NBA Playoffs 2018

[JNort]

It is a huge improvement IMO, if only for the sake of creating a situation where there are more teams actually trying to win. All we're asking for is more competitive games. But like you say, people will always try to game the system. However, at least it would be blatantly obvious when a team is eliminated from the playoffs and then suddenly their entire rotation is revamped and guys on the injury report are miraculously healed in time for a run at the #1 pick. There are probably ways to punish this in the most obvious cases.

But regardless of appearances, I think it would be much harder to accomplish this than you are making it out to be. If you haven't been playing your best rotations, and keeping veterans on the bench for most of the season, you aren't going to suddenly have a great team on your hands. Those guys won't have the chemistry and timing of teams who have been playing together the whole season. It's hard to win in the NBA, especially if more teams are actually trying to win, as would be the case in this scenario. Transforming a bottom feeding season in to a huge win streak would be nearly impossible.

It's definitely a flawed plan, but I think it is certainly an improvement over the current system. I think relegation is the best solution, but unfortunately, it's not an option currently.

I suppose my counter would be that they might would play those guys a little more during your short tank session just to get some chemistry. Or perhaps the vets and better guys play more in tough games they don't think they will win (like against GS) to maximize effort while still most likely losing.


Either way I just think it would be more exciting watching a playoff contender actually having to show up against the Suns who are fighting for draft seeding. Also as someone said above, perhaps it would be easier catching these teams in out right tank mode or at least punish them.





*What if teams just start getting fined or penalized if they have under a certain amount of wins? So 1 win under 25 wins is just a fine but 3 years in a row under 25 wins you lose your draft pick.

[moonpie23]

dubs pretending to play lazily....waiting on rockets to think they can win....lol

[darthur]

dubs pretending to play lazily...waiting on rockets to think they can win...lol

Heh, just an absolutely wretched quarter by the Warriors. They're good, but not good enough to come back from this I think...

When the Warriors lose, they do lose big sometimes.

[JNort]

Heh, just an absolutely wretched quarter by the Warriors. They're good, but not good enough to come back from this I think...

When the Warriors lose, they do lose big sometimes.

Warriors got this. 14 point lead isn't much considering how they play.

[darthur]

Warriors got this. 14 point lead isn't much considering how they play.

I hope you're right!

They certainly have room to improve over that, but 14 points in a half against Houston is still a tall order even if they play well in the second half.

[moonpie23]

warriors got the rockets just where they want them....going into the 4th qtr...

[A-Tex Devil]

Cool to see PJ Tucker hang in the league as long as he has. He's been a huge addition to the Rockets this year.

If the Rockets hang on tonight, I think and hope this will be one of those series where we overreact to the outcome of each game, and then have a great game 7.

[LasVegas]

The warriors are pushing people all over the court. Dang! Looks like I’m watching hockey. Impressed by the rockets but no way they take the series.

[JNort]

The warriors are pushing people all over the court. Dang! Looks like I’m watching hockey. Impressed by the rockets but no way they take the series.

Yup this is over. They are just being lazy now

[A-Tex Devil]

Zaza is in. Dantoni better empty the bench to avoid a sprained/broken ankle from a key player..

[darthur]

Pure domination by the Rockets all game. Hopefully the Warriors respond well at home.

I do think this year's team is not as invincible as you all think, especially since post-MCL-sprain Curry in 2018 looks kinda like post-MCL-sprain Curry in 2016, but we'll see.
I also think the Rockets really are extremely good, even better than their record indicates.

[moonpie23]

my reverse jinx worked well...got Quinn in and got draymond mad...

we'll see oif the rockets can do anything even close to this again....

[dudog84]

The baseball "reserve clause" died with the Andy Messersmith arbitration hearing, way back in 1975. The other sports never had that right. Baseball right was due to a Supreme Court ruling in 1922 that baseball was exempt from the Sherman Antitrust Act. Majority opinion was written by Oliver Wendell Holmes.

I was trying to make the point there's really no solution to this, everything would have a fatal flaw. I'm well aware of the reserve clause history, baseball was my favorite sport in the 70s (before I was exposed to Duke basketball!). Players (across all sports) are criticized if they go for the money, and are criticized if they take less money to pursue a ring. Life ain't fair for them or the fans, but I think the players ($$$$$$) get the better of it.

