Fantasy basketball roundtable

By RotoExperts.com staff, compiled by Trevor Lane, Special to SI.com

Baron Davis is passing as well as ever, but his shooting woes are keeping his scoring average down. AP

Each week, we'll gather the RotoExperts team of fantasy basketball analysts together to ask them a relevant fantasy basketball question. On to this week ...

Question: Which underperforming player will turn things around in 2009?

Every new year offers a fresh start and a renewed sense of hope. In the NBA, there are quite a few players who will be eagerly welcoming the turning page of the calendar, hoping for a chance to re-ignite their careers and move past the failures of the first part of the 2008-2009 season.

The question that fantasy owners have to ask themselves is which underperforming player will be able return to form in 2009? That's the question that I submitted to our experts, and here's who they think may have a happy new year.

Shawn Marion (SF/PF, MIA)

Unlike his big-screen counterpart, the NBA's version of the Matrix has done extremely poor with audiences through the season's first two months. Like Neo, however, Marion is bound to figure things out. His field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and minutes are all in line with his career averages; it's just that he's taking about two to three fewer three point shots per contest. Why? Well, Dwyane Wade (SG, MIA) and Michael Beasley (SF/PF, MIA) have had a lot to do with it, and playing without a pass-first point guard like Steve Nash (PG, PHO) has made shots harder to come by. In addition, Marion is no longer playing in a system that allows him to pull the trigger whenever he desires. To put it simply, his owners will probably have to wait for him to get shipped out of Miami before seeing a spike in his production. The good thing is that a trade out of South Beach is looking like a real possibility. I wouldn't expect him to average close to 20 points again, but a new home should allow him to average around 15-17 points, 10 rebounds, two steals, a block, and at least one three pointer per game -- numbers that should satisfy owners who used a mid-to-late second-round pick on him. Now, go prey on a frustrated Marion owner and nab him at a discount before he reestablishes himself as "The One". -- Paul Bourdett

Baron Davis (PG, LAC)

I think the player who has currently disappointed, but is primed for a strong finish to the season is Davis. It's hard to call 17.7 points and 8.2 assists a disappointment, but Davis is an elite player expected to produce elite stats. The 8.2 assists is his highest since the 2005-06 season, but almost every other statistic is below his career norms. Most concerning is the 36.8% shooting percentage, well below his 41.8% career average. Davis looks almost uncomfortable shooting the ball, particularly from beyond the arc where he's making only 29.5% of his three's. Davis is too good of a player to continue these shooting woes, so expect those numbers to rise. With the addition of Davis, Marcus Camby (C, LAC) and Zach Randolph (PF/C, LAC), the Clippers are struggling to figure out a lineup that makes a talented team gel the best. They should figure it out sooner or later and Davis will be ready to take off when they do. -- Brad Rysz

Mike Miller (SG/SF, MIN)

For me, it's got to be Miller. He's vastly under-producing what many owners expected when they drafted him. His recurring ankle injury could have something to do with that, as well as the fact that Minnesota is growing together as a team. If he gets himself fully healthy and develops more chemistry with his teammates, he should certainly pick it up in 2009. Miller's career splits show he increases his scoring and three's in the second half of his seasons. Get ready for Miller to give you what you drafted him for in 2009. -- Jonathan Huang

Deron Williams (PG, UTA)

Williams struggled out of the gate with a left ankle injury, but he is rapidly showing his fantasy superstar value. Williams has averaged 18.1 points in his last eight games, shooting at a 46.5 percent clip from the field which has raised his season percentage to 42.2. And since Williams shoots a career 46.2 percent from the field, fantasy owners can expect that figure to increase as the calendar turns another page to 2009. All it took was a couple weeks for Williams to shake off the rust after missing the first two weeks of the season, but fantasy owners who remained patient shall be rewarded. -- Kyle Stack

Andre Iguodala (SG/SF, PHI)

