Just think about this, Dallas was what last year? Did anybody outside Dallas think they would beat LA, OKC and Miami? I can see the Dallas posters making this type of posts as well last year: "Dirk is soft and Kidd is old" "How can we beat the Heat when we don't even have a franchise star?!" "Why make the playoffs, our team is so old? Tank!" "Cuban throwing money around and spinning in mediocrity" Fact is we don't know what'll happen in the playoffs. We don't even know what'll happen at the deadline, I'm guessing a consolidation trade happens which gets us a star to upgrade one of the starter positions (Danny Granger?). I think playing to win is better than tanking.
Neither do I, but sometimes life forces bitter losses down one's throat and there's nothing one can do but to take it again and again and finally swallow.
Should? Maybe. Will it, though? FALSE! Spurs tanked HARD to get Duncan.... Unless you think multiple championships is a terrible, terrible thing? It's like greenies in baseball back in the day.....it was not talked about, but everyone knew it was going on. Tanking is no guarantee though....the *cough*lottery*cough* was put in place to detour the tankers. Does it stop them? eh.....*shrugs*
Spurs did this because their center was injured in that year. What can the rockets do to tank a game right now? Just try to injure Lowry during the practice?
Actually.....it was well known that Robinson COULD have played, but the Spurs held him out that year and people were pissed because it was clear that the Spurs didn't play Robinson for the chance to get Duncan. They tanked. Not that it matters at this point, but its true. POINT: not all tankers get bad karma for doing so..
If I remember correctly, the Spurs were pretty much out of any hope for playoffs by the time Robinson could have come back and played. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Robinson_(basketball) http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SAS/1997/splits/ Specifically, Robinson hurt his back in preseason and came back to play on December 10, 1996. By the time of his return, the Spurs were already 3-15 for the year. Robinson played 6 more games until breaking his foot, the Spurs were 3-3 during this stretch, so in sum, they were already in a 6-18 hole by the time Robinson went out. I am not sure when precisely he could have come back, but broken foot is no joke. In any case, if you assume that he could have come back by end of February 1997 (which would be roughly 2-month recovery), the Spurs were already 13-42 at that time. At that time, it's pretty much pointless to try and make the playoffs (and harm both their lotto chances and risk further injuries to Robinson). I am pretty sure that if the Rockets were 13-42 at some point in a season due to, say, injury to Kyle Lowry, they also hold Lowry out of the remaining games rather than risk injuring him in pointless games. Boston Celtics, back when Morey worked for them, kind of did it with Paul Pierce one year when the team stunk and he wasn't healthy.
I think there is a common thread between the people that like to talk about tanking and the people who believe that the NBA has a conspiracy to control the lottery. Does anyone have any evidence of an article or anything supporting this well known fact? Ron Paul and Alex Jones in 2012!!
As if they'd ever admit to that? lol Come on, man! Again.....it's walking and quacking like a duck! Logic would say.....it's a (fill in the blank) And i'm not judging.....just saying that teams do it, and it doesnt make them bad people for trying to improve via the draft... But lets not act like this doesnt go on....'cause it does. Spurs are just a SUPREME case in which tanking works wonders. Wait.....Rox did this too??? Shocker! http://www.reclinergm.com/coin-flip-to-lottery-did-the-rockets-tank-to-get-olajuwon/ Worked out for us, indeed!
You obviously have no idea what tanking is. Tanking is not kicking the ball out of bounds at ALL, so your little analogy about 24 hour fitness is useless. And an organization has never openly admitted about tanking. What are they going to say? "Hey, we're tanking. Wanna buy a season ticket package?" but that does not mean they won't do it. But let's define tanking. Tanking (IMO), is not kicking the ball out of bounds, don't take it so literal. Tanking is playing your younger guys over your veterans (not to be confused with rebuilding, in which vets are traded away for picks). Naturally, since the players are inexperienced and developing, the team will lose more games. But ironically, it is a win-win situation (pun intended). A high draft pick in a loaded draft, plus developing the younger guys to see if they are worth anything. The Grizzlies getting to the second round last year is not related to the Rockets at all. Memphis is young, athletic, and loaded with a core of Gay/Randolph/Gasol. Upsetting the Spurs in the first round was just a stepping stone, and the team has potential. Thus the buzz around their future. The current Rockets? Their MAX is getting knocked out in the first or second round. Hence the frustration, because we are walking on the mediocrity treadmill. Btw, how ironic you misspelled genius
I get what you're saying, but that is not tanking. It's a confluence of events that worked out in their favor. Everybody always uses this as the example but it only worked because they already has a star player on their roster and some very good peices in Elliot and Avery Johnson. It is not proof that it is a winning strategy. It was luck. And that Rockets team didn't tank, they sucked, and it still took a decade of adding other pieces for that to result in a Championship.
BTW, if your decription is "run with the young guys" you do realize we have the second youngest roster in the league?
Smh. Tanking doesn't mean we're looking for a 14 th pick. It means we acknowledge that we're rebuilding, in a short year, in hopes of getting franchise talent. Us rockets fans would not even have playoff appearances without drafting franchise players. Last year made me tired of hoping for our guys to 'win one for the gimpy.'
Because I don't sit there watching games every night hoping they lose so perhaps in 20 years from now they'll have all the stars align and we get our own super team. I would rather watch a winning product all the time. In other words, 1 bird in the hand better than 2 in the air.
What is wrong with you people using the 95 Rockets and last years Mavs as examples of teams that got in the playoffs as non favorites and then won it all. You do realize those teams each had a former MVP in Dream and Dirk. This team does not have a player that can carry them on his back to a ring plain and simple. As far as tanking goes as other people have said it doesn't mean purposely losing it just means accepting that you are rebuilding and getting value for the good older players that you have. Nobody is saying have a fire sale and trade Lowry for peanuts. I personally think it is idiotic that the Rockets have put this same average team on the court 3 years in a row knowing fully what they are capable of. Switching out Hayes for Dalembert might make us a marginally better team but that is an 8th or 7th seed team at best. It's frustrating to see a team you love keep using the same formula over and over again and keep ending up with the same result (14th pick) and we are likely going to be there again after this year.
The Spurs were lucky to land Duncan. Just like the rockets were lucky in getting Yao Ming. Neither team had records worthy of the top pick. In fact, a review of the NBA lottery system history should discourage ideas of tanking: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Draft_Lottery#Lottery_winners You don't have to lose in order to get a superstar in the draft. As shrewd as our front office has been, it's just as likely for us to design a draft day trade in our favor a la how Kobe and Dirk were drafted and traded, or move up to draft the next McGrady or Paul Pierce.
