We are in the business of winning fantasy basketball titles and there are players who have not helped us out thus far this season. They need to be called out. Some of them, we still have hope. Others are, quite frankly, screwed until a huge injury occurs on that player’s team at their position. I give you the Top 10 Fantasy Basketball Busts for the first month of the NBA season.

Ricky Rubio, PG MIN: I’m not shocked that he’s Minnesota’s biggest liability when shooting on offense. If you drafted Rubio, you paid for assists, not points. He has no confidence in his shot and will not see many double digit scoring outings. The passing has not been crisp. He tries to be fancy. He passes into traffic thinking the opposition will be fooled by his antics of looking one way and throwing the ball another. He still gets playing time, but doesn’t produce. He has averaged under seven assists per game and is starting to see playing time in the mid-20’s. Could this mean the rise of Kris Dunn?

Aaron Gordon, F ORL: I was not on this guy from the start. He’s flashy and that’s amazing if you collect trading cards, but not for fantasy. Gordon was given a bunch of shots that his ability has not been able to match. The Magic lack offensively skilled players and Gordon was given a huge opportunity. He was unproven and showed that he is more effective at slashing, passing off in the paint and keeping the possession alive for the Magic. Will he have an occasional 20-point game? Of course! That’s because the Magic lack weapons. Outside of Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier, every other option in Orlando cannot be relied on. Gordon, who shifts to the Power Forward spot sometimes, does not grab rebounds. As soon as the shot goes up, he does not crash the boards. Outside of his leaping ability, he brings nothing else to the table and is seeing playing time in the early 20’s because of it. He’s not ready to take on the offensive burden of a team that lack’s offensive ability.

Nikola Mirotic, F CHI: If the three’s are falling, he produces, but that’s it! Mirotic simply hangs at the arc and does not use his big body. Taj Gibson has run circles around him all season when it comes to production and Mirotic has not been consistent enough to threaten anyone for playing time. Mirotic has been in a funk since preseason. He looks lost on the court and stands around a lot. When on the court with Gibson and Robin Lopez, because of their limited scoring ability outside of right under the basket, Mirotic is simply a bailout option for double teams when the Bulls need desperation three. There is hope for him because of his shooting range and he has shown rebounding potential. He cannot be trusted right now.

Kent Bazemore, SG/SF ATL: USE YOUR BODY IN THE POST! Coming into the year and once again playing alongside Kyle Korver, Bazemore seemed like a lock to get a ton of plays on offense in the mid-court and instead he waits at the arc and puts up terrible shots. Bazemore has a small post game but never uses it. Any smaller player with ability to back their way into the post will draw a ton of contact. No! Bazemore continues to force up bricks and give fantasy owners single digit scoring outings with limited rebounds. Kyle Korver is powerless inside the arc and Bazemore stands on the opposite side of him at the arc. He has played in under 20 minutes in 2 of his last 3 games. Not good!

Kyle Korver, SG/SF ATL: Why did you draft this guy? For the last few years, he has been figured out. It is easy to keep Korver from doing anything on the court. Did you want to pay for three’s? He has not seen many double-digit scoring outings and does not help consistently enough in other categories. He has seen much more time on the bench. It’s time to get off the boat. The impact is not there especially if he’s coming off the bench. He’s been solved. Teams know how to stop him.

J.R. Smith, SG/SF CLE: Players who hold out, especially with preseason and training camp in progress is scary to own. Both conditioning and mental state are impacted during the standstill negotiations. Not only has Smith’s shot selection been terrible, but also he has not scored in double figures since November 11th.  His body has been breaking down and he has been sticking to his shots and not driving as much. The conditioning is off as he looks slow and Smith is very athletic and agile and gets a lot of hang time in the air. He is clearly not 100% and other than steals, he has not been a factor for fantasy owners.

Danny Green, SG/SF SAS: Anyone who drafted Green got too comfortable with the Spurs. They are not the same team as last season. LaMarcus Aldridge needs to get a lot of chances to shoot from the outside because he will draw out bigger defenders. Kawhi Leonard has also improved his long-range shooting and gets open a ton from beyond the arc. Between those two, how is Green supposed to get his piece of the pie? The answer is he doesn’t.  He has rebounding capability but does not crash the boards. He stands around waiting to be fed the ball. Gasol can be effective from the top of the paint and if Leonard and Aldridge are not open, Gasol will be at the elbow. Green has moved down the Spurs depth chart when it comes to shot opportunities.

Stanley Johnson, SG/SF DET: Johnson showed flashes of no-fear as he would attack the basket and sacrifice his body and coming into the season fantasy players drafted Johnson thinking he can be a change of pace scoring threat. The Pistons are very top-heavy, but once a starter gets into foul trouble, outside of KCP (with Reggie Jackson back), the rest of the rotation is open. Especially with Reggie Jackson out to start the season, Johnson had a chance to show his worth, and is now looked at as a long-term solution. The Coaches love him….down the road. He has not been receiving consistent playing time and when in, always looks to pass. It almost looked as if he was in just to set screens and keep moving the ball around the perimeter. It’s sad and dynasty league owners will need to be patient. He’s not ready yet and doesn’t make enough of an impact defensively to get a consistent spot in the rotation.

Amir Johnson, PF/C BOS: His minutes are being taken away by Jonas Jerebko? That is terrible! Coming into the season, he was Al Horford’s inside bailout option as defenders need to contest his excellent long range shooting and you would figure that the rotation of defenders will leave the paint open and Johnson has not taken advantage. Johnson does not go up with the ball. He does not draw contact. He does not rebound consistently. Lately, he is consistently playing under 20 minutes per game. It’s not the lack of scoring that I’m concerned about because I knew it would be limited. It is the lack of overall play and he has clearly lost the confidence of the coaches and is seeing a ton of bench time.

Al Jefferson, PF/C IND: After thinking the Pacers were a perfect fir for Jefferson, he has not been able to see consistent minutes in the Pacers rotation. The Pacers have had health issues, but Jefferson does not look completely up to speed even on offense. He has had double-digit scoring outings, but then has followed those games up with multiple non-existent games from a fantasy perspective. He has a bit more of a shooting range than Myles Turner, but Turner is more aggressive all-around on both sides of the ball and he and Thad Young are much quicker than Jefferson. A major injury in the frontcourt is the only way we see more of Big Al at this point. I said he was one of my top sleepers coming into the season and so far I am wrong.