Some Teams Need to Tank the Rest of the Season

Monday Morning Point Guard
February 23, 2009

As the NBA season continues on, there are a handful of franchises still with hopes of playoff success this year. There are then a chosen few that have realistic chances at winning it all. If you are fan for the other teams that don’t fall in those two categories, you are already looking forward to next season.

I am speaking to you, the fans of the Kings, Wizards, Clippers, Thunder, Grizzlies, Wolves, and Warriors. Most of the Eastern Conference is still mathematically in the playoff hunt, even though whoever gets the No. 8 seed this year will be a sacrificial lamb to Boston/Cleveland/Orlando.

Those teams who after the All-Star break are just playing out the string find themselves in a tough position. In today’s troubling economy, the pressure to put out a winning product is higher than ever, as seen by the 16 coaching changes over the last 13 months in the NBA.

Some teams who find themselves out of the mix to earn playoff revenue this year could find a benefit in tanking, and hoping to score big in the NBA lottery. Now, of course, the message that you could be sending to your season ticket holders and general fanbase is you are pointing to the future.

You also could alienate them, and make them go away as well. This fine line has successfully worked for two franchises in recent memory, the Celtics and Spurs.

I will start with Boston. It was not that long ago that the Celtics, minus two of the "Big 3", were suffering through a horrible 2006-07 season. Boston, who was still coached by Doc Rivers at the time, ended that year at 24-58, and endured an 18-game losing streak that year.

It was around this time of the season back just two years ago, that Boston was faced with a question. With no chance of making the playoffs, the month of March would determine if Boston would have the opportunity to get the most lottery balls in the Greg Oden sweepstakes.

Boston was respectable in the final full month of the season, going 7-8. April was a different story though, as they ended the year 2-8. Of course, Boston did not win the Oden sweepstakes, which wound up a blessing in disguise, as they brought in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, and won the 2007-08 NBA title.

Two big keys in that situation were the Celtics ownership believing in their coach and management, as well as knowing they only needed to add a few pieces to go from lottery bound losers to title contenders.

Of course, the other example is the 1996-97 Spurs. With an aging roster, San Antonio found themselves in a rebuilding mode fast. Gregg Popovich took over, and while the pieces to the puzzle that would eventually lead to four NBA titles over the past 11 seasons were not in place yet, his philosophy and buy in from the management was there.

San Antonio ended the 1996-97 season 20-62, and with a veteran center that was willing to take the sidekick role to the future of the franchise, Tim Duncan.

For fans of the Wizards, who have been hit with the injury bug of their biggest stars this past season, the addition of the likes of a Blake Griffin or Ricky Rubio could electrify the capital once again.

For a team like the Clippers, however, adding another lottery pick may not be enough to turn things around with a group of castaway veterans.

Team To Watch This Week: Portland TrailBlazers

Portland is in the middle of a heated race out in the West for playoff position, and this week will not be easy for them. Over the next seven days, Portland will go head to head against San Antonio twice, Houston, and then travel to Minnesota.

With the Spurs and Rockets also trying to secure playoff spots themselves, expect a playoff-like atmosphere in the Rose Garden. The trip to Minnesota is classic trap game, and if the Blazers don’t watch it, they could see themselves go from a four seed to a seven seed in a week.