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We've got 29 games left, but we've got stiff competition for the playoffs. Cleveland has finally started to click, Charlotte is looking to improve at the deadline, and New York is healthy and has no incentive to tank(also looking to add a PG at the deadline).

Right now we sit 3.5 games behind the 5th seeded Hawks, but also sit just 3.5 games ahead of the Celtics who today have the 6th worst record in the NBA

A loss tonight to Charlotte could put the playoff talk on the back burner and move the tank to the front of our discussion.

The way I see the breakdown, with 29 games left.

Go 14-15 or better, slip into the playoffs at least 36 wins.

Win anywhere from 9 to 13 games, worst case scenario no man's land no playoffs or lottery pick.

Win 8 or fewer games, pushes us into bottom 8 and secures our lottery pick for 2014.

So with 29 games left, we can win 14 or more games (nearly .500 percent).... or win 8 or fewer games... We just can't win 9, 10, 11, 12, or 13 games or we are screwed! Is that going to be that hard to accomplish???

We have ~10 games left with teams who could blatantly go in the tank. I'd be shocked if we didn't win at least half of these games. That puts us at 5 wins. That's roughly 3-16 against the teams that are trying. We really need to rip off a 15 game losing streak.

I think we are SOL as currently constructed.

I hope we tank hard, hard as a m****cka.

I don't condone tanking, but if we did end up losing and kept our draft pick, I wouldn't be upset. I'd be disappointed, but based on how the season has gone, I don't think there's any way I won't be, even if we do make the playoffs. I was unaware that we were only 3.5 games ahead of the 6th worst team in the NBA, which is what makes me think that us losing wouldn't be so bad. At this point, I say we trade Smith (and Jennings depending on what we get) for picks if at all possible (and or expirings) and then retool around Monroe/Drummond.

At this point I think we should offer Smith and Jennings to any team with a worse record than us in hopes that they improve at a decent enough rate for them to pass us in the standings. Maybe offer Smith to Sacramento (not sure if they'd be interested in him or not, but he might actually be a decent fit with Cousins. Or we might be able to convince them of that =P) And then offer Jennings to NYK who's desperate for a PG upgrade. Both teams are below us in the standings (2 games ahead of NYK and 4 ahead of Sacramento) so I think that giving them one of Smith/Jennings might help them pass us in the standings. And if not, at least we unloaded both of them.

I think there are more team capable of out tanking the Pistons at this point. If the Pistons do tank and end up still giving the Bobcats their pick, that would be a catastrophe.

We don't have a lot of easy wins left. Actually, nothing is easy for us.

Wed, Feb 19 @ Charlotte
Fri, Feb 21 vs Atlanta
Sat, Feb 22 vs Dallas
Mon, Feb 24 vs Golden State
Wed, Feb 26 @ San Antonio
Sat, Mar 1 @ Houston
Mon, Mar 3 vs NY Knicks (WIN)
Wed, Mar 5 vs Chicago
Fri, Mar 7 @ Minnesota
Sun, Mar 9 @ Boston
Tue, Mar 11 vs Sacramento (WIN)
Wed, Mar 12 @ Toronto
Sat, Mar 15 vs Indiana
Wed, Mar 19 @ Denver
Fri, Mar 21 @ Phoenix
Sat, Mar 22 @ Los Angeles
Mon, Mar 24 @ Utah
Wed, Mar 26 vs Cleveland (WIN)
Fri, Mar 28 vs Miami
Sat, Mar 29 @ Philadelphia
Mon, Mar 31 vs Milwaukee (WIN)
Wed, Apr 2 @ Indiana
Fri, Apr 4 @ Brooklyn
Sat, Apr 5 vs Boston (WIN)
Tue, Apr 8 @ Atlanta
Wed, Apr 9 @ Cleveland
Fri, Apr 11 @ Chicago
Sun, Apr 13 vs Toronto
Wed, Apr 16 @ Oklahoma City

BadMofoPimp wrote:I think there are more team capable of out tanking the Pistons at this point. If the Pistons do tank and end up still giving the Bobcats their pick, that would be a catastrophe.

literally the absolute worst case scenario.

but one that was totally realistic once Joe decided to derail the Monroe/Drummond movement for the Jennings/Josh crew last Summer.

