The Great Eastern Conference Tank Job
Gregg Oden and Kevin Durant are no longer awaiting the winners of this year’s draft lottery, but hey, that’s no reason for Eastern Conference teams to not tank the end of the season.
Take a look at the standings. There are only two teams still trying to win. The Hawks—because they’re securing the final playoff spot, and the Celtics—because they don’t know how to relax and rest themselves for the post-season.
The rest of the conference could care less whether they win. The big battle is between Atlanta, Toronto, and Washington to not finish 5th and draw a matchup with Cleveland. On Wednesday the Wizards blew a 10 point 4th quarter lead and lost at home to Milwaukee. On Saturday the Sixers, who are the hottest team in basketball, lost at home to Altanta. Not to be outdone, the Raptors lost back-to-back games to Charlotte and New Jersey.
You can’t blame any of them. There are three Eastern Conference teams nobody wants to play. Cleveland, Boston, and Detroit. A team that finishes 5th will likely have to play all three of them. Finishing 6th or 7th means a team can play no more than two of them.
The teams at the top of the conference are similarly disinterested in winning. Orlando, Detroit, and Cleveland are all locked into their seedings. The Cavs only care about Lebron liking his new teammates, the Pistons are concerned with unleashing superstud Rodney Stuckey on the rest of the NBA, and the Magic are just sitting back and watching Dwight Howard dunk.
Finally, there’s the bottom of the conference, which is engaged in a much less publicized battle to land Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose. The good news is nobody can compete with Miami’s lineup of Blake Ahearn, Earl Barron , Chris Quinn, Joel Anthony, and Kasib Powell, and so the tanking hasn’t been too apparent.
5 Comments »
JRuq on 07 Apr 2008 at 2:18 pm #
“and the Celtics—because they don’t know how to relax and rest themselves for the post-season.”
Doc Rivers sat Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen Saturday night.
brian on 07 Apr 2008 at 3:12 pm #
what about the 76ers?
Come again on 07 Apr 2008 at 4:55 pm #
Ummm, I’m not so sure about the 76ers tanking that game against Atlanta. You just so happened to leave out the fact they beat the Hawks the night before in Atlanta. Now, if you watched the game, you would have noted that the game was basically even, except for Bibby not being able to hit a shot. So, the next night the Hawks beat them. They are two even teams. They split games. Nobody was trying to tank.
Also, how can you say the Wizards tanked the game, but another team the Bucks, who you say are also tanking, won the game. I’m confused. Also, the Wizards have won every game since then. Maybe the bigger story was that the first game back for Arenas and they struggled in the fourth quarter. Which happens from time to time.
Then again, it’s easier to throw something against the wall and see what sticks. Next time, makes sure it sticks.
come again? on 07 Apr 2008 at 5:10 pm #
Dear come again -
You seem to miss the point that each game results in a winner. Despite the intentions of any individual team, each game yields a winner. So what is confusing about the Bucks beating the Wizards in a sloppily played game with virtually no defense? I truly pity the fool who finishes fifth and has to face off vs. playoff lebron in the first round. The Sixers are comfortably cruising into a later playoff spot and no game is of particular importance. Rather than examine an individual game or two, take a step back and look at the big picture.
come again on 07 Apr 2008 at 6:49 pm #
Have you seen the Cavs over the past two games? They have been awful in the fourth quarter. Zero offense. LeBron is not a 100% and those pieces they added are crap. Wally Z sucks. He might be the worst player in the league. Delonte West is garbage who has no right hand. Ben Wallace is useless and that maybe an understatement. I thought they would be better than last year, but they aren’t. They’ve taken a step back.
If I were a team, I would much rather face a shaky Cavs team than a Magic or Pistons team that will be well rested and ready to roll.
As for the Wizards game, I stated the reason why the Wizards were trying to win the game. The Bucks have a lot more to lose by winning than the Wiz.