Insider Special: Who's the Biggest Disappointment

[Guest]

NBA Scouting Report: Who's been the biggest disappointment?

By Terry Brown

Friday, February 7 Updated 11:25 AM EST

If Golden State Warrior Earl Boykins was officially one foot taller, he'd still be one foot and one inch shorter than Shawn Bradley.

But not all of us have the God-given ability to play 15 regular-season games when everyone else is playing 50 and still be selected to start in this weekend's All-Star Game like Vince Carter.

Or average half as many points (13 per game) as the other guy playing the same position (26.4 per game) who also happens to have been named the Finals MVP three-times running and still start over him in same said All-Star Game like Yao Ming.

Or be the second-leading scorer on a team that has won only 10 games all year or be the third-leading scorer on your particular team (as well as second in rebounding, third in assists and fourth in blocks but leading in no particular category except, maybe, games started) and be selected like Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Brad Miller.

But that is perception.

The reality is that the host franchise will have just as many player participants in the official "Pimp of the Year" celebration happening that same weekend right across the street (if not more since no Hawk was invited in uniform to the NBA's shindig) and that the teams with the seventh- and eighth-best records in the 29-team league received a grand total of one invitation to the entire party and that was Andrei Kirilenko for the Rookie Challenge, zilch for Portland.

Get your roach clips and gold teeth here.

These are just a few of the faces that you also won't be seeing in Atlanta as the NBA hosts its annual All-Star Weekend, selected by a handful of NBA scouts who were asked to name the biggest individual disappointments of the season so far.

Point Guard

Andre Miller

Los Angeles Clippers

Set up: Led the entire league with 10.9 assists per game last season on a team only a deaf, dumb and blind mother could love before becoming what was thought to be the final piece to the Clipper puzzle, a no-nonsense leader who would rather make the heady pass rather than the passing headline.

Fall: Miller has digressed in every statistical category worth mentioning not only from last season, but also the one before . . . all the way back to his days as rookie coming of the bench with limited minutes. The Clippers are in shambles after major gains the season before and the only major difference is the guy dribbling the ball at the top of the key.

Comment: "Who really cares if the Clippers brought him down or the other way around," said one NBA scout. "The point is that he has taken one step back, maybe two."

Shooting Guard

Darius Miles

Cleveland Cavs

Set up: The No. 3 pick of the 2000 draft, higher than Kobe and KG, who went on to startle if not exactly star in his first two seasons by becoming an opening night starter, All-Rookie selection and corporate darling with the SportsCenter highlight reel getting it all on tape. The sky was the limit.

Fall: Has yet to score more than 20 points in a game or record his third double-double of the season or do any of the other things promised by his shoe commercials in which he places his knuckles on his head and twists as trademark after bending an awkward defender backwards on a back-breaking dunk. And, as a result, Cleveland has yet to win its 11th game in 50 tries. So far, the only ones scratching their heads are Cavalier management, Cavalier coaches and Cavalier players. The sky is falling.

Comment: "He's the biggest disappointment of the year," said on NBA scout. "He had an opportunity to assume a prominent role on a team that needed him and all he proved was that he was nothing more than a complementary player. He just isn't good enough nor fundamentally sound enough to carry a team. He may get better but he'll never be the superstar everyone thought he'd be."

Small Forward

Grant Hill

Orlando Magic

Set up: Two-time NCAA champion, Rookie of the Year, all-star, All-NBAer and Olympic gold medalist who had just married an R&B diva . . . in no particular order. Along with Tim Duncan, the prize of the 2000 free-agent market expected to become the immediate franchise savior in Orlando and tutor to an up-and-coming Tracy McGrady.

Fall: Recently went on the injured reserve list with chronic ankle problems after playing in only 47 games of 214 over the last three seasons as the grasshopper has become the godfather and all Hill can do is wait for T-Mac in the trainer's room when his back gives out for having to carry this team by himself.

Comment: "If he's really this injured, and I believe he is, then retire," said another NBA scout. "He's killing Orlando. It might not have been his fault but a few games of playing well and then not playing at all is a terrible trade off. The only honorable thing to do is hang it up."

Power Forward

Tim Thomas

Milwaukee Bucks

Set up: One of the few players in NBA history who could not only play three, maybe even four, of the five positions on the court but also guard them. All he needed was time, first to mature, then on the floor. The Bucks tucked him away behind high-scoring Glenn Robinson for a few years then traded the Big Dog to Atlanta in order to give him both after already giving him a hefty raise that even fewer players in the NBA ever got.

Fall: After averaging 27 minutes per game as a substitute last season, Thomas has managed to get only 30 as a starter this year partly because he isn't the scoring forward they hoped he was nor the passing forward they thought he was nor the rebounding forward they were convinced he was. In fact, if Toni Kukoc were just a little bit younger, they wouldn't even care who homas was anymore at this point.

Comment: "The guy is still living off his potential from that one year at Villanova when he won all those awards that don't really mean anything," said one NBA scout. "Who knew he was peaking."

Center

Vin Baker

Boston Celtics

Set up: The former all-star and All-NBAer was getting a new start near his old home after some miserable years away from it. Forget Seattle. Forget becoming an all-star. The Celtics were content to pay his maxed out contract for some straight up minutes in the paint. No strings attached.

Fall: Last year, he averaged a presentable 14.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game after setting career highs of 21 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in Milwaukee. This year, he's averaging 5.2 points and four rebounds per game. And many in Beantown are looking for a rope to attach to a tree limb.

Comment: "Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse," said one NBA scout who never bothered or even needed to finish . . .

[cyman3]

are on the list...

[Guest]

No, but if it were about most disappointing teams, we'd lead the pack.

Sportswriters didn't (most) except us to be fantastic, or even follow through with the playoff guarantee, but they expected us to be in the hunt and not fighting for wins against Miami, Cleveland, and the like.