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With the lottery system, tanking is no guarantee like it is in the NFL.
Spurs were lucky to get Duncan. But luck is part of the game.
SI has this article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...html?eref=sihp
Basically giving us the biggest W-L drop off in sports. The writer brings up the Spurs 96-97 season. He did not come strait out and accuse the Spurs of tanking. However, he did bring up IF they did tank then it would have been the greatest crime in pro sports history.
It made me think about two things. One is are we always going to be associated with the whole tanking to get Tim Duncan thing? I knew we had no hope of sniffing the playoffs after D-Rob went down and found myself hoping that we would have a good chance of getting the number one pick that year. I remember that it was basically between the Spurs and Denver as far as second worst record in the league (Vancover could not get the first pick becaus they were still under the expantion rule if I remember).
Denver had a ten game losing streak going into their final regular season game against Dallas. If Denver were to loose that game, then we would have been tied with them record wise and head to head it was also tied at 2-2. I remeber reading in the express news that Denver would have had the better chance of winning the lottery because they had a worse conference record. Well, Denver won that game and I remember reading that they just wanted to end the seaon with a win.
The spurs final ten games were against 8 playoff teams that year. http://www.basketball-reference.com/...997_games.html
We beat the Lakers in LA minus shaq but still. We actually beat Denver at Denver and were compe ve in the final two home games against the Suns and Rockets. But seriously, how can you be expected to win games with this line up?
Starters:
Vinney Del Negro
Carl Herrera/Charles Smith (sometimes)
Dominique Wilkins/Monty Williams (sometimes)
Greg Anderson
Avery Johnson
Bench:
Cory Alexander
Will Purdue
Vernon Maxwell
Jamie Feick
If the Spurs really were tanking don't you think they would have tanked that Denver game and making sure they were not to close in those final few games?
The second thing is if Denver did lose out and we ended up with the fifth pick, do we still take Tony Battie, maybe take a chance on T-Mac or would Pop have traded the pick? At the time our biggest holes were at PF and SG.
Imagine if this had happend? This team would be totally different. Whose to say we still would have a team here? Whose to say that after a few years of suffering we got lucky in 2003 and drafted LeBron but to have him leave here and break our hearts......yea I am stretchingbut just throwing that out there.
Maybe no matter what, Tim was meant to be here and it would not have mattered if we had the first or fifth pick. We should just feel pretty blessed/fortunate that things fell the way they did. It makes me savor this season and past oneseven more
With the lottery system, tanking is no guarantee like it is in the NFL.
Spurs were lucky to get Duncan. But luck is part of the game.
I more or less agree with that. Duncan had his opportunity to leave to go to Orlando or really anywhere he wanted but instead he chose to stay in SA.
Yup. The city of San Antonio has been pretty spoiled by having one of the best eras any major sports team has seen. The amount of success the Spurs have had isWe should just feel pretty blessed/fortunate that things fell the way they did. It makes me savor this season and past ones
They butthurt
We stacked
You know why they don't about any other teams that tanked and got a lottery pick?
None of them won any championships.
the haters!
what happened happened and couldn't have happened any other way.
Lucky also means going through the season relatively injury free.
It's all part of the game.
First of all, with the Spurs still in San Antonio, four championships and the best power forward of all time, I say "thanks for tanking". If Popovich twirled his mustache and put a Gilooly on Robinson's ankle while he slept, hindsight tells us it was the best move of his hall of fame career.
Second, the Spurs did tank that season. Nobody got rushed back from injuries during a dreadful season. Therefore, they weren't doing everything in their power to win every single game. Poll the coaches and GMs of the league and ask if they're going to sacrifice a hall of famer in the prime of his career for a terrible season. Pop already had one hall of famer carrying the team that year.
Third, none of this is relevant. The Spurs got not just the first, but the first AND SECOND ping pong balls the lottery, meaning there's no ing way anyone else was going to get Duncan.
Yeah, losing a franchise player had nothing to do with it. We all see how well that worked out for Cleveland this season.
And who had the best chance of winning the lottery that season? That's right, the Celtics. And they are still bitter about it. And didn't Ryan Gomes out the Celtics for tanking a season a few years later? (In case you've forgotten: Gomes attracted the attention of the national media for comments he made following a Celtics' loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on April 13. Neither Gomes nor starting point guard Rajon Rondo played in the game's final, decisive minutes. After, Gomes said, "I probably (would have played), but since we were in the hunt for a high draft pick, of course things are different.")
Some people don't want to believe that a team would intentionally tank games to get a better shot at a lottery pick. But it was really hard to come to any other conclusion after those last few games. Gomes' was young and stupid for commenting publicly, but he was in position to know what was going on. True or not, it was very believable. And the league office had a minor meltdown about it. But they refused to do an inquiry into the way those late games were coached.
Funny how history gets all... twisty after some time passes.
Well, the key injuries in 96 were legit for the most part. Once it was clear the season was lost there would be no point rushing anyone back and risking more injuries. You can't really complain about that.
Whats funny is that other than Tim, Chauncey Buh-buh-buh-billups and TMac the 97 draft was pretty bad as far as available talent goes. Its funny seeing Antonio Daniels in there at the 4th pick.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_NBA_Draft
We tanked. I'm fine with it. I hope we do it again and get similar results.
I had never heard this. Is this really the case?
Yes. It's three separate drawings for the top 3 picks, all with the same odds. The Spurs number came up for both the 1st & 2nd picks.
Since we're speaking in hypotheticals, I'd say trading an All-Star for scraps through a back-door deal is a bigger crime.
Very cool. Thanks.
Just like selling a dead bird to a blind kid.
Perhaps, but when one comes along I sure as wouldn't turn it down.
Obviously missed the Pao Gasol reference.
If the Spurs did tank, they did a ty job - both Vancouver and Boston lost 5+ more games.
Really, that team was built with a bunch of veteran role players surrounding Robinson expecting him to carry them as far as they can go. David's back goes out, and you're left with the Human Highlight Phlegm as the team's best player.
and Rick Pitino took the job in Boston thinking Duncan was basically a done deal.
Got the reference, but might have missed on who bart was saying committed the crime.
The only way you can really claim a team featuring a 37 Wilkins intentionally lost games is if Robinson could have come back and Pop sat him anyway. I remember that season and those teams played their asses off for Pop. they stayed in games for 48 minutes they just did not have the firepower to seal the deal on either end of the court.
The thing is that Pop has shown a tendency to err on the side of caution concerning injury his entire coaching career.
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