WLco.'s NBA "Don't Think Too Highly Of" list.

For all you basketball enthusiasts that follow us and are just as intact with the NBA's current events as we are, we've composed a minimal list of players that may earn way too many 'daps' than deserved. With all respect for these athlete's hard work and dexterity, let's not over prize them. With media paying as an instigator, these endowed athletes are realistically not what the hype proclaims. C'mon folks...not everybody is a 'Tim Tebow'(Supporter). With no more deferment, let's get to the list..

5. Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony is constantly put in the top five player list and I just don't see it. No doubt, with the ball in his hands this man takes no prisoners and scores at will. Because he can score. But with that said lots of players in the history of the NBA could score like Carmelo. Carmelo is included within the class of players who were great scorers and it hinders at that. Carmelo can't play both sides of the ball like Dwyane Wade, Kobe, LeBron, and Kevin Durant. He needs the ball in his hands to do something and that something only benefits Carmelo. This year, his shot selection has been putrid as evident by his 40-percent field goal percentage. I will agree he is one of the most dangerous late game players in the league. But what about the other 39 minutes? Not too long ago, me and a homie of mine got into a heated quarrel when an epic 'Durantula vs. Melo' question arose. The Melo point that was brought to me was Melo can score in the post and has more offensive moves. Pondering this thought because I understand the importance of a post game, but when thinking about it, I came to one conclusion. Carmelo Anthony is 27-years-old and isn't going to get much better than he already is. He's a 45-percent shooter, who is a ball stopper and refuses to play defense, whereas Durant is a 47-percent career shooter and over 50-percent this year, very willing to play defense, and only 23-years-old. Even at this point, with Durant's youth, I would still without a question take him over Carmelo. If you ask any New York Knick partisan, they will inform you that the city doesn't need Carmelo.

4. Tyreke Evans

Averaging 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game as a rookie is an astounding achievement. Only Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tyreke Evans have done so. But unlike the other three players listed above, Evans may actually end up hurt by his prowess as a first-year player in The Association. An injury-plagued second season was a huge disappointment and his third is starting to make his first campaign look even more like an outlier. Evans is a bit of a basketball black hole, much like quite a few other members of the Sacramento Kings. When he decides he wants to shoot, well, he's going to shoot. He shows no desire or willingness to pass the ball to his teammates as he has the 6th lowest assist rate among PG’s getting consistent minutes at 24.9%. He is what I like to nickname 'Lincoln', complimenting his tunnel vision on the court. His offensive wins produced last year was actually negative, which means Sacramento would have been better offensively had he never touched the floor (lol ouch). Evans is a shooting guard playing out of position who lacks the ability to score efficiently and he will never succeed in the NBA.

3. Michael Beasley

How soon we forget. How many people remember this question? Who do you take Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley? I am laughing even thinking about that question. Yes, there were people that argued for Beasley too. Beasley is overrated on sheer expectation. He was expected to be an instant impact player. Miami bailed on him for the LeBron experiment and the Minnesota Timberwolves are preparing to bail on him for Derrick Williams. Beasley can be a ball hog and jock like there is no tommorow at times, foul prone, and a turnover machine. His shot selection not bad but it's not the greatest either. There is room for improvement as there is with any 23-year-old but I just don't expect it. If you've noticed, there is a trend with all my overrated players on this list. None of them play defense and Beasley is no exception. Coming out of college, Beasley had more hype than Kevin Love. Love has turned into Moses Malone, while Beasley has turned into Shareef Abdur-Rahim. There are lots of concerns for the direction of Beasley right now, earning him his number three spot on my list.

2. Russel Westbrook

Where to even start with Russell Westbrook? Let’s start with the fact he is considered to be included with the top tier of point gaurds in the league. Sorry, folks, but Westbrook is not in the class of Chris Paul, Rose, Rondo, Steve Nash, and Deron Williams. Westbrook in his short career has proven to be nothing more than the second coming of Steve Francis and the numbers and patterns are so similar, it is scary. The difference is Francis never had a Durant to mask his deficiencies. Westbrook currently leading the league in turnovers at over four per game, his assists numbers are down to about six from the last two years being eight a game. Last time I checked, six to four is not a good assist-to-turnover ratio. The highly touted Thunder nearly got dropped by an eighth seed in the playoffs, to a Rudy Gay-less Memphis Grizzlies, mostly due to Westbrook's recklessness. There are games where he took 35 shots and Durant took 20. I don't know about you but that is quite alarming. Westbrook, like Francis, is a talented player that could get a triple double on any night, but he doesn’t seem to understand his role in a winning capacity. Team basketball 95-percent of the time prevails when it comes to winning a championship and Westbrook may be the sole player that keeps a good Thunder team from winning it all, justly acquiring Westbrook's second position on this list.

1. Jeremy Lin

Coming from extremely underrated, to an overshadowing overrated, Jeremy Lin tops off our list. Jeremy Lin may have built a little bit too much hype for New York to surround this un-draftee . When Jeremy Lin emerged from nowhere and led the distressed New York Knicks to seven consecutive victories with his impressive play, it was only fitting we treated the experience as the Second Coming. The seven-game win streak marked the 34th time in the franchise's 66-year history the Knicks had won at least so many games in a row. Lin being an undrafted, Asian-American guard out of Harvard, was the main catalyst of the streak, pulling a 1980 Playoff Magic Johnson, all but 42 days after getting cut by the Houston Rockets. Many claiming, they had ever witnessed something to this extravagance before. Of course all of this "Linsanity" is too good to be true. Much similar, to Lin's buddy Tebow after leading the Bronco's to six straight wins in dramatic fashion. Everyone fell in love with the story rather than the realistic talent of Jeremy Lin. In the real world, not Hollywood, Undrafted, Asian-American guards from Harvard do not just appear like Hollow Man and become superstars overnight. For starters, there has only been one successful Asian NBA player and he was 7'6" and 310 pounds. On a more worrisome note for you overly optimistic and hopeful Knicks fans, it should also be noted that in the eight games this season Lin has played at least 25 minutes, he has committed 46 turnovers. That's an average of 5.8 turnovers per game, not quite reassuring. Through 46 career games, Lin has a turnover percentage of 20.4, Not an awful player at all, but clearly not your ideal starting point guard. All of the hype placed on Lin is unfair to him and completely typical of the Knicks, an organization that puts tourism first and basketball second. And unfortunately, the fanbase laps it all up like a dog that hasn't eaten in days. Ideal for scoring punch off the bench, but not a starting point guard role. The turnovers will continue, Jeremy Lin is good...but not THIS good.

Worxlife's 1st team Overrated
5. Carmelo Anthony
4. Tyreke Evans
3. Michael Beasley
2. Russel Westbrook
1. Jeremy Lin

Of course, all these nominations are purely opinionated and we'd love to hear your contributions and assessments. Stay tuned for Worxlife's 'Underrated' lineup.
Email: johneramos@worxlife.com