Is this a possibility? I'm all for The Tank 100% but despite all these 30-40 point blowouts, we're still only 1.5 games behind the 10th place Pelicans. Ingram is hurt. Lakers in a nosedive. Meanwhile, Pacers, Kings, and Thunder are on losing streaks. Spurs just lost. We have a competitive coach and apparently, Simons is coming back. I don't think we have to win a lot of games to accidentally make the play-in. How would you feel about that? Would Nurk come back if we made the play-in? What about Dame? One game to eliminate the Lakers.
We're more committed to the tank than any of these other teams. So I think we'll continue to lose and while it might be close the Spurs, Kings and Pacers, we'll get under them. We might even get under the Thunder. If they start sitting guys like we are then I'll worry about our ability to increase our odds at a better pick.
I used to worry about teams catching us up approaching the playoffs, now I have to worry about teams catching us up in the lottery! Can we somehow double-tank?
I think the team that is presently setting NBA records for blowout losses has the ability to sufficiently out-tank its rivals. As many have pointed out in other threads, there are three chances to hang a win on the Spurs, so they're probably not a worry. Kings are competing hard; they'll back into a couple wins. Pels will have both CJ and Ingram back within a couple weeks. There is little to zero chance the Blazers are even close to the PIT by season's-end.
I will say that while CJ and Ingram are out, AD is likely to come back and I think there's a good chance that either the Spurs or Kings win enough games to get past the Pelicans. They might be looking at 11th or even 12th in the west. That would be good in the sense that they would no longer have a chance at making the playoffs but worrisome due to their increasing lottery odds.
The reason we don't want to make the play-in is because we somehow have convinced ourselves that if we miss it, we'll win the lottery and get a top 3 pick. But the most likely result of missing the play-in is to move one or two spaces up in the draft. In every draft, there are great players available outside the lottery. If our FO can't find those players, why should we have confidence they'll find them a few picks higher? ALSO: if we make the play-in (or rather, make the playOFFS, because making the play-in is consistent with us still getting a lottery pick), the odds are better for us getting the Pelicans' pick this year. As somebody who wants us to rebuild and trade Dame in the off-season, I would welcome seeing him come back for one last shot for the playoffs.
You complain about the tank but continue to say in other posts that we should expect to end up with a pick around 8-10 that will have little impact on the roster. I've never been accused of being some Pollyanna buy fuck dude, you can't simultaneously complain about our draft position not being good enough to improve the team and how discouraged you are by the tank... I mean you can do that but it's pretty contradictory.
We aren't counting on a lotto win, we're counting on increasing the value of our pick by getting to a worse record than some of the tes slotted for a higher pick currently.
The accidental championship would be the most Blazer thing ever! "We meant to tank, instead we won it all!" Oh wait, isn't that the plot of Major League?
Hey, I can see Dame & Nurk return and make the playin then we shock the world. Dame is rested and playin at MVP level, Nurk has developed a powerful soft touch at the rim and cant be stopped, Winslow becomes beast and Naz comes back and steps up. And, of course Simons becomes the next all star by averaging 25/10/8. Who needs a fucking lotto pick?
So you think they want to make the playoffs? Is that your point? Or are you saying they should continue to lose and quit playing during blowouts? I’m confused in your response?
Your posts are the confusing posts. You whine about the tank and then act like we'll have a late lotto pick. I'm 100% for tanking and losing every game for the rest of the season and I don't think for one second that the amount we lose by will hurt the development of our players and definitely not our coaches. I think if we stay the course and keep tanking as unabashedly as we have been that we'll end up with the 5th worst record in the league... which would be a great position to be in.
