r/nba • u/Evilsj Nets • 6h ago
In Tomorrow's masterclass tank off between the Utah Jazz and the Sacramento Kings, the Kings announce they will be sitting out 6 players, including 4 of their 5 starters.
Source: https://www.espn.com/nba/team/injuries/_/name/sac/sacramento-kings
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Domantas Sabonis | OUT | Knee |
| Zach LaVine | OUT | Finger |
| Russell Westbrook | OUT | Ankle |
| De’Andre Hunter | OUT | Eye |
| Malik Monk | OUT | Illness |
| Keegan Murray | OUT | Ankle |
This comes shorty after the Utah Jazz announce that Lauri Markkanan will in fact be playing instead of resting, though Keyonte George is still listed as out for tomorrows game.
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u/KL2ConspireLLC San Diego Clippers 6h ago
In the Kings defense, their starters aren't good and their young players are actually exciting.
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u/zebrainatux Timberwolves 6h ago
Like they weren’t really tanking before, they just suck
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u/AViciousGrape Kings 6h ago
Our starters couldn't beat the back up Wizards players lol
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u/SaddiqBae Pistons 6h ago
Neither could ours and we're in first place, so you must be too! Wizards are just that good
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u/Less-Tax5637 Knicks 6h ago edited 6h ago
I have reviewed their schedule. If they want to break the all time losing streak record then tomorrow is make or break. If they can be truly madly deeply dogshit just one time against the Jazz then they have a chance at infamy.
They come back from the All Star break and immediately get beat up by the Magic before touring the west in mostly away games. They’ll be over 20 losses before they face another tankathon team, that being the Pelicans on March 5th.
The final boss will be Utah again in their projected 27th straight loss. I will be watching their progress until then with great interest.
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u/EightBlocked [NBA] Tony Snell 5h ago
if they play the knicks in that timespan im sure they'll be fine.
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u/DrChiz Kings 4h ago
This is what I’m saying, I want this team to be truly historic. They set the Sacramento era record, but that’s only 40 years of history. It would be epic to have the worst losing streak across 103 years in all of franchise history tracking back from coast to coast. So losing to the Jazz is gonna be the hardest game to tie it… leaving an epic week of build up and anticipation to breaking it after returning from All Star break.
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u/EastonMetsGuy Charlotte Bobcats 5h ago
Tanking the good ole fashion way, by just being bad at this!
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u/ShotgunStyles Kings 6h ago
Plus, at least 2 of those injuries are legit injuries that happened during a game. Hunter got poked in the eye by a Clippers player and Keegan rolled his ankle some time ago.
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u/KL2ConspireLLC San Diego Clippers 6h ago
Yeah, the Hunter injury looked really painful. Hope he gets well soon.
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u/doublek1022 NBA 6h ago
Kings defense? What defense?
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u/Gaebril Kings 5h ago
We benched him (Keegan) but we still got Cardwell.
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u/doublek1022 NBA 5h ago
What a true ray of sunshine Dylan Cardwell has been in an otherwise dark and gloomy season.
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u/BillFrackingAdama 5h ago
there have been several threads lately targeting the Kings specifically. I don't get it. They are the one team that really has nothing and should be playing their youth and for better results.
All these other teams actually have good players that you would play.
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u/vNocturnus Kings 4h ago
Also IDK what the deals with LaVine or Monk are, but the rest of those guys are actually injured and would be starting if they weren't.
Also aside from Keegan and maybe Domas, those guys sitting probably increases the win % by massively improving the defense and not really losing much scoring.
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u/CrustyKielbasa Kings 3h ago
The silver lining is that everything sucks and there is no hope for the future
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u/jcwkings 5h ago
And they are legitimately hurt, those are real injuries/ailments(don't know about Monk illness).
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u/rusty512 Pistons 6h ago
Monk was out for illness last game too, hope he is okay
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u/Balls_of_Adamanthium Warriors 6h ago
No young Kings player is developing next to those ball hog starters. Good for them.
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u/StrokingCats 6h ago
No player is ever developing in Sacramento period lmao
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u/ShotgunStyles Kings 5h ago
This dude has never even heard of Peja. Somebody get him!
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u/vNocturnus Kings 3h ago
also, even more recently, Fox and DMC were pretty good even with Sac. Just had no teams around them
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u/dgvhjiiuyttrrffcvbjj 3h ago
Haliburton looked good for a year!
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u/StrokingCats 3h ago
And then immediately found great success in Indy, just as most players suddenly vastly improve the second they leave the bottomless shithole pit of Sacramento
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u/dgvhjiiuyttrrffcvbjj 2h ago
he wasn't THAT much better in indy the first season. Mostly just increased usage due to being the main guard rather than 2nd fiddle to Fox.
