And just like that...

[offset formation]

If Suns lose to Fakers tonight -- Spurs not only having recently moved up to an 8th seed -- will have a 3 game or more lead in the loss column on all teams below them.

Not that 8 seed is Spurs worthy by any means, but just a week or two ago, most Spur fans were feeling like our chances were slim to none to climb back into the playoff picture. Now we own three in the loss column on all 9 and below.

Who knows where we end up but clearly, a 6 or even 5 seed is feasible. As is a 13 or 14 for that matter.

Amazing how quickly things turn.

[Dex]

The bottom of the West is awful. It was only a matter of time before the numbers regress to the mean...

Still don't know how Dallas and OKC have done as well as they have, tbh...

[Dverde]

I’d rather have the 8th pick than 8th seed with this team. You gotta get up to 5th seed to have a chance at LOB.

[RD2191]

:lol

[TimDunkem]

Oh God :lol

[slick'81]

This team is what its pretty much been the last two seasons, a 7/8th seed

[DPG21920]

Spurs are so damn lucky that POR is massively under achieving and GS was decimated by injury

[cjw]

Spurs are so damn lucky that POR is massively under achieving and GS was decimated by injury

Massively underachieving or reverting back after years of overachieving? Bad contract after bad contract finally caught up with them. When it’s a debate between Whiteside and Melo as to who’s your third best player (and your number two is purely a scorer)...

[baseline bum]

Spurs are so damn lucky that POR is massively under achieving and GS was decimated by injury

What's lucky about it? It might keep them out of the lottery in a year where they have a bad team that could really use the help.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Spurs have the toughest January schedule in the NBA, so that 8 seed might just be in jeopardy before the month is over...although they are playing better the last few weeks.

[offset formation]

Massively underachieving or reverting back after years of overachieving? Bad contract after bad contract finally caught up with them. When it’s a debate between Whiteside and Melo as to who’s your third best player (and your number two is purely a scorer)...

Yep. Nurkovic is a damn good player though. Too bad he's injured for them.

I've seen LMAget beat before but Nurko was the only player I've ever seen move LMA through physical force. He makes them a much more dangerous team.

[weebo]

Tank for a better pick.

[Sugus]

Yes... Yes! Sneak into the playoffs, get that 23rd appearance record, then get matched with either LA team for a sweeping, back-breaking loss that wakes up the inept, sleeping FO to the hard ceiling that are LMA and DD as the team's stars. Make some moves in the off-season to offload contracts, maybe take on some salary for picks, and you're set. Plenty of years left to tank... All according to the plan so far, tbh.

[ZeusWillJudge]

The Spurs are 3 1/2 games out of 7th place... and 4 games out of 14th. It's a magical season.

[poopbox]

Massively underachieving or reverting back after years of overachieving? Bad contract after bad contract finally caught up with them. When it’s a debate between Whiteside and Melo as to who’s your third best player (and your number two is purely a scorer)...

Portland has two starters and a key backup guy hurt...

If Collins, Nurkic, and Hood were all healthy they would be higher up in the standings...

[Chucho]

The bottom of the West is awful. It was only a matter of time before the numbers regress to the mean...

Still don't know how Dallas and OKC have done as well as they have, tbh...

Really?? That's either bias or just a stupid take regarding Dallas.

They have the best young player in the league by far. Porzingis is absolutely brilliant in his return and Rick Carlisle is a top 3 coach basically every year. There's more to it, but that's why they're doing well

OKC, tho, is doing better than most thought.

[Chucho]

Tank for a better pick.

Yeah, because that has worked for...who?



Aside from Golden State, what other team has succeeded in a tanking strategy the last 30 years and the strategy paid dividends for a substantiated amount of time?

Second round bounces for Boston and Philly are even more laughable considering how much money they devoted to trading and signing other max-level players to get to those bounces.

If there was no lottery, I could understand the philosophy, but given the odds in the lottery and how rare a truly stacked class is in the NBA draft, tanking is for inept GMs and stupid, desperate fanbases.

[tholdren]

The bottom of the West is awful. It was only a matter of time before the numbers regress to the mean...