Clarity wrote:

BadMofoPimp wrote:I think there are more team capable of out tanking the Pistons at this point. If the Pistons do tank and end up still giving the Bobcats their pick, that would be a catastrophe.

literally the absolute worst case scenario.

but one that was totally realistic once Joe decided to derail the Monroe/Drummond movement for the Jennings/Josh crew last Summer.

I still think Jennings has a future, but Josh was built to play for a more experienced team, not a rebuilding team.

The problem with dealing Josh & Jennings is they help our tank tremendously. If we were to just play Drummond & Monroe with Stuckey/Bynum/Billups handling the ball and shooters on the wings we'll be a much better team than having Jennings jack off balance long twos and Smith trying to set the record for lowest 3 pt %.

theBigLip wrote:We don't have a lot of easy wins left. Actually, nothing is easy for us.

Wed, Feb 19 @ Charlotte
Fri, Feb 21 vs Atlanta
Sat, Feb 22 vs Dallas
Mon, Feb 24 vs Golden State
Wed, Feb 26 @ San Antonio
Sat, Mar 1 @ Houston
Mon, Mar 3 vs NY Knicks (WIN)
Wed, Mar 5 vs Chicago
Fri, Mar 7 @ Minnesota
Sun, Mar 9 @ Boston
Tue, Mar 11 vs Sacramento (WIN)
Wed, Mar 12 @ Toronto
Sat, Mar 15 vs Indiana
Wed, Mar 19 @ Denver
Fri, Mar 21 @ Phoenix
Sat, Mar 22 @ Los Angeles
Mon, Mar 24 @ Utah
Wed, Mar 26 vs Cleveland (WIN)
Fri, Mar 28 vs Miami
Sat, Mar 29 @ Philadelphia
Mon, Mar 31 vs Milwaukee (WIN)
Wed, Apr 2 @ Indiana
Fri, Apr 4 @ Brooklyn
Sat, Apr 5 vs Boston (WIN)
Tue, Apr 8 @ Atlanta
Wed, Apr 9 @ Cleveland
Fri, Apr 11 @ Chicago
Sun, Apr 13 vs Toronto
Wed, Apr 16 @ Oklahoma City

I could see the games I highlighted being all out tankfests. I could also envision OKC having nothing to play for the last game of the year and us foolishly winning a game that ends up having significant impact.

There is no way this team wins .500 rest of the way, and there is no way they will only win 8 games, the sooner you get used to the reality of missing the playoffs and losing the pick the less painful it is actually.

I think I've come to peace with whatever outcome occurs- mostly because the most likely outcome is missing the playoffs and surrendering our pick to Charlotte- making this season a net loss across the board.

But, if this team continues to suck next year, that's shaping up to be an alright draft as well. That's the mental cycle of a sports fan: This year sucks, but there's always next year!

Piston Prince wrote:

theBigLip wrote:We don't have a lot of easy wins left. Actually, nothing is easy for us.

Wed, Feb 19 @ Charlotte
Fri, Feb 21 vs Atlanta
Sat, Feb 22 vs Dallas
Mon, Feb 24 vs Golden State
Wed, Feb 26 @ San Antonio
Sat, Mar 1 @ Houston
Mon, Mar 3 vs NY Knicks (WIN)
Wed, Mar 5 vs Chicago
Fri, Mar 7 @ Minnesota
Sun, Mar 9 @ Boston
Tue, Mar 11 vs Sacramento (WIN)
Wed, Mar 12 @ Toronto
Sat, Mar 15 vs Indiana
Wed, Mar 19 @ Denver
Fri, Mar 21 @ Phoenix
Sat, Mar 22 @ Los Angeles
Mon, Mar 24 @ Utah
Wed, Mar 26 vs Cleveland (WIN)
Fri, Mar 28 vs Miami
Sat, Mar 29 @ Philadelphia
Mon, Mar 31 vs Milwaukee (WIN)
Wed, Apr 2 @ Indiana
Fri, Apr 4 @ Brooklyn
Sat, Apr 5 vs Boston (WIN)
Tue, Apr 8 @ Atlanta
Wed, Apr 9 @ Cleveland
Fri, Apr 11 @ Chicago
Sun, Apr 13 vs Toronto
Wed, Apr 16 @ Oklahoma City

I could see the games I highlighted being all out tankfests. I could also envision OKC having nothing to play for the last game of the year and us foolishly winning a game that ends up having significant impact.

