The "T" Word...

[Coughka]

Clearly, any topic having to do with "tanking" is going to inspire a lot of gut reactions. I've been equally all aboard the tank (2 years ago) and off it (right up until a week or so into this season). Particularly with our pick only being Top 5 protected, we would either have to significantly underperform according to even the most modest of pre-season predictions, or land in the lottery and get significantly lucky. It simply didn't make much sense to advocate tanking at the beginning of the year.

I now find myself ambivalent on the issue. Ought I to be in favor of wins now, with our best offensive player out for perhaps the rest of the year? Our playoff odds certainly took a hit with his loss. Or ought I to cheer for competitive loss after competitive loss? There are many variables to contend with: the fact that our pick only comes to us if we land in the Top 5 of the draft, the odds of our making the playoffs, Anderson's recovery time, the continued health of the rest of our players, etc etc.

Perhaps it is too early for this discussion. But with each injury and each defensive breakdown that we see, I grow more and more unsure about what is best for this team in terms of what we do this season. I know that the team certainly won't be actively tanking. I suppose I just want to know what other people's feelings are regarding our current playoff odds and the statistical probability of this team being "bad" enough to get a Top 5 pick. It seems to me we are now, at least for this season, in that dreaded "dead zone" between not being good enough to make the playoffs, but not being bad enough to draft high. And frankly, if you gave me a machine that could fast forward the results of this season and ensure that we got that pick at the expense of a playoff berth, I would press that button without hesitation, particularly in a top-heavy draft like this.

[nolaslim213]

[Coughka]

Surely we can talk about this rationally.

*stabbed with pitchfork*

[nolaslim213]

Surely we can talk about this rationally.

*stabbed with pitchfork*

Just preparing you for the wrath you are sure to draw from Eman

[Coughka]

My body is ready.

[Jabberwalker]

My body is ready.

Hahha

Even without the debatable argument of building a winning culture I think that it would be near impossible to tank hard enough to get a top 5 pick. We will only get picks 1-3 if we win the lottery and that is unlikely unless we out-sucked Orlando, Utah, and Phili the second half of the season. That's pretty unlikely to happen no matter how hard we try. And if we couldn't finish with the fourth worst record last season, there's no way we could now. If we did try we'd also run the risk of messing up the team only to not finish in the top 5 and give up a good pick to phili. To me, it isn't even a choice. It sucks that we lost Ryno for what is likely to be a long time, but we'll just have to go on without him and try to learn how to win without him. Maybe it makes us better in the end.

[Eman5805]

My wrath is a terrible thing. Goad it at your own peril.

[Coughka]

Hahha

Even without the debatable argument of building a winning culture I think that it would be near impossible to tank hard enough to get a top 5 pick. We will only get picks 1-3 if we win the lottery and that is unlikely unless we out-sucked Orlando, Utah, and Phili the second half of the season. That's pretty unlikely to happen no matter how hard we try. And if we couldn't finish with the fourth worst record last season, there's no way we could now. If we did try we'd also run the risk of messing up the team only to not finish in the top 5 and give up a good pick to phili. To me, it isn't even a choice. It sucks that we lost Ryno for what is likely to be a long time, but we'll just have to go on without him and try to learn how to win without him. Maybe it makes us better in the end.

Say we finish in the bottom 7 in terms of record. That means the projected terrible teams like Milwaukee, Philly, Sacramento, Orlando, Utah, and Cleveland would do worse (Charlotte is making a playoff push apparently, Boston could do worse though). With the 7th worst record, we would have an approximately 12% chance at landing in the top three. Not an insignificant figure.

I agree that it's tough to make an argument for why we ought to be in favor of the adverse effects of a losing season in order to punch a lottery ticket with a 12% success rate. It's very alluring to consider this team with a Parker or an Embiid, though.

In the end it's probably more reasonable to cheer for wins (and more fun clearly). We are simply too talented, and in conjunction with the protection on our pick, it seems far-fetched that we would have access to it. Unless, of course, we finish in that bottom 6-7 or so, and hit that 12% chance (not much lower than the odds we had at getting Davis).

[Coughka]

My wrath is a terrible thing. Goad it at your own peril.

Oh I'll goad it all right.

[504ByrdGang]

Did stern leave Silver a note to grant us another favor for "Basketball reasons".

[JJackisangry]

I don't think our players would accept a tank this year. Tyreke and Jru came here to be apart of a winning team, not the Cleveland Cavaliers

[Caffeinedisastr]

Considering that we'd never catch the bottom teams in the league, tanking is not an option.

This team has to fight EVERY GAME to try and win. They've already shown that (when they're ON) they can play at a very high level.
These tribulations will only amplify their chemistry.

[Kurgan]

The t word? I thought it was something like...Tragedy..or Trade eric gordon...or 'tely fire monty williams

[yankeesman77]

This team is too talented for the t word unless everyone sits for the rest of the year. Losses to the Heat and Indy on the road are expected. Let's see how this team does now with 5 of the next 6 games at home against other middle of the road teams and not teams expected to compete for the conference finals.

[NMThreeMVP]

I don't think this team has to "tank" to finish with one of the 7 worst records. This team without Ryan Anderson is going to struggle. Our luck hasn't been great this season (understatement). Which would be more surprising: The rest of the team is healthy the rest of the way, or a key guy or two missing some time down the stretch?

I think tanking implies a lackadaisical effort by the coaching staff and the players with the intent to lose as many games as possible. I can't see this staff or group of players going that rout. But what I do see is a young team that could really struggle down the stretch, even while internally improving because they don't have a key piece of the roster that makes everything function properly.

So tank? Nah...
But lose enough games because we're just not good enough, and in the process steadily increase our chances of getting lucky and landing a top 3 pick sounds about right.

[Coughka]

I don't think this team has to "tank" to finish with one of the 7 worst records. This team without Ryan Anderson is going to struggle. Our luck hasn't been great this season (understatement). Which would be more surprising: The rest of the team is healthy the rest of the way, or a key guy or two missing some time down the stretch?

I think tanking implies a lackadaisical effort by the coaching staff and the players with the intent to lose as many games as possible. I can't see this staff or group of players going that rout. But what I do see is a young team that could really struggle down the stretch, even while internally improving because they don't have a key piece of the roster that makes everything function properly.

So tank? Nah...
But lose enough games because we're just not good enough, and in the process steadily increase our chances of getting lucky and landing a top 3 pick sounds about right.

Yeah I don't expect the team to not give effort, when I use "tank" I mean in the sense of fan support, i.e., "getting on the tank" and being pleased with losses.

Honestly if we lose to the Wiz tonight I might just hop on for the rest of the year.

[Coughka]

Relevant bump.

[BallSoHard]

Tank was the T word ? Ohhhh crap

[Coughka]

Tank was the T word ? Ohhhh crap

I thought you were calling my mother a tank that day, which was already bad enough.

WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE CALLING HER.

[BallSoHard]

I thought you were calling my mother a tank that day, which was already bad enough.

WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE CALLING HER.

[IamQuailman]

LOL

[NOLa.]

Increase tank speed with new injury.

[504ByrdGang]

I'm not with the tank, a lot of bad teams this season. We have a better chance at a top 3 pick than a top 5

[BallSoHard]

Why do people think we have the try and tank to lose? Lol we do that well enough.

[Coughka]

Why do people think we have the try and tank to lose? Lol we do that well enough.

Yeah it's going to be brutal the next few weeks.

But I hope we try to tank at the end of the year a la the GSW when they benched their starting lineup to save their pick from going to Utah. By that time we're sure to have a bad record so I would be for actively tanking even with the return of Jrue and/or Anderson.