Still don't know how Dallas and OKC have done as well as they have, tbh...
Its all awful. How can anyone over 12 watch the nba?

[rascal]

Yeah, because that has worked for...who?



Aside from Golden State, what other team has succeeded in a tanking strategy the last 30 years and the strategy paid dividends for a substantiated amount of time?

Second round bounces for Boston and Philly are even more laughable considering how much money they devoted to trading and signing other max-level players to get to those bounces.

If there was no lottery, I could understand the philosophy, but given the odds in the lottery and how rare a truly stacked class is in the NBA draft, tanking is for inept GMs and stupid, desperate fanbases.

The Spurs

[Shakril]

Yeah, because that has worked for...who?



Aside from Golden State, what other team has succeeded in a tanking strategy the last 30 years and the strategy paid dividends for a substantiated amount of time?

Second round bounces for Boston and Philly are even more laughable considering how much money they devoted to trading and signing other max-level players to get to those bounces.

If there was no lottery, I could understand the philosophy, but given the odds in the lottery and how rare a truly stacked class is in the NBA draft, tanking is for inept GMs and stupid, desperate fanbases.

You are absolutly right. It makes no sense to tank. I rather see a Playoff Series, even if it is a loss, than some ping pong Balls which could give the Spurs a decent enough player to work with.

[RC_Drunkford]

I don't care if the Spurs have an 3 game advantage, they have to get an over 0.500 record. Anything below that is a huge disappointment and should result into some big trades

[offset formation]

I don't care if the Spurs have an 3 game advantage, they have to get an over 0.500 record. Anything below that is a huge disappointment and should result into some big trades

It's really just noteworthy more than anything else, how quickly they not only jumped back into the playoffs but how quickly it became a 3+ game lead in loss column. As I mentioned, Spurs could just as easily find themselves back in the 14 spot -- in another 2 weeks.

And truthfully, the next 10 games is pretty brutal. They'll be lucky to earn a 5-5 record, and just tread water, so getting back above .500 will be a tough row to hoe, anytime soon or at all.

[emmo]

Yeah, because that has worked for...who?



Aside from Golden State, what other team has succeeded in a tanking strategy the last 30 years and the strategy paid dividends for a substantiated amount of time?

Spurs

[GusT15]

The Spurs are the 2nd worst team on the road in the Western Conference (following the tanking Golden State Warriors).

Coming soon...

https://i.ibb.co/bPhzXrt/rsz-sch1.jpghttps://i.ibb.co/bJ6L9bM/rsz-sch2.jpghttps://i.ibb.co/k0WqQMq/rsz-sch3.jpg
But someone just had to make this thread...

[emanueldavidginobili]

January is going to be tough, OKC has won 7 of 8, back to back games verse the Bucks and then the Celtics those are the first 4 games of the new year.

[JeffDuncan]

The Spurs are the 2nd worst team on the road in the Western Conference (following the tanking Golden State Warriors).

Coming soon...

https://i.ibb.co/bPhzXrt/rsz-sch1.jpghttps://i.ibb.co/bJ6L9bM/rsz-sch2.jpghttps://i.ibb.co/k0WqQMq/rsz-sch3.jpg
But someone just had to make this thread...


I was hoping the Spurs schedule included the Mad Ants, the Blue Coats, and the Springfield High School JV, but heck, it's all NBA teams.

[Chucho]

Spurs

LOL, yeah, we got lucky twice. It wasn't a strategy. Our best player that year was a washed up Dominique Wilkins.

[GusT15]

I was hoping the Spurs schedule included the Mad Ants, the Blue Coats, and the Springfield High School JV, but heck, it's all NBA teams.

Yes,that was exactly the point i was trying to make.

We're playing some NBA teams over the next 3-4 months.

It wasn't that we have a top5 tough remaining schedule.
It wasn't that we may have an even worse RRT than last year.
It wasn't that we may soon be-not just out of the playoff picture-but bottom 3 in the Conference....

It was that we're playing NBA teams ...

[Prime BEEF]

Yes,that was exactly the point i was trying to make.

