2013-14 Tank Watch: How to Fail Gracefully in the NBA

[UBlender]

Yeah, it is good to see Burke play well and show that the team isn't a complete train wreck, but it is time to reign things back in and make sure you stick with your savvy veteran in Lucas. Bringing Tinsley back is not a bad idea. You don't want to put too much on Burke too soon, you know.

In seriousness, I'm looking at the Jazz' upcoming schedule and maybe they can get their tanking mojo back. They have two games with Sacramento, which they should make sure they do no better than split (although pulling out a loss in both would be big). Aside from those they have a reasonable shot at not winning again until Christmas. Here is the rest of the month: IND, @POR, SAC, POR, @SAC, @DEN, SA, @MIA, @ORL, @ATL, @CHA, @MEM, LAL, @LAC, CHA. The SAC games will be tough and they could win a road game against Orlando or Charlotte if they are not careful. Aside from those, there best chances will be at home against the Lakers and Charlotte after Christmas. This is a good chance to pile up some more Ls, hopefully they don't screw it up.

[UBlender]

Clutch loss by the Jazz on Saturday, really big to pull that one off and now the schedule is difficult enough that the possibility of sustaining in losing streak until Christmas is alive and well.

In other news, Sacramento trades for Rudy Gay. I don't know that it makes them a lot better but probably does signal that they are not trying to tank. Toronto is looking to tear things down and may be in the thick of the tanking race (although they are currently in the thick of their divisional race--in that division the margin between the two is very thin).

[Applejack]

The Jazz have a huge advantage being in the Western Conference this year. All the dregs of the East (too many to list) will be able to beat up on each other, i.e. win some that they don't want to. Whereas the only other truly tank-job in the West is Sactown, so we can basically get killed by every Western team 4 times!

[UBlender]

Well the Jazz ruined what could have been and 0-fer until Christmas by beating Sacramento. Generally, playing Richard Jefferson big minutes is a sound tanking strategy but it can also backfire on the occasional night when he (and everyone else) shoots lights out. Tough break.

Solid tanking ploy by Sacramento, trading for Rudy Gay and still being unable to figure out how to get him on the court four days later (darn the luck with that).

In other news, Brooklyn looks like an entirely different team with Deron Williams back. They will be competent and still should win that absolutely terrible division. I also realized that New York doesn't have their first round pick this year so no tanking for the Knicks.

Utah, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Toronto, Philly....those appear to be your main tankers right now. A few other teams could still get into the mix depending on how things go. Utah and Sacramento have a huge built-in advantage playing in the dominant conference--those eastern teams will pick up unwanted victories over each other that will hurt their tanking efforts.

[hostile]

Now 2-0 on what was a potential 0-6 run up to Christmas.

[Applejack]

Now 2-0 on what was a potential 0-6 run up to Christmas.

Terrible, terrible two-game skid. At this point, I don't think anyone is catching the Bucks. They have almost no talent and play with little desire - a well-constructed tank job all around. We are essentially fighting for second place at this point.

New York and Brooklyn are, fortunately, trying to win this year. They will eke out enough victories in the East that we won't have to worry about them. Orlando, Philly, Cleveland, and Toronto are the only real challengers in the East for that second spot.

Sacramento is a real wild card - terrible organization, a TON of chuckers that don't play defense, some bad attitudes, potential for total implosion; BUT, a legitimate all-star in the post, some talented athletes at most positions. This is a team that could challenge Milwaukee if things go their way, or if Rudy Gay starts hitting, DeMarcus Cousins doesn't get suspended, and Isaiah Thomas keeps playing well, they could be mid-lottery.

[UBlender]

It looks like the Bulls have officially thrown in the towel and will be tanking hard from here on out with the Deng-Bynum trade. (Missed opportunity for the Jazz to get worse by unloading the entirely-too-competent-for-this-season Richard Jefferson). On the other hand, Deng clearly improves Cleveland who isn't intentionally tanking but still finds themselves close to the bottom of the league, so I guess you trade Chicago for Cleveland in the tank race.

In other news, both Toronto and Sacramento appear to be improved since the Rudy Gay trade, although Sacramento is still in the thick of things and will likely battle the Jazz for worst record in the west all season.

Boston is sliding back into the conversation after looking like non-tankers for a while. Philly and Orlando are looking very serious lately; they appear very committed to make a run at Milwaukee. New York doesn't own their pick but they can't seem to get out of their own way. Brooklyn has been better but with Deron Williams out again they could slide back (another team without its own pick and no incentive to tank).

I swear the Jazz are going to end up with the #9 and #24 picks in this draft and get only slightly better while a bunch of teams get future stars. They just don't seem to have enough dedication to the cause since Burke came back. They need to find a new way to lose a lot more games pronto.

[NinerUte]

Looking worse and worse for one of the top few picks, but the lottery is the lottery, and they could still end up in good shape. The Jazz need to ship Jefferson, he is not doing us any long term favors.

