Hibbert, who to his credit has admitted to reporters that he's not getting the job done, is struggling mightily, and that's a big reason Indiana entered Wednesday's game at Milwaukee with a disappointing 3-5 record.
Hibbert, averaging 7 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 36 percent from the field, started slowly and has only gotten worse, hitting only 30 percent of his shots over the past five games. Perhaps his early struggles have gone to his head, because it's not as though he has been going against the league's juggernauts. Four of the Pacers' games have come against arguably the three worst teams in the league -- Toronto (twice), Washington and Charlotte.
In his first NBA game, Raptors rookie Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 10 rebounds (big numbers for a center nowadays) against Hibbert, and the Kings' troubled center, DeMarcus Cousins, handed Hibbert 21 points and 13 boards. Hibbert's play has been so uninspiring that it even rejuvenated Emeka Okafor, another guy some would say cashed a check and cashed it in.
Against Hibbert, Okafor had his highest-scoring game (17 points) since February 6. Yikes. If Hibbert doesn't regain the All-Star form he flashed last season, all that talk of a Pacers revival will be just that -- talk.
Rodney Stuckey | PG | Detroit Pistons
Remember when Rodney Stuckey was the next big thing, a mid-first-round draft steal? Well, perhaps that's an overstatement. But at least he was the Pistons' next big thing. He looked so promising that Detroit thought it could thrive without Chauncey Billups, so promising the Pistons benched (and effectively ruined their relationship with) Rip Hamilton. Those days are over, though.
After averaging 15 points over the past three seasons, he has fallen to 9 points a game on abysmal 28 percent shooting. With numbers like that, you'd think he was coming off the bench. But he's starting. And to make matters worse, he's only 26 years old, so it's not as though he has been struck by Father Time.
The strange thing is that several people have told me Stuckey worked his tail off over the summer and that he was prepared to come in and have perhaps his best season. Now that he's struggling, they tell me he's a moody person who lets his moods affect his play
"He hasn't grown up yet so he might get frustrated and just shut it down,'' one person said.
Stuckey also may need (or want) the ball in his hands more. He always has been a combo guard -- not quite a 1 or a 2. But with Brandon Knight feeling more comfortable at the point, he's handling the ball more than he did last season, which has left Stuckey without both the
both the ball and his mojo.
Evan Turner | SF | Philadelphia 76ers
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Jim Rogash/Getty ImagesTurner (12) is nowhere near the defender he's replacing.
Evan Turner has been OK, but that's not what you want from a No. 2 draft pick whom you traded an All-Star (Andre Iguodala) to make room for in the starting lineup. I say Turner has been OK because his 11.7 points a game is a two-point increase over what he did last year and he leads the Sixers with 8.7 rebounds a game. That's excellent board work for a small forward. But he's making only 38 percent of his shots, which gets to the crux of the matter: Turner just can't shoot.
At this point, Turner looks like a poor man's Iguodala. He can't shoot straight, but he can do everything else on the offensive end well. The difference is that Iguodala is a top defender and Turner is not. So whereas Iguodala could make up for his shooting deficiencies on the other end of the floor, Turner not only fails to regularly torch his opponent but he doesn't shut down anyone either.
Despite not being the quickest guy in the world, Turner is able to penetrate and create because of his great skills. Of course, that's what you've got point guard Jrue Holiday for. So for Turner to really become an impact player, he's got to improve that midrange game. If not, he could remain on this list for some time.
Lamar Odom | PF | Los Angeles Clippers
I can't blame the Clippers for trying. Hey, the one city you figured Odom would be comfortable enough in to return to form had to be Los Angeles. But so far, Odom has been as bad as he was when we last saw him getting booted off the team in Dallas. Sure, I'm told his attitude is better (and I believe it), but at the end of the day, it comes down to production. And as of yet, L.O. hasn't delivered that.
Ten pounds overweight, he has been nothing like the player the Clippers hoped they were getting. The math is horrible: After playing 17 minutes in the season opener, Odom has totaled only 17 minutes in the past two games, 31 in the past four. In six November games, he's shooting 18 percent from the floor.
Fortunately for the Clippers, they are so deep that it hasn't mattered. And when Grant Hill and Chauncey Billups get back it may matter even less. But one major reason the Thunder feared the Clippers more than the Lakers entering this season was because of the impact they knew a focused and productive Odom could have. Thus far, such an Odom has been nowhere to be found and with the West up for grabs, that could eventually be the difference between a trip to the conference finals and the Finals.
Derrick Williams | SF/PF | Minnesota Timberwolves
It's hard to believe some thought this guy might be a better draft pick than Kyrie Irving. While Kyrie has gone on to stardom, Williams has been a weak link on an injury-ravaged Timberwolves team. He has been starting at power forward in the absence of Kevin Love, but when Love returns from a broken hand, Williams could fade into no man's land. Even with Love out, he's only getting 22 minutes a night.
When he came from Arizona two years ago, scouts said he was a tweener at the forward position. It's the same thing they said about Michael Beasley, and neither player (though Beasley's problems are due in part to several off-the-court issues) has come anywhere close to experiencing the type of success they had in college.
Williams is shooting a measly 33 percent from the floor and being outplayed by teammate Dante Cunningham, a second-round pick in 2009 who already has played on four teams. In other words, Cunningham's a journeyman, and if Williams doesn't get it together, he may be one too.
Roy Hibbert | C | Indiana Pacers
Where's the guy who put 19 points, 18 rebounds and 5 blocks on Miami in that close playoff series just over six months ago, the guy who averaged 14.7 points and 13.3 rebounds as Indiana put the eventual world champions in a 2-1 hole?