Agree that the extra games you highlighted could become wins, and are certainly going to be ugly games. The Atlanta game on the road is probably a loss though. And it would really suck to beat OKC and give up our pick. CV will come off the bench and score 40 in the win.

Joe Asberry wrote:There is no way this team wins .500 rest of the way, and there is no way they will only win 8 games, the sooner you get used to the reality of missing the playoffs and losing the pick the less painful it is actually.

They've only managed to win 41% of their games so far, many losses against "worse" teams. I would say it would be overly optimistic to believe this team somehow wins 50% over their last 29 games. 14 or 15 wins would nearly double their current win total from the first 53 games.

It would be a statistical outlier, considering that there likely won't be any changes to the roster.

These last games decide which lottery pick we get.

Piston Prince wrote:The problem with dealing Josh & Jennings is they help our tank tremendously. If we were to just play Drummond & Monroe with Stuckey/Bynum/Billups handling the ball and shooters on the wings we'll be a much better team than having Jennings jack off balance long twos and Smith trying to set the record for lowest 3 pt %.

Hard to argue with this.

Imagine if we just would have went after what we needed in a consistent wing scorer & shooters last Summer.

Clarity wrote:

Piston Prince wrote:The problem with dealing Josh & Jennings is they help our tank tremendously. If we were to just play Drummond & Monroe with Stuckey/Bynum/Billups handling the ball and shooters on the wings we'll be a much better team than having Jennings jack off balance long twos and Smith trying to set the record for lowest 3 pt %.

Hard to argue with this.

Imagine if we just would have went after what we needed in a consistent wing scorer & shooters last Summer.

Imagine if Gores wasn't cheap and we just amnestied Gordon, then took the GSW's offer of two firsts for Biedrins & Jefferson.

We could be sitting with two lotto (or close) picks in this loaded draft AND max cap room this summer.

Piston Prince wrote:

Clarity wrote:

Piston Prince wrote:The problem with dealing Josh & Jennings is they help our tank tremendously. If we were to just play Drummond & Monroe with Stuckey/Bynum/Billups handling the ball and shooters on the wings we'll be a much better team than having Jennings jack off balance long twos and Smith trying to set the record for lowest 3 pt %.

Hard to argue with this.

Imagine if we just would have went after what we needed in a consistent wing scorer & shooters last Summer.

Imagine if Gores wasn't cheap and we just amnestied Gordon, then took the GSW's offer of two firsts for Biedrins & Jefferson.

We could be sitting with two lotto (or close) picks in this loaded draft AND max cap room this summer.

Stop. Please, it's killing me.

"But having Jennings and Smith ensures we're not a losing culture team! At least we're not the Cavs or NYK!" /s

Piston Prince wrote:

Clarity wrote:

Piston Prince wrote:The problem with dealing Josh & Jennings is they help our tank tremendously. If we were to just play Drummond & Monroe with Stuckey/Bynum/Billups handling the ball and shooters on the wings we'll be a much better team than having Jennings jack off balance long twos and Smith trying to set the record for lowest 3 pt %.

Hard to argue with this.

Imagine if we just would have went after what we needed in a consistent wing scorer & shooters last Summer.

Imagine if Gores wasn't cheap and we just amnestied Gordon, then took the GSW's offer of two firsts for Biedrins & Jefferson.

We could be sitting with two lotto (or close) picks in this loaded draft AND max cap room this summer.

Its really not difficult but so many GMs make it such.

Piston Prince wrote:

Clarity wrote:

Piston Prince wrote:The problem with dealing Josh & Jennings is they help our tank tremendously. If we were to just play Drummond & Monroe with Stuckey/Bynum/Billups handling the ball and shooters on the wings we'll be a much better team than having Jennings jack off balance long twos and Smith trying to set the record for lowest 3 pt %.

Hard to argue with this.

Imagine if we just would have went after what we needed in a consistent wing scorer & shooters last Summer.

Imagine if Gores wasn't cheap and we just amnestied Gordon, then took the GSW's offer of two firsts for Biedrins & Jefferson.

We could be sitting with two lotto (or close) picks in this loaded draft AND max cap room this summer.

If only...

I didn't have a problem with the Gordon trade at the time, b/c I assumed we'd use the amnesty on CV. Should have known better.

I suggested something similar to the Utah-GSW trade, 2 months before it happened. Definitely a missed opportunity, especially given the options we were looking at in FA.
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