We're playing some NBA teams over the next 3-4 months.

It wasn't that we have a top5 tough remaining schedule.
It wasn't that we may have an even worse RRT than last year.
It wasn't that we may soon be-not just out of the playoff picture-but bottom 3 in the Conference....

It was that we're playing NBA teams ...
Cheers. Well done. Hahaha

[ZeusWillJudge]

The Spurs


Uh-oh. You tossed in a fact. That's going to get avoided like the plague. :lol

[NASpurs]

The Spurs are the 2nd worst team on the road in the Western Conference (following the tanking Golden State Warriors).

Coming soon...

https://i.ibb.co/bPhzXrt/rsz-sch1.jpghttps://i.ibb.co/bJ6L9bM/rsz-sch2.jpghttps://i.ibb.co/k0WqQMq/rsz-sch3.jpg
But someone just had to make this thread...


Those 5 AM games are going to be brutal. Fucking Silver.

[couchman]

One reason we may never see the Spurs actually tank is that they are a small market team and they need to fill seats and get those extra playoff game revenues to continue to compete financially in the league.
Teams in larger markets can tank and absorb some of those lost revenues more easily.
For that reason alone I expect the Spurs to always be a team that tries to "win now," even when they don't look like a title contender.

It is worth remembering that while we are not a legit title contender this year, we do have NBA history to chase.
If we get to the playoffs for a 23rd year in a row that will set a new NBA record.
Why not add that to this storied franchise's list of accomplishments?

Go Spurs Go!

[ZeusWillJudge]

I don't care if the Spurs have an 3 game advantage, they have to get an over 0.500 record. Anything below that is a huge disappointment and should result into some big trades


If you go all the way back to Nov. 22, the Spurs have played above .500 ball. (They were 9-8 in that stretch.) Above .500 is a 42-win season. That should get them into the playoffs, but it should also result in some big trades.

The Spurs have the 18th highest team salary this year, which is about how they're playing I guess. But they also have the 11th most committed for next season, and two or three of the ones with more committed are so close that it doesn't matter. Basically in a 4-way tie for 8th most committed salary next season. What are they going to do with that that is going to move the needle? (And I know as I type this that about 98% of the people will totally miss the point.)

[JPB]

Uh-oh. You tossed in a fact. That's going to get avoided like the plague. :lol

You want facts:

1. that was 20 years ago in the 19th century and an era where a couple of stars + a bunch of role players was enough, and you were siging them for their whole career or at least prime years.

NBA has "slightly" changed ever since and the construction of a contender is way more compicated and subject to a lot of variables like players who can leave and fuck up your whole master plan because of their Uncle or whatever... Players have taken over power in the NBA, teams had it 20 years ago.

2. How many other cases can you name? Cos I can give you a giant list of tanking and failing teams. Or maybe you think that one example 20 years ago, for an all time great, generational player we might never see again, will prove your point occulting all the counter-examples ever since?

Fact is there's absolutely no guarantee you'll succeed faster tanking (=playing to lose) than doing it the right way. The only guarantee you'll got is you'll suck big time (and maybe for a long time if your pick is a bust or get injured..)..

Even LA, that sucked many years, piling up bad "top" picks don't owe their return to grace to tanking but to Lebron choosing Hollywood for his business to finish his career. If he picks NY or whatever, they're fucked and AD probably don't even accept to go there.

And anyway, who the fuck does want to watch and wish his team to lose? I don't and don't care if it worked once in the 20th century...

3. Last but not least, and precisely (and ironically) because of that Duncan guy and a couple other dudes, spurs have built a certain history and culture of excellence and success you might wanna laugh at but that represent something for (some) of their fans, that PO streak symbolizing it.

Look how people are disconcerted and sarcastic because spurs are fighting for a 8th spot while fans from other teams will celebrate it and call it an achievement... We're are demanding and used to excellence and it should stay like that.

We are the freaking spurs. Good day, bad days keep pounding the rock and doing your best.

[emmo]

You want facts:

1. that was 20 years ago in the 19th century and an era where a couple of stars + a bunch of role players was enough, and you were siging them for their whole career or at least prime years.

