Just because there is a chance doesn't mean we should become that team that decides taking a chance on the lottery is better than taking a chance in the playoffs. I feel confident in saying that is a dumb way to run a team because so many franchises have tried your way and failed horribly. In fact, of the teams that are lining up for the lottery this season, most have spent a good portion of the last decade stuck right in the lottery.
I wonder why that is?
So, yes, I'll happily take a playoff berth over a crapshoot pick at 14th that may or may not pan out and may or may not prove to be that beneficiary to our franchise in the long run. The fact so many of you are content with losing just because you want to draft in the lottery proves to me that this type of mindset becomes increasingly difficult to break. It's like smoking crack. Once you get the taste of the lottery, and fool yourself into believing that this is a sustainable and successful way of building a team, then when you find yourself in the same position next year, you're again wishing for the lottery. A year from there, bring on the lottery again! Who wants to be in the playoffs as an 8th seed anyway?
Before you realize it, this franchise has tolerated losing for so long to build up their team in the lottery, that they've got a loser mentality, a loser coach, loser fans and no playoff berths. That's how franchises like Charlotte and Golden State and Sacramento languish in the bottom-half of their conferences year in and year out. Oh sure, there's always that chance you get to draft a Chris Paul or Deron Williams or a LeBron James that can instantly remake your franchise. But that's not an option in this year's draft. We know, regardless of how deep it is, Utah's pick is going to be far more riskier than those picks I just mentioned.
You can pretend that the missing link is somewhere in this lottery. You can pretend that Utah will become an instant contender with just one pick. But I won't. I've seen too many teams, too many times, fail at doing what you're suggesting. So, as a fan, the first thing I want from my team is one that competes night in and night out. I've gotten that. I am excited that when all looked lost, this team still bounced back and still positioned themselves for a playoff berth, even though most had written them off a week ago, a month ago...hell, they were written off before this season started.
As a fan, this is what I want to see. Not a team that is okay with losing on the chance (and you admit it's a chance) they'll be able to better their position in the draft.
The next thing I want to see is a team that understands winning. So many franchises don't get winning. They don't know it. It's foreign to them. They have so many failed seasons that everyone, from the fans to the players to the coaches to the front office, seems to have forgotten what it takes to win. What I know is that one of our better players, who may or may not be the future, has never played in a playoff game, even though he's been in the league since 2004. What I know is that our head coach has never coached a playoff game in his life. What I know is that I have not sat in the ESA during a meaningful playoff game since the first-round series of the 2010 NBA Playoffs. I like that. I like the anticipation of a playoff game. I like being able to watch my team surprise. I like the emotion of a potential victory, even if I know deep down it's not going to amount to jack ****.
That's what being a fan is all about. You want to cheer for a team that consistently plays for the lottery, well you've got a helluva lot of options in front of you. But I want to cheer for a team that fights tooth and nail to make the postseason, even if it means they get owned in the first round, even if means they miss out on some potential that doesn't even exist yet because we don't know how the lottery will shake out.
That's why I cheer and I'm glad I'm cheering for a team that recognizes what this game is all about. If they don't make the playoffs, I would rather it come fighting down to the last second than conceding, weeks ago, their lot in life. This year's Jazz haven't accepted or conceded anything and have decided to create their own outcome.
Finally, you don't cheer for a team that gets knocked out in the first round year after year. In fact, Utah has only lost in the first round of the playoffs a handful of times and only once since their return to the playoffs in 2007 (2009). Every other year has been marked by a trip to the second round or Western Conference Finals. Which, I'm assuming, is a far better playoff success rate than most teams in the league.
