Silver: No Evidence Any NBA Team Has Ever Lost Single Game On Purpose

[Doublea]

So, let me get this straight. You take a bunch of rookies who are playing for their basketball futures, you put them in the SL, and then tell them to tank, and they are all in? The quote I'm referring to seems to imply to me that players were intentionally playing poorly.

I'm still skeptical of the tanking narrative being promoted here. I'm not skeptical that GMs intentionally try create bad teams; but I am highly skeptical that coaches and players intentionally try to lose games, while the game is going on.

You don't have to tell them to tank, they are trying to win, but they are just that bad. The main tank part is sitting healthy players.

 

[jimmy eat jazz]

You don't have to tell them to tank, they are trying to win, but they are just that bad. The main tank part is sitting healthy players.

Ok, fine. So many here think that's what GS did. Is there any evidence that any team is doing this during this year?

 

[LogGrad98]

I wonder what he would accept as evidence? Only a signed notarized affidavit from the owner affirming their intent to tank? Maybe a video of the coach telling the players that tanking is the game plan?

 

[jimmy eat jazz]

I wonder what he would accept as evidence? Only a signed notarized affidavit from the owner affirming their intent to tank? Maybe a video of the coach telling the players that tanking is the game plan?

Evidence of what? That GMs purposively built teams to lose, or that teams purposively lost individual games, or something else?

If the former, it seems pretty clear that this does occur, if that latter, then I think the burden of proof is on you to show that it does happen rather than on Silver to show that it doesn't.

Just to be clear, which of these, or some other, is Silver referring to, and which are you referring to?

 

[The Midnight]

Evidence of what? That GMs purposively built teams to lose, or that teams purposively lost individual games, or something else?

If the former, it seems pretty clear that this does occur, if that latter, then I think the burden of proof is on you to show that it does happen rather than on Silver to show that it doesn't.

Just to be clear, which of these, or some other, is Silver referring to, and which are you referring to?

It's all pretty irrelevant when you consider that the last thing the Commissioner (Silver) would say is that the games are somehow "fixed" and the outcomes are "predetermined" by parameters other than what you see on the court (i.e., tanking to get better lottery picks).


Doesn't matter what he thinks/believes or what the evidence suggests, it's part of his responsibility as a Commissioner to protect the produt and not to admit guilt.

 

[jimmy eat jazz]

It's all pretty irrelevant when you consider that the last thing the Commissioner (Silver) would say is that the games are somehow "fixed" and the outcomes are "predetermined" by parameters other than what you see on the court (i.e., tanking to get better lottery picks).


Doesn't matter what he thinks/believes or what the evidence suggests, it's part of his responsibility as a Commissioner to protect the produt and not to admit guilt.

True, but that's not what we're debating. I think we all can agree that Silver has an incentive to spin positive. What we're debating, at least I think, is whether teams, in fact, intentionally tank and what the definition of tank in this context means.

I guess that's irrelevant if you're not interested in the answer. If, however, you are interested in the answer, then it seems pretty relevant to me.

 

[The Midnight]

True, but that's not what we're debating. I think we all can agree that Silver has an incentive to spin positive. What we're debating, at least I think, is whether teams, in fact, intentionally tank and what the definition of tank in this context means.

I guess that's irrelevant if you're not interested in the answer. If, however, you are interested in the answer, then it seems pretty relevant to me.

During that GSW tanking run it was plenty obvious Mark Jackson was in on the "tanking" strategy. Just look at how Klay Thompson (easily the team's best player with Lee, Bogut and Curry out due to injury) would start every game, play 3 quarters and getting pulled in the 4th like clockwork without fail.


What other reasons would there be for a coach to do that other than tanking?


It makes absolutely no sense if your main goal is to win the game.

 

[carolinajazz]

You don't have to tell them to tank, they are trying to win, but they are just that bad. The main tank part is sitting healthy players.

...the best way to tank a game/season without any suspicion of malfeasance is to take the 5 most hip hop type players with the most jailhouse tats on your team, put them in the starting lineup and give them this coaching encouragement: "Whatever your going to do.....do it!" It guarantees 30% shooting from the field and about 30 turnovers a game!

 

[mellow]

This just in.....Adam silver announces there is no evidence of refs fixing games, of players faking injuries, of preferential calls for star players, of PEDs, of players using marihuana, of NBA groupies, or Players gambling.

There is also no evidence that the league encourages trade rumors to generate web traffic, that ref assignments are made so as to extend a playoff series, or that the Knicks envelope was frozen.

 

[carolinajazz]

This just in.....Adam silver announces there is no evidence of refs fixing games, of players faking injuries, of preferential calls for star players, of PEDs, of players using marihuana, of NBA groupies, or Players gambling.

There is also no evidence that the league encourages trade rumors to generate web traffic, that ref assignments are made so as to extend a playoff series, or that the Knicks envelope was frozen.

LOL! Good one! You should be writing for SNL!

 

[fishonjazz]

Evidence of what? That GMs purposively built teams to lose, or that teams purposively lost individual games, or something else?

A coach sitting his best healthy players in the second half of games after playing very well in the first half of the game is not something done by the gm

 

[jimmy eat jazz]

A coach sitting his best healthy players in the second half of games after playing very well in the first half of the game is not something done by the gm

So, in other words, the latter.

Is the only example anyone can cite for purposive in-game tanking is Golden State a few years back? (San Antonio years ago was not in-game tanking.)