01-04-2026, 01:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-04-2026, 01:52 PM by KillerLeft.)
(01-04-2026, 01:32 PM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: Yes. Many of those wins against good teams also happen at home. It is exactly how you'd design a stealth tank. Lose on the road. Lose to bad teams. Give the fans hope with occasional wins against the big boys at home. Stein already told us the goal isn't necessarily top 5 pick as the flat lottery odds give you a shot in slots 6-8.
So, you think they were "stealth tanking" from game 1, then?
Because the things I'm complaining about are the same things I was complaining about all summer, because we could all see them coming. I was told (and essentially convinced, sadly) that it was going to work, not in terms of maximizing the pick, but in being a competitive playoff team. I think you were one of the more optimistic among us at the time from memory, but I don't want to misrepresent your views.
They haven't done much differently recently, other than their 3 point volume plummeting in recent weeks. Reduced minutes from Thompson and completely burying Russel have had something to do with that, but surely nobody is thinking not playing Russel is a means of tanking, and while I could make a strong argument that Thompson has rebounded from his slow start and should be playing quite a bit more, I can also see an argument that his reduced role has played a part in his resurgence. I think it was clear he was removed from the starting lineup because he was playing poorly (at the time), not because he was making the games too close.
My point is that the worst combos/approaches/plans they're putting out there are the same ones I was told were going to be the new way the NBA works, and that they were going to force opponents to match up with them...etc, etc. Now we're suggesting that the very same strategies are only being employed because they want to lose?
Opinions vary, but maybe your stealth tank signs are also just signs of bad teams? To be clear, I think they have to know they're bad enough that making that pick a high one should be a priority, and I expect they'll get to tanking at some point, I just don't think it has happened yet. I think they're wanting to see Kyrie/AD/Flagg together first (thought the record is making it harder for that to matter every day).
And I agree, they do pop up and beat a good team every now and again. They have talent on this team, and as I've always said, "styles make fights." Some matchups are better than others. The 2007 Warriors weren't a very good team, but to the juggernaut Mavericks they were like kryptonite.
At the end of all this, you're going to be correct. If they haven't already, they WILL reach a point where they go all in on losing as many games as possible, so that's not really the conversation I find interesting. It's just a matter of "when," at this point.
What worries me, and why it's even worth talking about: Were Kidd/Finley/Ricardi/whomever over there as deluded as some of us were about how this year would go? Because if they really thought this team would be able to compete as currently constructed, that takes my mind to some depressing places.