The Nuggets last second loss to the Spurs has thrown the entire conference/seedings

[ArbitraryWater]

*in turmoil

What a shitshow.


Horrific stuff.

I honestly dont want them to win the title this year anymore..


Bitch asses cant even maintain their seed for a proper playoffs picture/gauntlet.

****ing chumps.

[ArbitraryWater]

Duffy Pratt:

Impossible to understand last night’s loss to the Spurs. Even if you discount the Nuggets complete lack of defense down the stretch, what were the Spurs doing? By winning the game they moved from 3rd to 5th in the draft? Did Pop think that was a good idea? Of course, Pop would never deliberately tank, right??? So what was he doing?

Good insights Duffy!

[ImKobe]

Wemby is a generational player, there's nothing much you can do. They had the game until he scored those 17 points in 3 minutes and completely changed the momentum. This draft isn't great anyway so there isn't another Wemby to tank for if you're looking at it from SA's POV, they weren't trying to tank the game they already have a high lottery pick secured.

[Duffy Pratt]

Wemby is a generational player, there's nothing much you can do. They had the game until he scored those 17 points in 3 minutes and completely changed the momentum. This draft isn't great anyway so there isn't another Wemby to tank for if you're looking at it from SA's POV, they weren't trying to tank the game they already have a high lottery pick secured.

Over a ten year period:

3rd Pick — Evan Mobley, Lamelo Ball, RJ Barrett, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jamil Okafor, Joel Embiid, Otto Porter and Bradley Beal.

5th Pick from the same drafts — Jalen Suggs, Isaac Okaro, Darius Garland, Trae Young, D’Aaron Fox, Kris Dunn, Mario Hezonja, Dante Exum, Alex Len, Thomas Robinson.

Look at the difference between those lists and tell me that dropping from 3rd to 5th doesn’t matter. In every single one of these years, the 3rd pick is significantly better than the 5th. The only one that’s close is Barrett/Garland. And yes, I agree that the Spurs were not trying to tank this game, but they should have. The difference between a third and a fifth pick in the NBA is much bigger than most people would think.

[90sgoat]

There's a bunch of euros in the draft, so nr. 5 might still land you a good player if the rest go with americans.

[Duffy Pratt]

There's a bunch of euros in the draft, so nr. 5 might still land you a good player if the rest go with americans.

Yeah, and you might get the best player in the world in the second round. But that doesn’t make it a good strategy. You don’t see a lot of teams jockeying for the 41st pick.

[tpols]

Over a ten year period:

3rd Pick — Evan Mobley, Lamelo Ball, RJ Barrett, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jamil Okafor, Joel Embiid, Otto Porter and Bradley Beal.

5th Pick from the same drafts — Jalen Suggs, Isaac Okaro, Darius Garland, Trae Young, D’Aaron Fox, Kris Dunn, Mario Hezonja, Dante Exum, Alex Len, Thomas Robinson.

Look at the difference between those lists and tell me that dropping from 3rd to 5th doesn’t matter. In every single one of these years, the 3rd pick is significantly better than the 5th. The only one that’s close is Barrett/Garland. And yes, I agree that the Spurs were not trying to tank this game, but they should have. The difference between a third and a fifth pick in the NBA is much bigger than most people would think.

Jokic was taken at 41, Giannis at 15, Kawhi at 15, SGA at 11, etc. Even Steph Curry and Klay were taken outside top 5. There's plenty of talent available after top picks. A lot of it isn't even just scouting it's development.

[ImKobe]

Over a ten year period:

3rd Pick — Evan Mobley, Lamelo Ball, RJ Barrett, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jamil Okafor, Joel Embiid, Otto Porter and Bradley Beal.

5th Pick from the same drafts — Jalen Suggs, Isaac Okaro, Darius Garland, Trae Young, D’Aaron Fox, Kris Dunn, Mario Hezonja, Dante Exum, Alex Len, Thomas Robinson.

Look at the difference between those lists and tell me that dropping from 3rd to 5th doesn’t matter. In every single one of these years, the 3rd pick is significantly better than the 5th. The only one that’s close is Barrett/Garland. And yes, I agree that the Spurs were not trying to tank this game, but they should have. The difference between a third and a fifth pick in the NBA is much bigger than most people would think.

And in a lot of these drafts the top picks went bust as well. Spurs have a history of drafting and developing great players that didn't go top 3 in the lottery.

A win against the defending champs is a huge confidence booster for those young guys and means more to the team than a lottery pick. They already have Wemby and they have the pieces and the opportunity to build a great team around him.

[Duffy Pratt]

And in a lot of these drafts the top picks went bust as well. Spurs have a history of drafting and developing great players that didn't go top 3 in the lottery.

A win against the defending champs is a huge confidence booster for those young guys and means more to the team than a lottery pick. They already have Wemby and they have the pieces and the opportunity to build a great team around him.

Might agree with that if it were mid-season. A confidence builder on the second to last game of the season is meaningless.