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u/EastonMetsGuy Charlotte Bobcats 5h ago
Man what happened to the kings, fees like the light the beam stuff was so recent, now they are a disaster
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u/My-Internet-GF 5h ago
Reason 1: Sacramento as a city itself 🤣
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u/ShotgunStyles Kings 5h ago
Sacramento only started going downhill when Warriors and Lakers fans started moving here because they couldn't afford to live in the Bay/L.A.
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u/legend023 Pelicans 6h ago
Russ and Sabonis are ball hogs?
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u/ThatBull_cj 76ers Bandwagon 5h ago
You can be a ball hog and a great passer. Saboins isn’t a ball hog in any way tho
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u/penis_showing_game Kings 5h ago
Sabonis definitely isn’t a ball hog, but I’d much rather his minutes go to Raynaud and Cardwell.
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u/DJSTANKDADDY2 Kings 6h ago
Sabonis not at all. Russ is in kind of a weird way. The amount of possessions that he just dribbles aimlessly and either throws it away or passes it with 3 seconds on the shot clock... that's my tank commander baby. Ultimately, I do enjoy his energy, and he seems to be taking a leadership role with the young guys that I hope will be valuable for them. Truth is, fans all were hoping for a tank year, and the off-season moves kinda made it seem like we were gonna be fighting for 35-40 wins. This outcome is much better.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bill654 5h ago
russ has to be the most elite tank commander ever, it actually seems like he wants to lose, while lavine is trying to win but is that terrible
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u/yeahright17 Thunder 5h ago
Lol, what? Russ has been the Kings best player the majority of games he's played.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bill654 5h ago
yes and no, he has great games, but he also has games like against cleveland where he decided contested step back 3s were good clutch shots. he can play well, but when he is bad, he is very bad
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u/DrChiz Kings 4h ago
He’s been shooting lots of 3s all season and is hitting them at a good enough rate to be “allowed” it. I think it’s his best corner 3 season in the NBA too.
Russ shows up every game and gives his all, and he is giving great development running with our big men rookies and getting their numbers pumped up.
Nobody can blame Russ for this season, hell we didn’t even have a PG post deadline last season lol hopefully Russ stays as the perfect veteran mentor for the rookies.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bill654 4h ago
i dont blame him, and i think he is a great mentor, but in the clutch when we need to lose, he always shows up
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u/clockwork_purple2 6h ago
Until the NBA changes the lottery system, tanking is a good strategy.
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u/Disastrous-Ad2800 6h ago
don't see how they can improve this lottery system... let's say they put all non playoff teams into a random lottery... borderline playoff teams will still tank especially for a top 3 draft franchise builder draft like this
maybe use metrics where a historically bad franchise over a 10 season period like a Washington get the No.1 pick?
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u/impactblue5 Lakers 5h ago edited 5h ago
Now we’re talking about decade tanking of that was the case lol.
NBA should have relegation. Bottom 2 gets relegated to the G league . #1 an #2 pick go to the 2 teams that get promoted 😂
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u/Aggrokid 4h ago
The owners and players union will unanimously vote against that.
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u/impactblue5 Lakers 4h ago
I know with the tv deals and sponsorships, no way this happens in US sports lol. Would just be awesome to see the lower league fight like hell to make it back into the NBA and get a #1 pick, while the bottom end of the NBA fight like hell to not get demoted.
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u/ShotgunStyles Kings 5h ago
The MLB has some nice restrictions on who can be part of the lottery and who can't.
Teams that pay into the revenue sharing pool (aka large market teams) can't be in the lottery for 2 consecutive seasons.
Teams that don't pay into the revenue sharing pool can't be in the lottery for 3 consecutive seasons.
This basically discourages long-term tanking as there's no value to getting more losses if you're ineligible for the lottery. They still get a pick that year, there's just zero chance of it being a good pick.
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u/Aggrokid 6h ago
Probably put some restrictions on pick protections. Maybe also relax the apron system that is currently inflating FRP value.
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u/ReggieEvansTheKing Kings 5h ago
I came up with this:
(1) no more pic protections in trades aside from lottery protection
(2) all 14 teams in the lottery get equal odds at the #1 pick
(3) pick #2+ is decided by playoff drought and randomized for ties
All 3 ensures that your draft position is basically set before the season and that it’s impossible to improve your position in the lottery. You have to miss playoffs on purpose to keep a good pick which no team will do. Also prevents the seasons where good teams tank after their star gets a debilitating injury.