NBA has "slightly" changed ever since and the construction of a contender is way more compicated and subject to a lot of variables like players who can leave and fuck up your whole master plan because of their Uncle or whatever... Players have taken over power in the NBA, teams had it 20 years ago.

2. How many other cases can you name? Cos I can give you a giant list of tanking and failing teams. Or maybe you think that one example 20 years ago, for an all time great, generational player we might never see again, will prove your point occulting all the counter-examples ever since?

Fact is there's absolutely no guarantee you'll succeed faster tanking (=playing to lose) than doing it the right way. The only guarantee you'll got is you'll suck big time (and maybe for a long time if your pick is a bust or get injured..)..

Even LA, that sucked many years, piling up bad "top" picks don't owe their return to grace to tanking but to Lebron choosing Hollywood for his business to finish his career. If he picks NY or whatever, they're fucked and AD probably don't even accept to go there.

And anyway, who the fuck does want to watch and wish his team to lose? I don't and don't care if it worked once in the 20th century...

3. Last but not least, and precisely (and ironically) because of that Duncan guy and a couple other dudes, spurs have built a certain history and culture of excellence and success you might wanna laugh at but that represent something for (some) of their fans, that PO streak symbolizing it.

Look how people are disconcerted and sarcastic because spurs are fighting for a 8th spot while fans from other teams will celebrate it and call it an achievement... We're are demanding and used to excellence and it should stay like that.

We are the freaking spurs. Good day, bad days keep pounding the rock and doing your best.

All day, every day.

[ZeusWillJudge]

Look how people are disconcerted and sarcastic because spurs are fighting for a 8th spot while fans from other teams will celebrate it and call it an achievement... We're are demanding and used to excellence and it should stay like that.

We are the freaking spurs. Good day, bad days keep pounding the rock and doing your best.

Oh... you're a philosopher. Sorry, I did't recognize it right at first. Here's a little news flash, Plato. WE are not the freaking Spurs, and you aren't pounding that fucking rock. You're one of those who somehow think the "virtue" of your favorite team applies to you personally. The rock is a mataphor (Google it) for constant incremental improvement. The Spurs were able to do that for almost two decades because their rock had a foundation of the great Timothy Theodore Duncan - who, not coincidentally, they got exactly the way we're talking about. And the Spurs have been in a state of constant incremental decline since he retired. Something has to change, or nothing is going to change.

You may be happy with a perpetual .500 record, and sneaking into the playoffs just because some other fans woudl be happy with that. But the grownups are talking about how the Spurs can be more than that, in the shortest amount of time.

Now... go away and think, then come back and sputter something deep and philosophical at me. All the best philosophers were Greek, and they got their best material from me.

[sananspursfan21]

I did a “Start from today” NBA 2K20 simulation where the Spurs finished 4th seed lol. I mean, it coooouuuld happen :lol

[John B]

It's really just noteworthy more than anything else, how quickly they not only jumped back into the playoffs but how quickly it became a 3+ game lead in loss column. As I mentioned, Spurs could just as easily find themselves back in the 14 spot -- in another 2 weeks.

And truthfully, the next 10 games is pretty brutal. They'll be lucky to earn a 5-5 record, and just tread water, so getting back above .500 will be a tough row to hoe, anytime soon or at all.
Spurs play down to the competition, but somehow rises to better teams, i.e. Clippers, Rockets. I think they are capable of playing well if properly motivated.

[BackHome]

Yeah, because that has worked for...who?



Aside from Golden State, what other team has succeeded in a tanking strategy the last 30 years and the strategy paid dividends for a substantiated amount of time?

Second round bounces for Boston and Philly are even more laughable considering how much money they devoted to trading and signing other max-level players to get to those bounces.

If there was no lottery, I could understand the philosophy, but given the odds in the lottery and how rare a truly stacked class is in the NBA draft, tanking is for inept GMs and stupid, desperate fanbases.

Umm it worked for us how do you think we got David Robinson and Tim Duncan?

[Chucho]

Umm it worked for us how do you think we got David Robinson and Tim Duncan?