[Billy Dat]

Cool to see PJ Tucker hang in the league as long as he has. He's been a huge addition to the Rockets this year....Dantoni better empty the bench to avoid a sprained/broken ankle from a key player..

I agree about Tucker. Due to name (and somewhat, game) similarity, I always mix him up with former Wisconsin player Alando Tucker who basically never played in the NBA and the Pack's former star, TJ Warren.

As for the chippy-ness, it was all over the court. I was pretty shocked to see Durant straight up shove Hardin out of bounds in the 4th. Obviously, a lot of that CHIP comes from Chris Paul, who really is a punk a lot of the time...classic love-when-he's-on-my-team-hate-otherwise dude.

Tying Tucker and Paul together, Paul's insane yo-yo dribble where he froze 3 defenders on the break and hit Tucker in the corner for a 3 was a fake I have never seen before. As he fakes a pass to Tucker, he instead power spin dribbles the ball with so much english that it comes right back and THEN he fires the ball into the corner. It made me YELP as I watched it (see below)

https://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tw...30324801212416

Pure domination by the Rockets all game. Hopefully the Warriors respond well at home.

I do think this year's team is not as invincible as you all think, especially since post-MCL-sprain Curry in 2018 looks kinda like post-MCL-sprain Curry in 2016, but we'll see.

THIS. Curry is not "right". Hmmm...

[UrinalCake]

Great win by the Rockets but I don’t think it’s sustainable to have their role players shoot that well, especially on the road. Exciting series, I hope it goes to 7. One of the aspects you don’t get in college ball is seeing how teams adjust from game to game when they play each other multiple times. The losing team makes adjustments, the other team counters, and over seven games the better team wins. The college format is such a crapshoot.

[ncexnyc]

That was a surprising game. It was nice to see CP3 and Hardin let their fellow Rockets participate in the game.

Taking it to Curry seems to be a sound strategy as he seems to be the weak link in the W's defense.

[JasonEvans]

Curry is not "right". Hmmm...

Anyone who listens to the podcast knows that I was saying several weeks ago that Curry was more hurt than the Warriors were letting on. It was just a gut feeling of mine, but if true then the Rockets have a real shot in this series.

My favorite way to fix tanking was one I saw a few years ago. I'll try to explain it simply.

Basically after you're officially eliminated from the playoffs every win after that counts as a point and whomever has the most points at the end of the season gets the top pick or the best odds in the lottery. It would make for better end of seasons as playoff contenders whom are fighting for seeding or that 7 and 8 spot have to go against the bad teams that are really intent on winning for draft seeding.

So, at first blush I loved the simplicity of this idea. It allows the worst teams -- the ones who get eliminated first -- the most games to try to win games and get a good lottery pick. Really clever! But, then I realized one flaw in it... if a team is truly awful, not just tanking and pretending to be bad, then they will have trouble winning games even after they are eliminated and will not get a good draft pick as a result. They get stuck in a trap of having no talent and not getting a chance to draft good talent. That troubles me a lot. Still, there is a lot to like about something like this. I would not mind at all seeing it implemented.

-Jason "Good call, JNort!!" Evans

[camion]

Anyone who listens to the podcast knows that I was saying several weeks ago that Curry was more hurt than the Warriors were letting on. It was just a gut feeling of mine, but if true then the Rockets have a real shot in this series.




So, at first blush I loved the simplicity of this idea. It allows the worst teams -- the ones who get eliminated first -- the most games to try to win games and get a good lottery pick. Really clever! But, then I realized one flaw in it... if a team is truly awful, not just tanking and pretending to be bad, then they will have trouble winning games even after they are eliminated and will not get a good draft pick as a result. They get stuck in a trap of having no talent and not getting a chance to draft good talent. That troubles me a lot. Still, there is a lot to like about something like this. I would not mind at all seeing it implemented.

-Jason "Good call, JNort!!" Evans

How about 'reverse relegation' as an add on to this? If a team is in the bottom three record-wise two years in a row they get relegated to a top three pick.

[Acymetric]

How about 'reverse relegation' as an add on to this? If a team is in the bottom three record-wise two years in a row they get relegated to a top three pick.

I like that idea, but I think that is a little too generous and the "reward" needs to be lowered (and/or the bar set higher). Otherwise now you've just heavily incentivized multi-year tanking (even more so than the previous system).

[moonpie23]

a lot of that CHIP comes from Chris Paul, who really is a punk a lot of the time

draymond.jpg