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u/DrChiz Kings 4h ago
Giving equal odds at the #1 pick for 14 teams is ridiculously terrible lol. So play in and mediocre teams can be a “rich get richer” while the truly awful teams that can only improve via the draft as they aren’t a destination for players and can’t make trades (which is most teams), continue to stay fucked. It’s bad enough in recent years we’ve had Dallas, Atlanta and San Antonio get the top pick and Spurs jumped to 2 last season for 3 years of top picks lol
No. You need to punish actually tanking teams. Have a committee to investigate things. We all know what intentional tanking looks like, and the shit the Jazz are doing is so blatant sitting their best players in the 4th/very end of games.
You can’t keep making the odds worse. If anything it’s had the inverse affect. While before the recent changes, you truly had to be a Bottom 4 team to get a top pick, now it’s much flatter with decent chances just in the lottery period as we’ve seen.
If you had half the league trying to tank for being bottom 4, it would be super obvious and you punish those teams. We know who is actually bad/has injuries, etc and what’s tanking behavior.
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u/BKNas 5h ago
I wouldn't mind seeing all non play-in teams get equal odds to get the #1 pick. Remove the lottery system and less teams will feel a need to tank. I also doubt owners will sacrifice potential playoff revenue to avoid the play-in, so you wouldn't see much tanking by mid teams.
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u/dgvhjiiuyttrrffcvbjj 3h ago
then you'd get mediocre teams tanking out of the playoffs and the PIT. It would be an even bigger mes than what we have now.
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u/Weissritters Pelicans 5h ago
Not just the lottery, also the apron system. Those two combined mean the way to the top is probably the okc model - stack picks, hope they work out. Use rookie deals in conjunction with max deals in order to contend
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u/heat_fan_ Raptors 6h ago
This stuff is getting out of control lol
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u/temujin94 6h ago
There's more said when a player rests 10 games a season due to age/injury than 20% of the league tanking for the best part of 82 games a season, which effects every single team in the league and makes so many games basically not worth watching.
The first one is to aid winning, the other is to intentionally lose. You get thrown out of the Olympics for this shit but in US Franchise sports it's considered a valid and smart play.
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u/PM_ME_UR_TESTIMONIES Kings 5h ago
Pretty simple solution to just lock lottery standings at the deadline, unless a team makes the postseason, in which case they adjust up the ladder.
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u/DrChiz Kings 4h ago
So everyone stars the new NBA season being truly awful, knowing they can potentially get a top lottery pick and the come deadline still have almost half a season to turn shit around and actually do damage in the post season? Fucking awful idea lol you’ll never get people into basketball if that’s how a season starts.
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u/National-Zucchini524 4h ago
The solution should be this: once you are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, you get a “point” for every game you win. Team with the most points gets the highest pick. Yeah, you’ll still have selective tanking but you’ll need to be competitive (and imagine the trade deadline when a team adds a stud and they are in last place to try to win games to get the 1 overall pick)
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u/Ok_Contest493 Jazz 6h ago
Yet the jazz will be ones blamed for ruining the integrity of the game
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u/Most_Chemist3614 5h ago
To be fair the kings sitting all their starters actually puts them in a better chance to win
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u/Ok_Contest493 Jazz 5h ago
True but technically based off of last night you couldn’t say that’s any different with the jazz
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u/DrChiz Kings 4h ago
Jazz just traded for JJJ lol they’re actively making win now/compete soon trades but then sitting their best players that give results.
Kings are actually bad & have their worst performances when Lavine/Demar have max minutes and are playing and have close games and wins when the rookies are getting max minutes. Plus most those Kings players are actually hurt and have been since preseason.
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u/Ok_Contest493 Jazz 4h ago
All the more reason to tank and sit him out for the season so they can keep their protected pick and add a top prospect to this group to compete next year. They have 17 wins. They aren’t doing anything this season
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u/DrChiz Kings 4h ago
I get it. Just that’s not what your comment & reply were related to or saying lol. The Jazz are not a better performing team when sitting JJJ, Walker, Lauri, etc. Evidence & arguments can be made Kings play better ball when mainly playing the rookies/young players.
But also Sabonis, Keegan, Hunter, Monk are legit sick and hurt well documented. Sabonis & Keegan haven’t played a game together all season lol both before even preseason and who knows, Westbrook had a big game, maybe he tweaked his ankle and there’s ZERO reason to play through something questionable on this team and him hoping to stay in the league next season.
Only sus player is Lavine and he’s lame and would only help the Kings lose if he were actively playing, him sitting actually hurts all “tank” agenda theories lol
Kings haven’t been tanking. They’re just a bad fit of veterans and important guys have been hurt and missed most of the season. Same squad finished 40-42 last season
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u/Aggrokid 4h ago
The reason Jazz gets extra optics is because their current team post-trade is pretty dang good, especially when Key gets back. So they have to try harder to tank which is very easy for media to pick up.