We didn't use tanking as a strategy in 97. Robinson suffered the injury that hampered him the rest of his career and our best player was a Dominique Wilkins...and it still came down to luck. Stinking it up for a lottery ticket isn't a sound strategy and the teams who have literally been utilizing it for long strides of time haven't been successful and/or lucky. Too many variables to consider it a sound strategy.

[RC_Drunkford]

I'd still like for this team to upgrade either the starting SG or starting PF. They have to make a trade, even if they want to keep DeRozan. You just can't survive with Trey Lyles and Bryn Forbes in the starting line up

[offset formation]

We didn't use tanking as a strategy in 97. Robinson suffered the injury that hampered him the rest of his career and our best player was a Dominique Wilkins...and it still came down to luck. Stinking it up for a lottery ticket isn't a sound strategy and the teams who have literally been utilizing it for long strides of time haven't been successful and/or lucky. Too many variables to consider it a sound strategy.

Especially now that the weighting has changed so much, even from before.

[exstatic]

Spurs

People say that all of the time, but it’s just not true. SA set a then record for player games missed with like 278. David started the season out with issues caused by playing in the olympics, and then broke his foot after only a few games, and was out for the year. Sean missed half the season. Those were the two All Star caliber players. Avery missed like 3/4 of the season, and then almost fucked things up when he returned by winning some games, and leaving us with only the 6th worst record.

[exstatic]

We didn't use tanking as a strategy in 97. Robinson suffered the injury that hampered him the rest of his career and our best player was a Dominique Wilkins...and it still came down to luck. Stinking it up for a lottery ticket isn't a sound strategy and the teams who have literally been utilizing it for long strides of time haven't been successful and/or lucky. Too many variables to consider it a sound strategy.

Forget about the fact that THERE ARE NO TIM DUNCANS OUT THERE, AND NEVER WILL BE AGAIN.

[ZeusWillJudge]

The Spurs are 3 1/2 games out of 7th place... and 4 games out of 14th. It's a magical season.


And now they're 4 1/2 games out of 7th place, and 4 games out of 14th. They're closer to the 7th pick than the 7th seed.

[offset formation]

And now they're 4 1/2 games out of 7th place, and 4 games out of 14th. They're closer to the 7th pick than the 7th seed.

Given the next 8 or so, this was a must win. And it was until Pop inexplicably played Forbes while he was getting it pushed in from SG-A.

[ZeusWillJudge]

Given the next 8 or so, this was a must win. And it was until Pop inexplicably played Forbes while he was getting it pushed in from SG-A.


And I'm not trying to jump on you about the thread... I swear I'm not. It's just frustrating as hell to see Bryn getting this many minutes, and I don't think we can get excited when they win a game against the Pisstons, and have to go to O/T to beat GSW. There just aren't enough of those to get into the playoffs.

[offset formation]

And I'm not trying to jump on you about the thread... I swear I'm not. It's just frustrating as hell to see Bryn getting this many minutes, and I don't think we can get excited when they win a game against the Pisstons, and have to go to O/T to beat GSW. There just aren't enough of those to get into the playoffs.

I get that. I tried to make it clear that the post was more so about the pace of change and how quickly we went from being out to fairly solidly in the 8th place, yet it's clearly NOT a concrete status.

[cd021]

There's a great chance the Spurs go 1-5 in their next six games:

@ Mil, Mil, @ Boston, @ Memphis @ Toronto @ Miami,

That would put the Spurs at 15-24 :wow

[offset formation]

There's a great chance the Spurs go 1-5 in their next six games:

@ Mil, Mil, @ Boston, @ Memphis @ Toronto @ Miami,

That would put the Spurs at 15-24 :wow

:yield:yield:yield:yield:yield:yield

[rascal]

One reason we may never see the Spurs actually tank is that they are a small market team and they need to fill seats and get those extra playoff game revenues to continue to compete financially in the league.
Teams in larger markets can tank and absorb some of those lost revenues more easily.
For that reason alone I expect the Spurs to always be a team that tries to "win now," even when they don't look like a title contender.