[concerned]

If only the Jazz could show some consistency, and play every night against all the tanking contenders like they did tonight against Milwaukee. But they are a young team; they have to develop team chemistry to put it together every night like they did tonight. But what a start, against the number 1 seed.

[Senioritis]

Today is the day! After a super duper exciting season where everybody stopped caring in, uh, about December, the Jazz finally learn their draft fate tonight.

I think there are two possibly very good outcomes tonight. First, the Jazz pick fourth or better and get somebody really good. Or second, the Jazz get leapfrogged by the Celtics and Lakers, pick a shmarmy Euro at 7, the fanbase goes into absolute meltdown over the rigged draft, the Jazz hire Jim Boylen, the Seventh Seal is ripped open by the vortex of misery created, and humanity as we know it ceases to exist.

While option one is preferable, I think it's pretty clear to see the entertainment value of option two. Either way is good.

[Scratch]

Today is the day! After a super duper exciting season where everybody stopped caring in, uh, about December, the Jazz finally learn their draft fate tonight.

I think there are two possibly very good outcomes tonight. First, the Jazz pick fourth or better and get somebody really good. Or second, the Jazz get leapfrogged by the Celtics and Lakers, pick a shmarmy Euro at 7, the fanbase goes into absolute meltdown over the rigged draft, the Jazz hire Jim Boylen, the Seventh Seal is ripped open by the vortex of misery created, and humanity as we know it ceases to exist.

While option one is preferable, I think it's pretty clear to see the entertainment value of option two. Either way is good.

Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling!Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes!The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!

[Senioritis]

Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling!Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes!The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!

I have seen $#!+ that would turn you white.

[Senioritis]

To overcome my anxiousness for tonight and draft night, I decided to skip the rigamarole and play the ESPN Lottery Game just once.

The Jazz will pick 5th. They will draft Noah Vonleh.

That is not option one nor option two. I want my money back.

[Scratch]

I have seen $#!+ that would turn you white.

Are you, Senioritis, menstruating right now?

[Senioritis]

To overcome my anxiousness for tonight and draft night, I decided to skip the rigamarole and play the ESPN Lottery Game just once.

The Jazz will pick 5th. They will draft Noah Vonleh.

That is not option one nor option two. I want my money back.

Damn you, ESPN Lottery Game! Damn you to hell!!

[concerned]

I know, I was loving your two scenarios. I don't see Noah Vonleh in the cards, thought. Aaron Gordon or Julius Randle.

I'm not a huge Jazz fan, but I pull for them. It's inexcusable that they decided to tank and then didn't tank well enough.

Hey it takes a year of experience; very few climb to the top (or bottom) their first time out. Sign Hayward to a max contract, start him Favors and Kanter Burke and Burks, and we will have a top three pick. Next year is our year. We could even have the beginning of a tanking dynasty, though it is hard to achieve Cleveland's heights (or bottoms).

[Applejack]

Oh man, the nba is so rigged. It's always trying to help out its marquee franchises, like the Cleveland cavaliers.

[UBlender]

Just looked at a Yahoo mock draft:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/2014-nb...021401275.html

Realizing that this really is a deep draft. Sure, there's a clear top 4, but Aaron Gordon, Julius Randle, Marcus Smart, and I guess even Noah Vonleh are no consolation prizes. There's actually a chance one of those guys ends up the best player out of the draft. You can't say that most years.

The second four of Gordon, Randle, Smart and Vonleh all project as good players, but they are on par with what the Jazz already have on the roster in Favors, Hayward, Burks, Burk and Kanter. Sure they help but only marginally and none of them are taking you to more than a first round playoff exit (and that's in a few years when they have all hit their ceiling--best case scenario).

Although, there's probably a likelihood, despite current projections, that one of those second four is a bust, two are solid players and one turns out to be a star (like this year's Paul George). It's the Jazz job to identify the one that is going to be a star. Even with a new regime in charge, I have a sinking feeling they won't get it right.

[concerned]

If Burke had just missed that game winning shot in Feburary against Orldando, we would have tied with them, and with a coin flip would have had the foruth pick. (I assume there would have been a coin flip even though we would have lost the season series).

[concerned]

There have been some great no. 5 picks.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8...ft.html?pg=all

[UBlender]

It's random. Nobody knows who the star will be. If we knew, that star would be among the Parker, Wiggins, Embiid, Exum group.

It seems probable that someone in the Gordon/Randle/Smart trio ends up much better than anyone currently on the Jazz. I don't think you could have said that about the past few drafts.

That's only if there was a consensus on who that star was. Teams feel like they see something different in prospects all the time. That's how you end up with Anthony Bennett going #1 when nobody else thinks he's the best player. A lot of times it goes bad (I mean, usually the "crowd" is more likely to be right than the lone dissenter) but occasionally you get the right guy and end up looking like a genius.

That said, I agree on the probability that one of the next four (I'm including Vonleh) ends up really good and that's where one would have to hope the Jazz are smart enough to figure out which one.