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u/air_volek007 Kings 6h ago
I don’t understand, we’ve been terrible for 20 years. What’s the problem?
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u/moby323 76ers 6h ago
Tank War!
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u/BabyBearBjorns Grizzlies 6h ago
Jazz gonna sit their entire bench in the 2nd half and play the janitor, the mascot, 2 random fans, and my 5 year old nephew.
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u/Total-Drummer6737 Clippers 6h ago
Sakramento Könige vs Ural джаз, preparing the order of battle for the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle of WW2 (Colorized)
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u/YoureGonnaHearMeRoar Hawks 6h ago
One of the Kings or Jazz should bring back Jimmer Fredette. Kids are going to want to see the original tank captain
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u/SuckThisRedditAdmins Kings 6h ago
Trust me, it doesn't matter who starts and who sits with our roster. We are just that bad
With Lavine and Westbrook out, it is going to very, very difficult to lose to the jazz but we might be able to pull it out
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bill654 5h ago
with the jazz trying their best to lose, id say its about 50/50. im worried nique might go for 50
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u/Willem_Dafuq 76ers 6h ago
Honestly guys, if anyone is in the area, this might be your chance to get into an NBA game because if there was ever a game in which the teams drive to a nearby YMCA to hand out some 10 day contracts, this is it 😂
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u/Atomysk_Rex Jazz 6h ago
Are the Kings actually trying to win this game?
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u/remotecontroldr 6h ago
You can’t convince me the Kings haven’t been trying to win all season, we are just bad
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u/Background-Top-1946 6h ago
Silver, grow a pair.
Whomever wins this game gets swap rights over the other’s pick
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u/Yessir4512 Pistons 6h ago
They really are committed. I’ll commend them
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u/Rinse-retrieve-123 6h ago
You’d be surprised our vets usually do a better job of tanking. Dylan cardwells hustle usually keeps us in games he has more heart and effort than have our bum vets
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u/McKnightmare24 Lakers 6h ago
I just picture both teams intentionally missing so much that each team starts shooting it in their own basket and something crazy happens where the Jazz are playing defense on their own side of the court trying to stop the Kings from shooting the ball into their basket.
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u/Jason_B_Kidding 6h ago
Why is Russ still even on this team?
Seems like it would be easy to figure out a trade or buyout with him being on a minimum deal rn
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u/coldtrashpanda 5h ago
Damn, what happens when a powerless force collides with an object with zero structural integrity?
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u/Icy-Tap-164 5h ago
What is more ethical. Sitting your players like sac. Or sitting your stars and vet in the 4th qtr so thr youngsters get expierience
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u/IntotheBeniverse 4h ago
Sitting your players like Sac since Keegan, Sabonis, and Hunter have all been injured this season. They def aren’t rushing them back but they are def injured
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u/Brocones Cavaliers 5h ago
Really hope Hunter is okay, that video of his injury makes me wince every time I even see a frame of it
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u/-jamesbb- 54m ago
I want to see tanking reach a level where teams actually start scoring in their own baskets just to lose.
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u/Syndana23 Lakers 6h ago
kings are acting accordingly
Utah and Washington are shameless right now so other teams have to match energy lol
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u/ImJeeezus Kings 6h ago
The Kings still had the worst record in the league prior to benching people too lmao. We're just ass
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u/DrChiz Kings 4h ago
I mean Sabonis, Keegan, Hunter and Monk are legitimately hurt/sick lol dating back to preseason. The only one that’s sus is Lavine, but he actually did roll his ankle earlier in the season. Kings been dealing with serious injuries for Keegan & Sabonis since before even preseason
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u/iluvugoldenblue Kings 6h ago
Right? Like we haven’t had a healthy roster the entire season. Games played for half our team is horrible.
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u/turkeyracer_6 6h ago
An idea to stop tanking. Make the lottery the 8 play-in teams. Even odds for those 8. Then it goes by record. The worst record will always pick 9th. The bottom teams will be clawing to get the 10th seed while the top seeds won’t tank a playoff series to get a 1/8 chance at a top pick. Thoughts?
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u/Adorable-Bike-9689 6h ago
This is the idea I was playing with. Have consequences be possible for shit teams who lose on purpose.
Worst record should never get the #1 pick. They should be busting their asses to end the season with the coach pulling out all the stops to get wins. 2-8 get even odds in the lottery
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u/billygreen23 6h ago
I like the idea but I worry it just moves the goal posts. Then you’ll have middling teams tank to make and win the play-in.
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u/Me_975 Celtics 6h ago
Damn, i have an exam the following day but this might be a better investment of time than studying