spycam1
Well-Known Member
Toronto is an enigma to me. But I KNOW Philly is tanking to the max.
Power Tankings
- Thread starter UGLI baby
- Start date
Toronto is an enigma to me. But I KNOW Philly is tanking to the max.
b_line
Well-Known Member
When they sit MCW with tendinitis, then I will agree with you. Or when they trade someone. But right now, I think they are just a little too good. They can definitely move up the tank rank pretty quickly though.
spycam1
Well-Known Member
Too good? They surprised a few teams to start the year, but since then have won the same amount of games as us, like I just said.
b_line
Well-Known Member
Like I said, too good. We have won too many games as well for my comfort. That 2 game win streak was some BS. We need another 12 game losing streak.
spycam1
Well-Known Member
How dare you speak of that winning streak. I JUST stopped having nightmares about that. Thanks.
Before getting into my rankings, I'm leaving out the Knicks and the Nets. Yes, if they don't get their crap together it will affect the lottery, but, these teams are absolutely trying to win, so there no place for them in the tank rank. Without further ado, my rankings as of now:
1. Utah Jazz - The Jazz are strong enough in various tanking elements to land the #1 position. Favors has missed a couple of games with a sore back, which is a classic type of tanking injury. Marvin has heel issues, which may come and go all season. Ty Corbin continues to baffle many of us with his rotations and coaching. Ty trying to win = losing. A somewhat inexperienced roster is also a big part of the tank effort. So maybe something good will actually result from 3 of the Core 4 seeing so much pine the last couple of years.
On the flip side of things, Trey Burke is a winner and it seems like it's only a matter of time before he's able to will the Jazz to some wins they have no business getting. It hasn't happened much yet (maybe the Rockets win was the exception), but I honestly see Burke as being the biggest tank-killer for the Jazz after the All-Star break.
2. Philadelphia 76ers - They got off to a surprise start but are quickly coming back down to earth. They're almost at .500 at home and have played 13 home games vs 9 road games. They've also got a few tradeable assets in Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young. Throw in the fact that Nerlens Noel is unlikely to play, and this team seems destined to get a top 3 pick.
3. Orlando Magic - The Magic organization wants to rebuild. They've got great pieces in Oladipo, Vucevic, and Harris. Aaron Afflalo is complicating things with his stellar play, and Jameer Nelson is a soild vet with a partially guaranteed salary next year. I'd be shocked to see Jameer finish the season in Orlando.
4. Toronto Raptors - The Raptors wisely gave up on the Rudy Gay direction they foolishly embarked on in January. The relevant pieces of the trade are Rudy Gay leaving and Patterson and Vasquez coming in. I have seen rumors that the Raps may look to send Lowry packing next. If that happens, the Raptors will probably move up in these rankings.
5. Sacramento Kings - This team never had a chance of making the playoffs this season, either before or after the Rudy Gay trade. Obviously the Kings hope the recently-extended Cousins continues to make strides (and he seems to be imo) and that McLemore develops during his rookie season. Having Thomas at starting PG should help. It remains to be seen how well Cousins and Gay will coexist , or how well Gay and anyone else will coexist.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers - With fragile Irving and Varejao as important pieces of this roster, the Cavs are always an injury away from a good lottery pick. And this team has had some good luck in the lottery in recent years, although at least as of now they seem to have biffed hard by picking Bennett at number one last year. That could provide motivation to tank again, knowing that it will be much harder to biff in next year's draft. Combined with plenty of rumors regarding chemistry issues and Dion Waiters supposedly being shopped around, the tanking conditions are starting to build. Bynum resembling an NBA player again could derail the tank though.
7. Milwaukee Bucks - You may be wondering why I have the Bucks all the way down at number 7 when they have the 2nd-worst record in the league. The answer is that as of now, I honestly don't believe that this team started the season with any intention of tanking, and I find it hard to believe even now. This team has been decimated by injuries. Ridnour, Knight, and Ilyasova have all missed time early. Caron Butler has missed 6 games in a row with knee issues, Gary Neal has plantar fasciitis, Carlos Delfino had a broken foot and will miss the season, and now Zaza Pachulia has a stress fracture that will keep him out at least 4 weeks. Topping it all off, of course, is Larry Sanders. Sure, he was off to a horrible start for the first few games of the season, but you'd expect him to get it together. Except for the fact he tore ligaments in his thumb. In a bar fight. Sanders had surgery and just had the pins removed from his thumb. He'll probably be back in a few weeks.
With other guys getting healthy and the sad state of the East, this team will be trying to make the playoffs. That's why they brought in Mayo and Delfino. Even with the injuries, they've got John Henson coming along nicely and rookies Wolters and Antetokounmpo have shown promise when called upon. Granted, if this team decides to go into tank mode, it wouldn't be hard. They've got a bad record already and could definitely find more minutes for the younger players. They're in the rankings at all because of being in a position to easily start a tank.
1. Utah Jazz - The Jazz are strong enough in various tanking elements to land the #1 position. Favors has missed a couple of games with a sore back, which is a classic type of tanking injury. Marvin has heel issues, which may come and go all season. Ty Corbin continues to baffle many of us with his rotations and coaching. Ty trying to win = losing. A somewhat inexperienced roster is also a big part of the tank effort. So maybe something good will actually result from 3 of the Core 4 seeing so much pine the last couple of years.
On the flip side of things, Trey Burke is a winner and it seems like it's only a matter of time before he's able to will the Jazz to some wins they have no business getting. It hasn't happened much yet (maybe the Rockets win was the exception), but I honestly see Burke as being the biggest tank-killer for the Jazz after the All-Star break.
