Can I just say that I'm sick and tired of the press [aka ESPN] calling out the Jazz for tanking?

MTS said:

Know what else is blatantly throwing a basketball game, to an even more egregious degree?

Never playing your starters at all

"B-bu the perception" we're talking about reality, not perception. Perception would only be relevant if the NBA was actually going to punish the Jazz, which they are not. Because they know they can't. Because they know they wouldn't have a leg to stand on to punish a team for resting its starters in the 4th while letting teams sit their starters wholesale.

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I 100% agree what you said here and your entire case of playing stars for less minutes vs not playing them is both smart and super solid.

However the outrage against us still has some ground left to stand on. Its the fact that we have the best team out of all bottom feeders, and better team than about 10 other teams that currently stand with a better record.

I think the optics of having Lauri, Key and JJJ and simultaneously losing most of your games isnt sitting right with these people. Its the eternal "can you tank with Lauri" raised to 3rd degree.

MTS said:

Know what else is blatantly throwing a basketball game, to an even more egregious degree?

Never playing your starters at all

"B-bu the perception" we're talking about reality, not perception. Perception would only be relevant if the NBA was actually going to punish the Jazz, which they are not. Because they know they can't. Because they know they wouldn't have a leg to stand on to punish a team for resting its starters in the 4th while letting teams sit their starters wholesale.

Click to expand...

I 100% agree what you said here and your entire case of playing stars for less minutes vs not playing them is both smart and super solid.

However the outrage against us still has some ground left to stand on. Its the fact that we have the best team out of all bottom feeders, and better team than about 10 other teams that currently stand with a better record.

I think the optics of having Lauri, Key and JJJ and simultaneously losing most of your games isnt sitting right with these people. Its the eternal "can you tank with Lauri" raised to 3rd degree.

HermanG said:

I 100% agree what you said here and your entire case of playing stars for less minutes vs not playing them is both smart and super solid.

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You know perfectly well that's not what he really meant. His case is what it is and it doesn't need any glazing.

This isn't about some imaginary scenario where Lauri and JJJ play a nice, balanced game of 28 minutes instead of 38 but everyone's still "trying to win".

This is about desperately trying to argue that in-game shenananigans like pulling all your starters in the 4th quarter in order to lose is ok.

"But but but it's basically just giving those guys less minutes!!"

LOL.

Tremendous Upside said:

You know perfectly well that's not what he really meant.

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It is exactly what I meant.

Tremendous Upside said:

This isn't about some imaginary scenario where Lauri and JJJ play a nice, balanced game of 28 minutes instead of 38 but everyone's still "trying to win".

This is about desperately trying to argue that in-game shenananigans like pulling all your starters in the 4th quarter in order to lose is ok.

"But but but it's basically just giving those guys less minutes!!"

LOL.

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I've told you multiple times that nobody's claiming the Jazz are trying to win. I've even said multiple times that tanking is lame.

It's a comparison between tanking methods, and why getting extra pearl-clutchy over playing starters some minutes instead of no minutes is extremely stupid.

Nowhere is it endorsing either method.

Hopefully the point has been sufficiently spoonfed to you.

It may be extremely stupid or something, but what the Jazz did clearly touched a nerve. And anyone could've said, as I said, that doing what the Jazz did, was playing with fire.

No-one is out to get the Jazz.

And trying to somehow make it that the Jazz are in fact more ethical, moral, whatever... Well, that's clearly not gonna fly. We've seen that.

The Wiz sending Trae and AD home didn't really hold anyone's interest for more than seconds. Of course they did. And of course AD is injured, he couldn't play five games for the Mavs when they were really, really, really trying.

Whereas what the Jazz was so flagrantly on everybody's screens in a completely different way than the Wiz putting out a press release that AD is out.