The Tank is being thrust upon us...

[theatlfan]

As far as SAS, the reason they were/are suspected of tanking was that some thought that their vets were milking injuries a little too long - specifically after Robinson had his 1 week cameo. But if a player was "able" to go, then you can sure as s*** bet that that player went as long and as hard as the game warranted and every player did attempt to win the game at hand. Seemingly the entire team was hit simultaneously with age (Del Negro was actually a decent player the year before, but whether increased usage or age, his game fell off a cliff) and injuries and Popp might very well have used that to further choke the talent level of the team, but no one played to lose - even the coach after opening tip.

That's some nice revisionist History but they did. I remember watching some Spurs basketball (because of Nique) and seeing them take Avery Johnson out for massive chunks of time and playing Corey Alexander. For lack of a better word, this guy was Rumeal Robinson like. I don't think Robinson faked the broken foot. I do believe that after he broke his foot in Dec, all the talk about winning out was off. I just think our season mirrors San Antonio's 1996 season.

Lol... It's not quite as revisionist as your story is. Avery Johnson was a career backup who played more minutes than anyone else on that team. Corey Alexander was a up and coming prospect (a former 1st who had decent stats in his 2nd season) who flashed good numbers in his limited PT in both the year before and the "tank year". For some idea, AJ averaged 32.5 mpg with per-36's of 11.7 p and 7.5 a as a 31 yo; at 23, Cory Alexander went 14.3 p and 6.3 a in 18.2 m. Considering some of the other peripherals (namely, 37% 3PT shooting from Alexander), I could see the argument that Alexander could have gotten more burn - not less.

No, IF SAS tanked (and I actually think they did) then it had more to do with veterans like Sean Elliott, Chuck Person, Charles Smith, and/or Will Perdue taking a little extra time off in their return from some serious injuries. I mean it doesn't take much to convince someone whose already seen the value in laying up 30 games in healing to take an extra 10 (AND an entire offseason). It's a guarantee the player will be the most healthy he's been since at least High School and the team gets to tank without losing much standing in future years.

[azuresou1]

I'll be blunt - having the Hawks tank for a lotto pick at this point in the season and knowing what we know about the East is horrifically dumb.

Even if we hardcore tank, we cannot match up to teams that have been hardcore tanking all along. In the process, we would also completely destroy our locker room and any shred of credibility in the league. All that for what? A 1.8% chance at a top 3 pick?

[azuresou1]

BTW, this comes on the heels of us beating Miami on a night where Jeff Teague goes 1-7.

And you want us to completely flip the team culture around? SMH

[parson]

Maybe before your time, there was a team called Portland Trailblazers... that had Pippen, Wallace, Smitty, Sabonis, Oneal, Anderson, Wells, Stoudamire, Kemp, Davis, Patterson, Kerr etc. This was one of the most talented teams ever put together. The coach was able to get the players to buy into the fact that starters and reserves could play the same amount of minutes and the team be better for it. He was able to develop Bonzi Wells, Jermaine Oneal, Patterson and others with this philosophy of sharing time. I think on some occassions, those guys you call starters wouldn't even log minutes... they'd sit according to lineup.

What season are you talking about?

[Jamaaliver]

BTW, this comes on the heels of us beating Miami on a night where Jeff Teague goes 1-7.

And only played 20 minutes.

diesel, the point is kind of moot at this point. As limited as we are without Horford, we're clearly not tanking. We're doing our best to win games.

Also, winning the lottery and drafting the best player to a loser is no guarantee of success long or short term.

Kyrie and John Wall have plenty of individual success, but no team success to show for it. Despite playing alongside a ton of other young lottery players.
Better players (Deron, CPIII, Carmelo, Lebron, Bosh) have simply left those losing situations in Free Agency rather than stay with losing franchises.

But, again, it's all a moot argument, because we ARE NOT TANKING. We're trying to win games.

Also...are you monsterblock aka tcorbin? That guy has utilized so many screen names over the years...and you seem to write with some of the same stubbornness.

[diesel50]

BTW, this comes on the heels of us beating Miami on a night where Jeff Teague goes 1-7.

