PG: Jazz win the tank-off, Raptors now en route to be in a 3-way tie for 7th odds in the lottery

[tsherkin]

For me it isn’t about top pick or even top 4 (it matters but not the be all end all), it’s the floor.

The track they are on they could be picking 15th or 8/9/10. That would just be a terrible waste to a lost season, imo.

The goal was always to bottom out this year and come back with a vengeance next year. Seems the goal has changed to pussy foot around this year and come back mid next year.

Yeah, I mean, if we don't pick top 4, this has been a waste of everyone's time. I think that much is clear. My point was more that strictly from the odds of reaching the #1 overall, whether we finish 6th, 7th, 8th or 9th isn't a huge difference. The odds are flat enough that we have as decent a shot as anyone. But if we come away with anything less than the 4th pick, then it probably won't mean too much overall. Maybe we get lucky because we tend to draft well, but we'll have to see what happens. There's only speculation until we actually see the results of the draft lottery, really. We know that we're a little too good to finish with a bottom record, so we're just praying for some luck at this point.

[Spida888]

I’m pro tank but this was going to be a win. Can’t out tank the Jazz. It was the ORL wins that was really disappointing.

[PushDaRock]

Where is this math coming from?

Top 4% drops from 34% to 26% and 1st from 8.2% to 6.0%

My very limited googling of NBA draft lottery odds brought me to a Wikipedia page with the percentages, which match the NBA.com 2025 draft lottery odds posted here.

For me it isn’t about top pick or even top 4 (it matters but not the be all end all), it’s the floor.

The track they are on they could be picking 15th or 8/9/10. That would just be a terrible waste to a lost season, imo.

The goal was always to bottom out this year and come back with a vengeance next year. Seems the goal has changed to pussy foot around this year and come back mid next year.

I think the goal of the season was development and let the chips fall where they may. They likely would have been fine with the Play-In and making the playoffs if we had our core and young players surprise to the upside. But, we got smashed with injuries early on and combined with the most difficult schedule in the league led us to the record we had mid way through the season where avoiding the Play-In became more of the priority IMO.

It was hard to project that the East would be as incompetent as it is where 30 wins might be good enough for the Play-In. The Sixers just imploding the way they have was not on anyone's radar.

I am one of those people that wasn't going to obsess over a few % point differences in lotto odds but there's a massive gap between finishing 7th worse with a chance at top 4 and picking 15th with no shot at top 4 just to get smoked by the Cavs. So, I think you really want to avoid the Play-In if at all possible.

[Dalek]

Look at the Brooklyn Nets last night. This is some defense up three end of game.

Watch on YouTube

[tsherkin]

They likely would have been fine with the Play-In and making the playoffs

It's very possible. And it makes me hate management a little bit.

[PushDaRock]

They likely would have been fine with the Play-In and making the playoffs

It's very possible. And it makes me hate management a little bit.

Well I mean if Scottie, RJ, IQ and Gradey all took a step in their game and they won closer to 40 games, that's a bit different than potentially making it in there with 30 wins like we could now.

[tsherkin]

Well I mean if Scottie, RJ, IQ and Gradey all took a step in their game and they won closer to 40 games, that's a bit different than potentially making it in there with 30 wins like we could now.

I hear you, but waiting for Scottie was a mistake. And that undoes that whole line of thinking, ultimately.

[DreamTeam09]

Of all the places I wanna be in order to jump into the top 4, 5th would be near the bottom of my list. When we landed Scottie we finished 7th in the standings.

[DelAbbot]

For me it isn’t about top pick or even top 4 (it matters but not the be all end all), it’s the floor.

The track they are on they could be picking 15th or 8/9/10. That would just be a terrible waste to a lost season, imo.

The goal was always to bottom out this year and come back with a vengeance next year. Seems the goal has changed to pussy foot around this year and come back mid next year.

Yeah, I mean, if we don't pick top 4, this has been a waste of everyone's time. I think that much is clear. My point was more that strictly from the odds of reaching the #1 overall, whether we finish 6th, 7th, 8th or 9th isn't a huge difference. The odds are flat enough that we have as decent a shot as anyone. But if we come away with anything less than the 4th pick, then it probably won't mean too much overall. Maybe we get lucky because we tend to draft well, but we'll have to see what happens. There's only speculation until we actually see the results of the draft lottery, really. We know that we're a little too good to finish with a bottom record, so we're just praying for some luck at this point.

Not a waste of everyone's time, since the 2024 rookies showed growth and development - a gain to our team's floor. But it has been a HUGE waste of an opportunity to add a top tier talent (Flagg/Harper etc) and raise the ceiling of our team for the next 5+ years.

[tsherkin]

Not a waste of everyone's time, since the 2024 rookies showed growth and development - a gain to our team's floor. But it has been a HUGE waste of an opportunity to add a top tier talent (Flagg/Harper etc) and raise the ceiling of our team for the next 5+ years.

I mean, you say "waste of an opportunity" and I say "waste of time," and I don't really think we're saying different things. If we shoot ourselves in the foot and don't get a high-end draft pick, the lower-slot picks we're developing aren't going to matter THAT much to anything but a treadmill type concept. Barring some kind of atypical, wild breakout.

[Thaddy]

It’s hard to get super upset when we’re starting two guys and have a bench full of G Leaguers. What the f*** you gonna do?

The culture is much improved from the last couple of seasons, I’ll say that much.

What we gonna do?

Sit IQ, Barnes, and Poeltl. Make RJ the first option and go from there.

Instead we see half measures...

[ArthurVandelay]

Of all the places I wanna be in order to jump into the top 4, 5th would be near the bottom of my list. When we landed Scottie we finished 7th in the standings.

Spurs landed Wemby at 5 (edit: ummmm yeah no…that is wrong. Spurs were third in lottery)

End of day, year to year means nothing.

[NotMyKawhi]

Of all the places I wanna be in order to jump into the top 4, 5th would be near the bottom of my list. When we landed Scottie we finished 7th in the standings.

Spurs landed Wemby at 5

End of day, year to year means nothing.

Spurs were 3.

5 has never picked 1

[ArthurVandelay]

Of all the places I wanna be in order to jump into the top 4, 5th would be near the bottom of my list. When we landed Scottie we finished 7th in the standings.

Spurs landed Wemby at 5

End of day, year to year means nothing.

Spurs were 3.

5 has never picked 1

****…right you are. I’ve thought that for years…and I have no clue why.

My bad. Apologies.

[Tripod]

"The goal was always to bottom out this year"

By who? Maybe TWO. The goal was to develop our players and see how the season played out. That's what has happened.

The schedule and injuries artificially suppressed wins. Well now the schedule is balancing out and we are playing kids more than ever, STILL HAVE LOTS OF INJURIES, and winning. Oh well.

[ArthurVandelay]

"The goal was always to bottom out this year"

By who? Maybe TWO. The goal was to develop our players and see how the season played out. That's what has happened.

The schedule and injuries artificially suppressed wins. Well now the schedule is balancing out and we are playing kids more than ever, STILL HAVE LOTS OF INJURIES, and winning. Oh well.

That was my goal…lol