2. Philadelphia 76ers - They got off to a surprise start but are quickly coming back down to earth. They're almost at .500 at home and have played 13 home games vs 9 road games. They've also got a few tradeable assets in Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young. Throw in the fact that Nerlens Noel is unlikely to play, and this team seems destined to get a top 3 pick.
3. Orlando Magic - The Magic organization wants to rebuild. They've got great pieces in Oladipo, Vucevic, and Harris. Aaron Afflalo is complicating things with his stellar play, and Jameer Nelson is a soild vet with a partially guaranteed salary next year. I'd be shocked to see Jameer finish the season in Orlando.
4. Toronto Raptors - The Raptors wisely gave up on the Rudy Gay direction they foolishly embarked on in January. The relevant pieces of the trade are Rudy Gay leaving and Patterson and Vasquez coming in. I have seen rumors that the Raps may look to send Lowry packing next. If that happens, the Raptors will probably move up in these rankings.
5. Sacramento Kings - This team never had a chance of making the playoffs this season, either before or after the Rudy Gay trade. Obviously the Kings hope the recently-extended Cousins continues to make strides (and he seems to be imo) and that McLemore develops during his rookie season. Having Thomas at starting PG should help. It remains to be seen how well Cousins and Gay will coexist , or how well Gay and anyone else will coexist.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers - With fragile Irving and Varejao as important pieces of this roster, the Cavs are always an injury away from a good lottery pick. And this team has had some good luck in the lottery in recent years, although at least as of now they seem to have biffed hard by picking Bennett at number one last year. That could provide motivation to tank again, knowing that it will be much harder to biff in next year's draft. Combined with plenty of rumors regarding chemistry issues and Dion Waiters supposedly being shopped around, the tanking conditions are starting to build. Bynum resembling an NBA player again could derail the tank though.
7. Milwaukee Bucks - You may be wondering why I have the Bucks all the way down at number 7 when they have the 2nd-worst record in the league. The answer is that as of now, I honestly don't believe that this team started the season with any intention of tanking, and I find it hard to believe even now. This team has been decimated by injuries. Ridnour, Knight, and Ilyasova have all missed time early. Caron Butler has missed 6 games in a row with knee issues, Gary Neal has plantar fasciitis, Carlos Delfino had a broken foot and will miss the season, and now Zaza Pachulia has a stress fracture that will keep him out at least 4 weeks. Topping it all off, of course, is Larry Sanders. Sure, he was off to a horrible start for the first few games of the season, but you'd expect him to get it together. Except for the fact he tore ligaments in his thumb. In a bar fight. Sanders had surgery and just had the pins removed from his thumb. He'll probably be back in a few weeks.
With other guys getting healthy and the sad state of the East, this team will be trying to make the playoffs. That's why they brought in Mayo and Delfino. Even with the injuries, they've got John Henson coming along nicely and rookies Wolters and Antetokounmpo have shown promise when called upon. Granted, if this team decides to go into tank mode, it wouldn't be hard. They've got a bad record already and could definitely find more minutes for the younger players. They're in the rankings at all because of being in a position to easily start a tank.
I take comfort in knowing that the East is so ****ty that tanking teams will unfortunately suffer wins by virtue of playing other tankers.
We're going to see an unprecedented low quality of basketball come February, March and April in the Eastern conference from some of the teams in the bottom 5-7 range.
We're going to see an unprecedented low quality of basketball come February, March and April in the Eastern conference from some of the teams in the bottom 5-7 range.
green
Well-Known Member
Really? You don't think that if Utah is tied for the worst record with 10 games to go, that we will suddenly have a rash of hamstring pulls? Not from the GM willing to let Horny walk to keep Corbin? Not from the GM that went into the season with Lucas, Tinsley and Dleaguer as our PG's? Not from the GM that turned Al and Paul into Beidrens and Jefferson?
The tank is on. Lindsey won't risk not having the #1 odds over offending Stoked because he sat players. Can anybody argue that what GS did was the wrong thing to do? Isn't the point to win games? Aren't they much better now because of it? Why wouldn't we be the same?
Because Trey/Hayward/Favors/Kanter would be mad? Give me a break. Trey won't care. If our record is 10-62, do you think if Lindsey went to Burke/Hawyard/Kanter/Favors and said, "Hey, Burke/Hayward/Kanter/Favors. Take the next two weeks off. We suck, don't let it get you down, because in two months, you will have Wiggins/Randle/Parker next to you and you will dominate next year. Give that finger/back/shoulder/shin a rest."
Do you think they will say, "no way. I play to win. I want to play through these last 10 games, and prove that I am a tough guy."
Or, will they say, "thank god. We suck this year. I can't wait for this to end. Give me Parker/Randle/Wiggins and some vets with that cap space and a new coach and let's make the playoffs next year."
I'd be on the latter.
green
Well-Known Member
Also, Lindsey is that tank commander of the NBA right now. He is doing it the best. Why would he be 10 games away from his goal, and suddenly get all high and mighty about winning? He won't. If it means limiting minutes, sitting players, etc, he will. He wants that top pick. Why quit 10 games from winning it? Do what it takes. Get that #1 pick.
UGLI baby
Well-Known Member
holy ****ing +rep lol
green
Well-Known Member
It's not often I get rep from Ugly/PKM/b_line/other big time poster.
But when I do, my rep power goes up a point.
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