Isaac
Years ago

Lottery bound teams tanking games

ESPN's John Hollinger is proposing an alteration to the method that determines the lottery for the annual NBA draft.

Presently, teams realising that their season is doomed tend to lose games and rest slightly-injured stars in an attempt to finish further down in the league.

Hollinger's suggestion makes for an earlier cut-off in determining the rankings.

The draft order and the status of lottery-protected draft picks will remain unchanged for those teams that make the playoffs.

BUT, the lottery Ping-Pong balls for the 14 teams that don't make the playoffs will be determined by the standings as of March 15.

In other words, the Wolves can't start tanking games in April to keep their top-10 protected pick away from the Clippers. They'll have to do it in early March, when they are still fighting for a playoff spot, making it a much more difficult proposition.
Thoughts?

Topic #11149 | Report this topic


MW  
Years ago

I think the lottery should be one ball per team.

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4th Spazzy  
Years ago

I think its actually a good idea Isaac, tanking makes a mockery of any sport...how ripped off would the fans feel...imagine having spent all that money on a season ticket, only to find that your team is actually going out there trying to lose..

Reply #129983 | Report this post


I think it's a fantastic idea.

But how could they justify giving Doc Rivers a contract extension if he couldn't tank for the Oden/Durant miracle sweepstakes?

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DICKO  
Years ago

Brilliant.....surprised other leagues haven't thought of it.

The only Issue I see is that you could end up with the opposite..... good teams tanking a little at the start (or having injured stars) to make sure they're in the mix for a lottery pickup and then finishing strong.

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M Dizzle  
Years ago

No team is going to risk losing early and then have to catch up ground to make the playoffs

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DJ  
Years ago

No good team goes into the lottery as they would be in the playoffs.
And a team that is a playoff chance surely wouldnt throw games early in the season with the hope of getting a good pick.

Reply #130017 | Report this post




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