NBA week 6 recap: Tanking thoughts, Blake Griffin and more
The topic of NBA teams tanking and how they do it will be on the forefront soon. But are teams really tanking by deploying their young players?
Every NBA season, the tankathon to stay in the basement of the standings begins earlier and earlier. Some teams head into season with intentions to not fill out their roster to the best of their ability and use up all of their cap space. We’ve seen the word “tanking” become a common word in the NBA over the past couple of seasons, but are these teams really trying to lose on purpose?
The idea behind tanking is simple: Lose or don’t put forth your best effort in terms of roster building while offloading players for cheap contracts and draft picks. The higher percentage of draft picks turns into more ping pong balls at the NBA Draft Lottery and a chance to grab one of the better players at the top of the pecking order. The Philadelphia 76ers were a prime example of this with The Process becoming a full-on movement in Philly.
But the whole tanking idea is being overblown. The players on the roster aren’t trying to lose. In most cases, the franchises are playing their young players extended minutes with veterans. This balance doesn’t make for a lot of wins, but pits unseasoned players with seasoned players to learn how to be a professional and play the right way (depending on the vets).
Another thing is the constant losing is contagious. You’re trying to build a foundation for a culture, so the conversation about tanking and instilling bad habits is not a great place to start from. That’s why the teams at the bottom of the standings are going about it the right way.
The New York Knicks (7-14) are one of the more entertaining teams after everybody thought this would be a lost season with Kristaps Porzingis recovering from knee surgery. But new head coach David Fizdale coaches intensely every night and is developing players like Emmanuel Mudiay, Noah Vonleh and Allonzo Trier into future contributors for the team. The Knicks won’t make the playoffs, but at least they’re competing in close games almost every night.
Even the Cleveland Cavaliers are competing and grabbed consecutive wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets last week. Collin Sexton is in an expanded role now, averaging 19.1 points over his last eight games, but is playing with a veteran Tristan Thompson every night and surrounded by veterans in the locker room.
The Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns are a tough team on any given night as well. The point is, don’t root for tanking. Cheer for player development and having the right coach and management team in place. That’s what is important to building a culture for new draft picks to come in and reach their potential.