It is worth remembering that while we are not a legit title contender this year, we do have NBA history to chase.
If we get to the playoffs for a 23rd year in a row that will set a new NBA record.
Why not add that to this storied franchise's list of accomplishments?

Go Spurs Go!

Nobody cares about playoff years in a row other than Spur fans.

[rascal]

We didn't use tanking as a strategy in 97. Robinson suffered the injury that hampered him the rest of his career and our best player was a Dominique Wilkins...and it still came down to luck. Stinking it up for a lottery ticket isn't a sound strategy and the teams who have literally been utilizing it for long strides of time haven't been successful and/or lucky. Too many variables to consider it a sound strategy.

You are in denial. The Spurs clearly tanked the last month of the season as I was hoping they would at the time. Robinson could have played the last month or so of the season. Every win hurt their chances of getting Duncan so they had no incentive to bring Robinson back. Tanking that year was the smart move with Duncan being a franchise changing player on the table.

[rascal]

Forget about the fact that THERE ARE NO TIM DUNCANS OUT THERE, AND NEVER WILL BE AGAIN.

But there will be franchise changing players in upcoming drafts, not necessarily this draft. The Spurs build through the draft. They are not the Lakers who can get the best players through free agency or forced trades, outside of the draft. So it is going to take getting into the lottery at some point for the Spurs to get good enough talent to get them back on track to get back into the title hunt mix again.

[slick'81]

And just like that,3 game lead has vanished

[timtonymanu]

Blazers are currently in the 8th seed again.

[Killakobe81]

Really?? That's either bias or just a stupid take regarding Dallas.

They have the best young player in the league by far. Porzingis is absolutely brilliant in his return and Rick Carlisle is a top 3 coach basically every year. There's more to it, but that's why they're doing well

OKC, tho, is doing better than most thought.

Porzingis brilliant he has been up and d own all year... LUKA is the truth and RC can coach his ass off

[ZeusWillJudge]

5 1/2 games out of 7th place. 3 1/2 games out of 14th place.

[TrainOfThought5]

Yeah, because that has worked for...who?



Aside from Golden State, what other team has succeeded in a tanking strategy the last 30 years and the strategy paid dividends for a substantiated amount of time.

tanking for that Tim Duncan guy turned out pretty well, I’d say.

[offset formation]

5 1/2 games out of 7th place. 3 1/2 games out of 14th place.

Yep, and just like that...

That loss to OKC is going to come back to hurt them.

[spurspl]

Yeah, because that has worked for...who?



Aside from Golden State, what other team has succeeded in a tanking strategy the last 30 years and the strategy paid dividends for a substantiated amount of time?

Second round bounces for Boston and Philly are even more laughable considering how much money they devoted to trading and signing other max-level players to get to those bounces.

If there was no lottery, I could understand the philosophy, but given the odds in the lottery and how rare a truly stacked class is in the NBA draft, tanking is for inept GMs and stupid, desperate fanbases.

spurs (admiral, duncan) , philly ( long process but it pays off now they r a contender and will be for a couple of yrs), lakers ( used high drafted players to bring AD and guess what? they r contender), dallas ( doncic - maybe a future goat), cavaliers ( drafted high kyrie and wiggins who was traded to make space for lbj and won a chip twice)....

[spurspl]

Nobody cares about playoff years in a row other than Spur fans.

sad but truuuu

[Collins21]

spurs (admiral, duncan) , philly ( long process but it pays off now they r a contender and will be for a couple of yrs), lakers ( used high drafted players to bring AD and guess what? they r contender), dallas ( doncic - maybe a future goat), cavaliers ( drafted high kyrie and wiggins who was traded to make space for lbj and won a chip twice)....

Man Philly sucks and is no where near a contender Both their high draft picks are heavily flawed, immature and injury prone. They will not win a championship in the next ten years you can book that.

[offset formation]

Man Philly sucks and is no where near a contender Both their high draft picks are heavily flawed, immature and injury prone. They will not win a championship in the next ten years you can book that.

Agreed. Bet Brown gets canned this summer. Last year was the closest they'll ever come.