And only played 20 minutes.

diesel, the point is kind of moot at this point. As limited as we are without Horford, we're clearly not tanking. We're doing our best to win games.

Also, winning the lottery and drafting the best player to a loser is no guarantee of success long or short term.

Kyrie and John Wall have plenty of individual success, but no team success to show for it. Despite playing alongside a ton of other young lottery players.
Better players (Deron, CPIII, Carmelo, Lebron, Bosh) have simply left those losing situations in Free Agency rather than stay with losing franchises.

But, again, it's all a moot argument, because we ARE NOT TANKING. We're trying to win games.

Also...are you monsterblock aka tcorbin? That guy has utilized so many screen names over the years...and you seem to write with some of the same stubbornness.

My point is... we're not the dreads of the leagues that Irving and Wall went to. We're actually good when healthy. And well coached. You guys won't see it until you see it.. but if we put all this effort into getting into the playoffs and then one of those first round bottom teams (like the nets) who have been playing possum shows up and kick us smoove out of the playoffs, we will feel like we really wasted an opportunity to get a better talent draft pick. Let's face it, better players come out of the lottery than out of the non-lottery. IF we don't get a top 3 player, we will still get a better player than what we have. How many more Jenkins do you want?
Who would you rather have: Rodney Hood, Jeramie Grant, Zach Levine or Aaron Gordon, Kyle Anderson, or Adreine Payne? If we were a win now team I would be with you. But we're not that.

[azuresou1]

You don't seem to get the point.

WE ARE NOT GOING TO GET A GOOD LOTTERY PICK EVEN IF WE DELIBERATELY TANK.

[parson]

You don't seem to get the point.

WE ARE NOT GOING TO GET A GOOD LOTTERY PICK EVEN IF WE DELIBERATELY TANK.

When I was a kid, I had one of those cars that was made to re-direct whenever it hit the wall. However, MY car was broken, so, every time it'd hit the wall, it would just bounce backwards 8-10 inches and then go straight back into the same spot on the wall, over and over again.

Instead of being boring, after a while it was funny.

[diesel50]

You don't seem to get the point.

WE ARE NOT GOING TO GET A GOOD LOTTERY PICK EVEN IF WE DELIBERATELY TANK.

Maybe we differ on what is a good pick. I think that players that are predicted to be coming out even at as far as 10-15 will be strong contributors to their team. What do you think??? Are you really saying that you think only the best players are 1-3? This is called the strongest draft in a long time for a reason. If you use nbadraft.net as a basis, Glenn robinson III and James Young are predicted to go 13 and 14. These two guys are better than anybody we've drafted since Teague... possibly Horf.

What's your take on the draft?

[azuresou1]

I am not a draft expert but I see little difference between guys drafted at 10-15 and 16-20, which is where the Nets will likely end up.

That marginal difference certainly isn't worth taking our team culture and setting it on fire.

[Jamaaliver]

When I was a kid, I had one of those cars that was made to re-direct whenever it hit the wall. However, MY car was broken, so, every time it'd hit the wall, it would just bounce backwards 8-10 inches and then go straight back into the same spot on the wall, over and over again.

Instead of being boring, after a while it was funny.

My brother had a really bad inner ear infection as a kid. He used to do the EXACT SAME THING.

And yes, it was hilarious to watch every time.

[Jamaaliver]

I am not a draft expert but I see little difference between guys drafted at 10-15 and 16-20, which is where the Nets will likely end up.

That marginal difference certainly isn't worth taking our team culture and setting it on fire.

Just for example: 10-15 in last summer's draft would have given us a shot at Steven Adams and/or Giannis.

So, there's a bit of a difference between those guys and the Shane Larkins of the world.

[parson]

When I was a kid, I had one of those cars that was made to re-direct whenever it hit the wall. However, MY car was broken, so, every time it'd hit the wall, it would just bounce backwards 8-10 inches and then go straight back into the same spot on the wall, over and over again.

Instead of being boring, after a while it was funny.

My brother had a really bad inner ear infection as a kid. He used to do the EXACT SAME THING.

And yes, it was hilarious to watch every time.

Guys, remind me to never leave Jamaaliver alone with my heart meds.