I love Iguodala (SG/SF, PHI) to have a huge second half. With the uncertainty surrounding Elton Brand (PF/C, PHI), Iguodala will see the offense run through him and his scoring should start hovering around 20 points per game instead of the 15 he's been averaging. Iguodala also has room to improve in steals. Last year, he averaged 2.1 per game. This year, he's down to 1.6, but he's had 10 in his last three games as of Monday. In December, Iguodala's numbers look like this: Over 18 points per game and nearly seven boards, five assists and two steals. That's more like it. With Brand out for a while, it's time to buy low on Iggy while you still can. -- Jeff Andriesse

Andrew Bynum (C, LAL)

Let's skip those players who have missed significant time due to injury, like Josh Smith, Deron Williams (PG, UTA) and Carlos Boozer (PF/C, UTA). The player I believe will turn it around in a huge way in 2009 is Andrew Bynum. Despite having Kobe Bryant (SG, LAL) and Pau Gasol (PF/C, LAL) as teammates, Bynum is actually getting more shot attempts this season than he did last season. The difference is that he is hitting less of them, actually 10 percentage points less. Bynum is also averaging almost two rebounds less per game than last season. Both of those statistics should change. Because of an injury, he and Gasol didn't play together very much together last season, and they are still getting used to each other. Once that happens, Bynum's shot selection and field goal percentage will increase, as well as his defensive positioning, which will allow for more rebounds. Need a little more incentive? Gasol has missed at least 16 games in three of the past four seasons. If that trend continues, Bynum's value will skyrocket. If you have an opportunity to buy low on Bynum, do it now before he starts to hit his groove. -- Matt Wirkiowski

Carmelo Anthony (SF, DEN)

Fantasy pundits predicted great things for 'Melo in 2008-09, and so far, he's been worse than advertised. Aside from sitting out a couple of early games due to suspension and three more last week with a gimpy elbow, he has missed five of the team's 31 games. Anthony is also shooting his worst from the field (43.1%) since his sophomore season in 2004-05, and scoring about the same as he did in his first two years in the league. And all this with Allen Iverson (PG/SG, DET) shipped out of town. Simple equation here -- blame it on his elbow and hope his few games off help heal him up, or wait until the All-Star break for him to rest up for the stretch run. Either way, Anthony's better days this season will come in 2009, so stay the course. -- Tom Landry

Carmelo Anthony

Anthony is definitely one guy I am targeting for the remainder of the season. In a standard eight-category scoring system he has yet to crack the top-100, which means that you are not getting true value from 'Melo. The main reason is that he spent most of the year shooting below 40 percent from the field and he's putting in 7.9 fewer points than his career-best from 2006-07 (28.9). The thing I like about Melo is that he is already showing signs of turning it around. His field goal shooting for the month of December has increased 7.9 percentage points from the 39.9 percent he shot in November. He's also knocking down 1.9 treys this month on 57.7 percent shooting, which is a great sign for 'Melo owners who were relying on his offensive numbers. I don't own 'Melo in any of my leagues, but I am certainly going to target him on the trade market because this is probably as low as you'll see Melo's stock fall. He's just starting to turn things around, so get him now while you still can. -- Tom Lorenzo

Summary

With the exception of Tom and Tommy, every expert came up with a different player to return to form during the remainder of the season. Matt's pick of Andrew Bynum caught me off guard, but he could very well be right if Pau Gasol does indeed wind up missing a string of games. And I love the Deron Williams pick by Kyle. D-Will had a rough start, but I think patience will pay off with him.

The list that was created here is essentially a who's-who of fantasy team killers. Just think how many owners have been pulling their hair out waiting for Marion, Melo, Iguodala, and others to put up numbers worthy of their draft position.

However, now is the time to practice patience. Before you sell low on these disappointing stars, give them a chance to turn things around in 2009.

Which of those players would you prefer? E-mail me at lane@rotoexperts.com and let me know!