[ZeusWillJudge]

Man Philly sucks and is no where near a contender Both their high draft picks are heavily flawed, immature and injury prone. They will not win a championship in the next ten years you can book that.


The problem with all of you people who keep citing stuff like that is that it doesn't mean shit. Portland got the #1 pick and took Greg Oden - with Kevin Durant sitting there.

Just because some other teams have done stupid things it doesn't mean that the Spurs would have to follow suit. When teams tank and then piss off the pick, or fuck up their rosters with bad trades, that doesn't prove that tanking doesn't work. It proves that those teams were poorly managed. Hell, look at the great rosters that the Knicks built around Kristaps. If the Spurs FO is half as good as people believe, it's a game changer.

[Collins21]

The problem with all of you people who keep citing stuff like that is that it doesn't mean shit. Portland got the #1 pick and took Greg Oden - with Kevin Durant sitting there.

Just because some other teams have done stupid things it doesn't mean that the Spurs would have to follow suit. When teams tank and then piss off the pick, or fuck up their rosters with bad trades, that doesn't prove that tanking doesn't work. It proves that those teams were poorly managed. Hell, look at the great rosters that the Knicks built around Kristaps. If the Spurs FO is half as good as people believe, it's a game changer.

Ok I'm talking about the 76ers tell me who they could have drafted in 14 and 16 that were better than Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid that would have them in championship contention?

[spurspl]

The problem with all of you people who keep citing stuff like that is that it doesn't mean shit. Portland got the #1 pick and took Greg Oden - with Kevin Durant sitting there.

Just because some other teams have done stupid things it doesn't mean that the Spurs would have to follow suit. When teams tank and then piss off the pick, or fuck up their rosters with bad trades, that doesn't prove that tanking doesn't work. It proves that those teams were poorly managed. Hell, look at the great rosters that the Knicks built around Kristaps. If the Spurs FO is half as good as people believe, it's a game changer.

agree

[ZeusWillJudge]

Ok I'm talking about the 76ers tell me who they could have drafted in 14 and 16 that were better than Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid that would have them in championship contention?

First of all, they COULDN'T have gotten better picks than those two at 14 and 16. You pretty much proved my point. Tanking to get a 1 and a 3 pick isn't what made the Sixers bad. The point is, they got two franchise players and STILL fucked things up. That's mismanagement. If you don't think that the Spurs' FO can manage any better than that, then they're going to suck whether they tank or not.

I'm not going to write a book on Sixers recent draft history - they've handled business like kids in a fantasy league. How about drafting Mikal Bridges at 10, and then turning right around and trading him for Zhaire Smith and later pick? They're addicted to "the process", and can't get down to "the business" of building a team. I notice you didn't want to talk about the Knicks. :lol

Rebuilding doesn't have to be a long-term disaster, and a high draft pick will always be the best and most consistent way of acquiring a franchise player.

[Prime BEEF]

What a wonderful blessing this season is for spurstalk. The pop apologists get to bask in the glory that is the GOAT and get to experience another year of awe inspiring coaching and in game adjustments of a confident pop trying to win every game. And the pop haters and tanking supporters get to watch a losing season culminating in a lottery pick. A win-win for everyone! Yay!

[HarlemHeat37]

The Lakers actually wouldn't be the worst matchup, the Spurs might not embarrass themselves if they get 8th(no chance of winning, though). They can't shoot 3s consistently, no athleticism on the wings, they don't have the guards to exploit Forbes and Marco. Danny struggles to defend DeRozan and Aldridge always holds his own against Davis IIRC.

That's if the Spurs can even get there, of course. It's a battle of trash teams for 8th:lol the Grizzlies might emerge as kings of the dump.

[paperboy77]

And just like that Forbes is starting again.

[ZeusWillJudge]

Now 5 games out of 7th, and 3 games out of 14th. With fewer and fewer games left to make up the gap.

[offset formation]

Now 5 games out of 7th, and 3 games out of 14th. With fewer and fewer games left to make up the gap.

The number of available spots might already be closing on us as Memphis finds its stride. They're more athletic and play with more desire. It will be tough to pass them.