The last time anyone saw that guy was when he signed his $58 million contract with the Pacers last summer. Since then, all we've seen is the Roy Hibbert who had folks wondering whether he could be a starter in the league. Hibbert, who to his credit has admitted to reporters that he's not getting the job done, is struggling mightily, and that's a big reason Indiana entered Wednesday's game at Milwaukee with a disappointing 3-5 record.
Hibbert, averaging 7 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 36 percent from the field, started slowly and has only gotten worse, hitting only 30 percent of his shots over the past five games. Perhaps his early struggles have gone to his head, because it's not as though he has been going against the league's juggernauts. Four of the Pacers' games have come against arguably the three worst teams in the league -- Toronto (twice), Washington and Charlotte.
In his first NBA game, Raptors rookie Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 10 rebounds (big numbers for a center nowadays) against Hibbert, and the Kings' troubled center, DeMarcus Cousins, handed Hibbert 21 points and 13 boards. Hibbert's play has been so uninspiring that it even rejuvenated Emeka Okafor, another guy some would say cashed a check and cashed it in.
Against Hibbert, Okafor had his highest-scoring game (17 points) since February 6. Yikes. If Hibbert doesn't regain the All-Star form he flashed last season, all that talk of a Pacers revival will be just that -- talk.
Rodney Stuckey | PG | Detroit Pistons
Remember when Rodney Stuckey was the next big thing, a mid-first-round draft steal? Well, perhaps that's an overstatement. But at least he was the Pistons' next big thing. He looked so promising that Detroit thought it could thrive without Chauncey Billups, so promising the Pistons benched (and effectively ruined their relationship with) Rip Hamilton. Those days are over, though.
After averaging 15 points over the past three seasons, he has fallen to 9 points a game on abysmal 28 percent shooting. With numbers like that, you'd think he was coming off the bench. But he's starting. And to make matters worse, he's only 26 years old, so it's not as though he has been struck by Father Time.
The strange thing is that several people have told me Stuckey worked his tail off over the summer and that he was prepared to come in and have perhaps his best season. Now that he's struggling, they tell me he's a moody person who lets his moods affect his play
"He hasn't grown up yet so he might get frustrated and just shut it down,'' one person said.
Stuckey also may need (or want) the ball in his hands more. He always has been a combo guard -- not quite a 1 or a 2. But with Brandon Knight feeling more comfortable at the point, he's handling the ball more than he did last season, which has left Stuckey without both the
both the ball and his mojo.
Evan Turner | SF | Philadelphia 76ers
[+] Enlarge
Jim Rogash/Getty ImagesTurner (12) is nowhere near the defender he's replacing.
Evan Turner has been OK, but that's not what you want from a No. 2 draft pick whom you traded an All-Star (Andre Iguodala) to make room for in the starting lineup. I say Turner has been OK because his 11.7 points a game is a two-point increase over what he did last year and he leads the Sixers with 8.7 rebounds a game. That's excellent board work for a small forward. But he's making only 38 percent of his shots, which gets to the crux of the matter: Turner just can't shoot.
At this point, Turner looks like a poor man's Iguodala. He can't shoot straight, but he can do everything else on the offensive end well. The difference is that Iguodala is a top defender and Turner is not. So whereas Iguodala could make up for his shooting deficiencies on the other end of the floor, Turner not only fails to regularly torch his opponent but he doesn't shut down anyone either.
Despite not being the quickest guy in the world, Turner is able to penetrate and create because of his great skills. Of course, that's what you've got point guard Jrue Holiday for. So for Turner to really become an impact player, he's got to improve that midrange game. If not, he could remain on this list for some time.
Lamar Odom | PF | Los Angeles Clippers
I can't blame the Clippers for trying. Hey, the one city you figured Odom would be comfortable enough in to return to form had to be Los Angeles. But so far, Odom has been as bad as he was when we last saw him getting booted off the team in Dallas. Sure, I'm told his attitude is better (and I believe it), but at the end of the day, it comes down to production. And as of yet, L.O. hasn't delivered that.
Ten pounds overweight, he has been nothing like the player the Clippers hoped they were getting. The math is horrible: After playing 17 minutes in the season opener, Odom has totaled only 17 minutes in the past two games, 31 in the past four. In six November games, he's shooting 18 percent from the floor.
Fortunately for the Clippers, they are so deep that it hasn't mattered. And when Grant Hill and Chauncey Billups get back it may matter even less. But one major reason the Thunder feared the Clippers more than the Lakers entering this season was because of the impact they knew a focused and productive Odom could have. Thus far, such an Odom has been nowhere to be found and with the West up for grabs, that could eventually be the difference between a trip to the conference finals and the Finals.
Derrick Williams | SF/PF | Minnesota Timberwolves
It's hard to believe some thought this guy might be a better draft pick than Kyrie Irving. While Kyrie has gone on to stardom, Williams has been a weak link on an injury-ravaged Timberwolves team. He has been starting at power forward in the absence of Kevin Love, but when Love returns from a broken hand, Williams could fade into no man's land. Even with Love out, he's only getting 22 minutes a night.
When he came from Arizona two years ago, scouts said he was a tweener at the forward position. It's the same thing they said about Michael Beasley, and neither player (though Beasley's problems are due in part to several off-the-court issues) has come anywhere close to experiencing the type of success they had in college.
Williams is shooting a measly 33 percent from the floor and being outplayed by teammate Dante Cunningham, a second-round pick in 2009 who already has played on four teams. In other words, Cunningham's a journeyman, and if Williams doesn't get it together, he may be one too.