The first half of the season has given us plenty of players to cheer about – Andrew Bynum, Chris Kaman, and Rudy Gay for example. However, there have been plenty of players that have fantasy team owners saying, “Why, why me!!!” Here is a countdown of those players that have not lived up to their expectations so far and the prospects of a bounce-back second half. 10)
Rashard Lewis – Magic – Not that the Magic are too disappointed in the signing of Lewis, because they got off to a hot start. However, they, and fantasy owners, expected him to carry more of the load. Instead, he is third on the team in scoring and rebounding. He has mostly been a victim statistically of the success of
Hedo Turkoglu. Expect Lewis to emerge as a better option in the second half than Turkoglu, but will still play second fiddle to
Dwight Howard.
9)
Jermaine O’Neal – Pacers – Even before this latest injury, O’Neal just did not seem like the same player this season. It may be the new offensive system, the fact that he wants to be dealt to a contending team, age and injury are finally taking their toll, or all of the above. In any case, it does not appear that he is worthy of the elite status that he has held the past few years, anymore.
8)
Walter Herrmann – Pistons – This one probably had a minimal consequence in most leagues. Still, Herrmann was a popular pick going into this season based on his strong second half last season where he averaged 12.3 points, 1.5 three pointers, and 3.9 rebounds after the 2007 All-Star break. He failed to land a significant role in Sam Vincent’s Bobcat team early this season and then was unceremoniously shipped off to Detroit in a package for
Nazr Mohammed. The good news is that he is now on a team that has NBA Finals hopes; the bad news is that he has played over 15 minutes in a game only twice since arriving in Mo-town. There is no real hope for a rebound here, unless another trade is in the immediate future of Herrmann, which seems unlikely.
7)
Larry Hughes – Cavaliers – Hughes has been a capable scorer in his career, despite not having a very good outside shot. He has struggled with his entire game so far this season, including his rebounding and assists. Fortunately, one of his strengths, stealing the ball, has still been there for this season. Hughes has had a couple monster games since returning from injury, which is encouraging. However, do not expect much from him in the second half as he remains a consistent injury and field goal percentage risk.
6)
Kirk Hinrich – Bulls – Hinrich entered this season coming off three consecutive seasons of at least 15.7 points, 6.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 three pointers. Most that drafted him expected that he would produce those numbers again this season. However, Hinrich labored with his scoring, namely his three point shooting, in the first half of the season. He seems to have turned things around, putting up 38 points in a late January game – including going four for five from beyond the arc in that game. He may be a decent buy-low candidate to target in a trade.
5)
Delonte West – Sonics – West seemed like a prefect combination of offensive and defense to run the point on a young Seattle team. His struggles with turnovers early on this season caused the coaching staff to lose confidence in West and turn to other options at point guard, namely Earl Watson. West is a more talented player than he has demonstarted so far in his brief time in the Emerald City. There is still a strong chance that he will get another shot to win the starting point guard spot, but his lengthy history of nagging injuries is definitely not in his favor.
4)
Ricky Davis – Heat – When Davis was shipped to Miami, it appeared that the fantasy gods were smiling on those that had already drafted him. He no longer had to compete for minutes with a bunch of young up-and-comers on a team in re-build mode. Instead, he was going to a team that had just won the championship two years ago that desperately needed his scoring punch. “Ricky Buckets” deals in volume. And, he has not gotten the volume of offensive touches so far this season and his numbers, primarily scoring and assists, are suffering. Davis is, if nothing else, a talented scorer. He is always a trade candidate because of that talent. His second half fantasy relevance would probably benefit greatly by a trade. However, if he stays in Miami, do not expect his numbers to get better anytime soon.
3)
Charlie Villanueva – Bucks – Villanueva was a nice sleeper pick going into this season. He followed up his solid rookie season with a forgettable injury-plagued sophomore campaign. However, he is 6’11” and can fill a stat-sheet including knocking down some three pointers. That had fantasy owner salivating at the possibilities of what we could expect from a healthy Villanueva in his second year in Milwaukee. What we have got so far is a few dashes of stellar play mixed in a big batch of inconsistency. While there is no real reason to think that he will suddenly put it all together and become a viable fantasy option, there is still enough talent there to watch closely in the second half of this season.
2)
Tyrus Thomas – Bulls – Is this guy the next
Josh Smith or the next
Stromile Swift? The jury is still out. He has yet to earn his way on to the court for consistent minutes, playing less than ten minutes in 12 of his first 37 games this season. He is a big-time rebounding and shot blocking prospect, because he is an extremely quick leaper. However, Thomas must limit his mistakes – poor shot selection, turnovers, and fouls – to get a chance to be on the floor long enough make an impact in any category. It seems that he is a little too raw to expect much of him the rest of this season. Check back on Thomas next year for an intriguing sleeper, especially if he gets moved to a different team.
And . . .the number one disappointing fantasy player of the first half . . . drum-roll please . . .
1)
Andrea Bargnani –Raptors – There were a few surprised when the Raptors took Bargnani with the number one overall pick in the 2006 draft. He justified the pick some by his post All-Star break averages of 14.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.2 three pointers last season. So far this season, he has struggled so badly that he is barely getting 20 minutes a game in December and January. He is actually shooting a decent percentage from downtown – 38%. In fact, his three point percentage is higher than his overall field goal percentage by a small margin, weird. He has a long way to go to become a complete basketball player. It is too much to expect for him to become one in the second half of this season. However, he is skilled enough to turn things around and make a fantasy impact with his scoring ability and three point shot.
