Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily, even when COVID has ravaged the league.
I felt like the Thunder had every right to tank but they have not done that.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Alonzo Adams/USA Today.)
I think what I’ve noticed thus far this season, whether it’s by design or not, is that no team seems to be openly tanking.
And I like it like this. I’ve acknowledged that, yes, tanking is a way to get (back) to the top quicker. And that there is no right or wrong way to improve your team. However, if I was running a team, I’d avoid tanking if I could. I don’t want to alienate the fan base and I would risk developing a losing culture in the locker room. Sure, Philadelphia is currently a top team in the East after having a lot of losing seasons but then you have teams like Sacramento and Minnesota that seem to be in purgatory forever. (Yes, Minnesota made the playoffs in 2018 after being absent for 14 years but their star player, Jimmy Butler, bolted halfway through next season.)
It might have taken a pandemic to do it, which sucks. It’s affected nearly every team in the league and we’ve seen teams perform a bit more pedestrian because of it. But it also gave teams that are normally not doing great a chance at the postseason.
This was definitely by design but now we have more teams “qualifying” for the postseason. The #9 and #10 seeds have a chance to get into the tournament by getting play-in games against the #7 and #8 seeds. So in a way, 20 teams now have a chance after the regular season but let’s face it; we hardly have an underdog win the NBA championship. But that’s not the point; the point is to give teams more of an incentive to compete.
Some teams that are doing poorly still have a shot at the play-in game as the league has moved past the halfway point. Orlando is the second-to-last team in the East but they’re still only 4 games behind the 10th seed. The Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans are #12 and #13 in the West but they’re still only 4 games behind the 10th seed as well.
So the NBA has something here. More teams seem to be competing and teams don’t seem to be tanking as much. Especially with the lottery odds now being lessened for the worst team as the THREE teams with the worst records now have the same odds for getting the #1 pick. I’ll have to get used to something like this with the play-in games but if it lessens tanking, then sure. I’ll catch a grenade for them.
Bullet Passes
Remember that Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are still sitting out due to those protocols that started during the All-Star break. But they still have Tobias Harris doing damage as well as an old-school performance from Dwight Howard. They’re still a PRETTY DEEP team.
The Bucks humbled the heck out of New York. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double (24-10-10) while Julius Randle was shut down with only 7 points to his name.
Not the streak the Warriors was looking for. The Clippers smashed them and G. State has now lost four in a row.
The Pelicans continue to disappoint. Sure, Zion Williamson had a nasty dunk but the Pels lost by 30 to the TIMBERWOLVES.
Dallas had a four-game win streak snapped due to a schedule loss. Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis (yeah, I know) sat out the tail end of a back-to-back. Oklahoma City Thunder continue to surprise.
Did you know the Phoenix Suns would be #1 in the East with that 25-11 slate? Good grief.
The Houston Rockets still can’t win a game. They’ve lost 14 straight games.
Kyrie Irving dropped a 40. No Kevin Durant and no Blake Griffin but the Nets continue to win and stay within distance of the #1 seed.
NBA Scoreboard
Mar. 11, 2021
Watch This Play
How do you do, Tony Snell?!
TONY SNELL GAME-WINNING 3 🚨
Hawks win. pic.twitter.com/aF5cVKWLlF
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 12, 2021
That’s three in a row for ATL!
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.