SPIELER – SCHLECHTE LEISTUNG

Spieler war heute nicht gut drauf = he had an off-night; it was an out-of-sorts (name of player), who couldn’t find his stroke/any sort of stride; player couldn't get it going; tonight he played like crap; player was feeling under the weather; he just didn’t have it today; player was a little off his game; player labored through the game; player has failed to come through; it was a non-contribution as player barely made a ripple on offense; player came out flat/sluggish; player was unable to get on track; player wasn’t quite his usual dominant/efficient self; player had a subpar night/spotty performance  

Spieler patzt kurz vor Ende = player fumbles game away/had a blackout at the buzzer; it was the player’s last dance in the game

Spieler ist nicht in Form/ist abgetaucht = player is in bad shape/is not getting his act together; player lost his groove/looks dead in the water; player suddenly faded/went south; he has been off the mark of late; player is still sputtering/is stale on offense; player is out of whack/off-key/out of synch/out-of-sorts; player is in a funk/is mired in an offensive funk; his passing/shooting is wayward and his playing is fitful; player is just muddling along/is stalling; player has a frigid start and cools off/fizzles again late in the game; player’s disappearing act was compounded by another quiet game from another starter; last night player was very quiet 

Spieler wird kaltgestellt = star player gets shut down/hounded/swarmed by tough defense and is a no-show/non-factor

die Leistungsträger werden kalt gestellt = team big guns were snuffed out/blanketed by stingy defense  

gute Verteidigung bremst Spieler aus = good “D” slows down player 

seine Leistung war sehr dürftig = that was a big dud of a performance/an effort

Spieler verblasst zusehends/befindet sich im Herbst seiner Karriere = he has become a shrunken star/a star on the wane/a bust; poor exhibitions/performances has floundering/fading/crumbling player on the skids

Verein will Spieler loswerden, bevor es zu spät ist = team tries to unload a player before he trends back down/comes tumbling/comes crashing down

Superstar ist nicht immer auf der Höhe  = superstar is not always in a groove; team won but had to shake off an egregious performance by the superstar

Elfmeterquote von Stürmer ist grässlich = player sucks from the penalty spot (i.e. he has missed a few too many so far)

in dieser Spielzeit ist Spieler tief gefallen = the season has been a deep fall from grace/a penthouse-to-outhouse plummet for (player)

es gibt einige überbezahlte Spieler, die noch nicht geliefert haben = player has not yet lived up to expectations; just a bunch of overhyped athletes/players who are not yet up to scratch/up to snuff; there are a few overpaid bums/crybabies in this league

wir konnten den Spieler nur kurz/ein Jahr gebrauchen = he was a one-year-and-done star; player had a short stint with squad; “well, he just had two cups of coffee (i.e. he just saw short playing action) and that was it”, the manager said

Spieler wird nachgesagt, dass er in der zweiten Halbzeit nicht ganz bei der Sache war = player is accused of “shrinking” or “checking out” in the second half

Spieler begeht immer die gleichen Fehler = player keeps making same mistakes/miscues; player falls into same bad habits

derzeit kriegt Spieler nichts gebacken/auf die Reihe = player is underperforming/is mired in a shooting/goal scoring slump; out-of-form player is struggling for form; he’s trying hard to find some consistency; unsteady/inconsistent player can’t bring it every night; every now and then player does/pulls an on-and-off disappearing act; player goes ice-cold; player continues to unravel

erstes Spiel nach Verletzung war eine glanzlose Leistung = it was a dismal/lackluster return after injury

Spieler trifft nicht mehr = player goes into hibernation

Spieler erinnert sich sehr gut an düsteren Abend = player’s bad night is seared in his memory because he missed a key basket

Spieler hadert mit sich = "I’m not going to dwell on missed shots and good looks", player said ; player has the “hard done by” blues (i.e. “why me?”); player comes down hard on himself after loss

desaströse Leistung ist ansteckend = poor performance/effort is contagious; star player’s lackluster night translated to the whole team; player was served an NBA-sized portion of humble pie for his poor showing

man vermisst Mumm und Einsatzfreude beim Superstar = superstar seems to have lost his groove/swank/swagger/moxie

nach dürftiger Leistung  zeigt Superstar mehr Demut = superstar gets off his high horse after off-night; even a superstar is not immune from an off-night; a few fluffed/squandered bad moves/shots/chances cooked his goose; superstar apologizes for leaving teammates hanging 

einige Bezeichnungen für schlechte Spieler/Mitläufer/Durchschnittskicker = bush-league (player), scrub, also-ran, afterthought, castoff, nondescript,  no-name player; ham ‘n egger; lesser light, not-so-good, practice fodder; poor/marginal player, schlepper, jayvee (acronym for junior varsity)