OKC looks solid enough to battle until the end, especially with SG-A playing the way he is.

That leaves a very narrow opportunity to sneak in with unexpectedly better play than what has thus far been demonstrated. Or a significant injury to one of the teams ranked about 5th and below currently on the WC playoff list.

IOW, it's going to be tight.

Might be time to get what we can for Demar while he's playing out of his mind.

[ZeusWillJudge]

The number of available spots might already be closing on us as Memphis finds its stride. They're more athletic and play with more desire. It will be tough to pass them.

OKC looks solid enough to battle until the end, especially with SG-A playing the way he is.

That leaves a very narrow opportunity to sneak in with unexpectedly better play than what has thus far been demonstrated. Or a significant injury to one of the teams ranked about 5th and below currently on the WC playoff list.

IOW, it's going to be tight.

Might be time to get what we can for Demar while he's playing out of his mind.


Dead on. Plus what promises to be an especially brutal RRT.

[Kobe'sAchilles]

You are in denial. The Spurs clearly tanked the last month of the season as I was hoping they would at the time. Robinson could have played the last month or so of the season. Every win hurt their chances of getting Duncan so they had no incentive to bring Robinson back. Tanking that year was the smart move with Duncan being a franchise changing player on the table.
I mean tanking for a month isn't really considered tanking in today's game. The 76ers tanked for years. Tanking nowadays basically starts in January.

[Sugus]

Now 5 games out of 7th, and 3 games out of 14th. With fewer and fewer games left to make up the gap.

Yeah, it's looking pretty solid right now for us missing the PO. Memphis has been playing great ball with no signs of slowing down, OKC prefers giving their young players some playoff burn instead of tanking, and everyone else is obviously out of reach.

The worst thing is that, for the Spurs to catch up, they would need to do something Pop has been beyond adamant at doing this season - mix things up. Starting Forbes clearly isn't working. Playing him 30m isn't working either. Putting Marco on the court at all hasn't either. Not pairing DJ and White limits their ceiling and the team's defensive ceiling. Playing Poeltl so little even when LMA is having off games is a travesty. And so on...

[itzsoweezee]

Lol

[ZeusWillJudge]

Now only a game and a half out of 11th.

[Prime BEEF]

Now only a game and a half out of 11th.
I think 11th is where we end up

[Genovaswitness]

hilarious to see this sniffer thread down in flames

[ZeusWillJudge]

And just like that - tied at 10th with New Orleans. Could easily be in 11th, a game behind the Pelicans tomorrow night.


Tank Spurs Tank!

[HarlemHeat37]

And just like that - tied at 10th with New Orleans. Could easily be in 11th, a game behind the Pelicans tomorrow night.


Tank Spurs Tank!

Pelicans should comfortably finish ahead of the Spurs, they're a much better team.

Minnesota is probably too far behind to catch them, though.

SA will be competing with Sacramento and Phoenix the rest of the season for the 11-13 seeds.

[paperboy77]

Leave it to Pop to go down in flames... with his vets playing heavy minutes.

[offset formation]

hilarious to see this sniffer thread down in flames

No sniffing. I acknowledged a flameout was entirely possible as well. Reread you fucking ass eating SOB.

[ZeusWillJudge]

No sniffing. I acknowledged a flameout was entirely possible as well. Reread you fucking ass eating SOB.


Don't confuse me with that asshole. I'm not blaming you for making the thread. My biggest fear back when you started it was that they were going to finish 8th and have the worst of both worlds - a first round exit, and a midrange draft pick. Hopefully now they have enough sense to go after the best pic they can still get.

It a shame they didn't recognize it soon enough to get a really good pick, AND to get rid of some dead wood before the trade deadline so they could start building the future now.

[Harry Callahan]

There is a heavy deadwood quotient on this team right now. Net deficit players who cannot even keep in front of their man. A pathetic collection of players that don't fit well together at all. Totally frustrating.

[Genovaswitness]

No sniffing. I acknowledged a flameout was entirely possible as well. Reread you fucking ass eating SOB.

Sniff sniff sniff sniff