The saying "The squeaky wheel gets the grease," is a perfect fit to describe this NBA season. Only problem is that way too many teams are squeaking. Granted, there is a lot of grease (talent) in college basketball right now, but unless you squeak the loudest, you might be out of luck until the next run to the nearest Lowe's or Home Depot for more WD-40.
What else is there to say about the tanking that hasn't already been said? A ton of teams suck this year, a lot of those on purpose, in order to stockpile assets for the construction of a future contender. That's the way the league works. As long as the draft system rewards those who fare worse in the regular season, teams will continue to follow this strategy. It is a difficult task to fairly reward teams who do try to win as many games as they can and to also make the competition as balanced as possible.
Many solutions have been proposed, but my favorite one that I've heard is something they have proposed in the NHL. The idea is that once a team is officially eliminated from playoff contention, you then start to tally how many wins that team has from the time of their elimination until the season ends. The team with the most Wins After Elimination would be rewarded with the first pick of the draft, the team with the second most wins would receive the second pick, and so on. This system not only helps the competitive balance of the league, since it gives the worst teams more chances to accumulate Wins After Elimination, but it would prevent tanking for most of the season, which gives the fans the most competitive basketball for their hard earned money.
Now when your team is eliminated from the playoffs, instead of rooting for them to lose so they can get a draft pick which might not pan out anyway, you can keep rooting for them to win so they can get the same result. Anyway, that's just my opinion on how the draft should operate in the future. It would make each team a lot more fun to watch, no matter how bad you're supposed to be that season.
Without further ado, here is the Week 10 Reverse Power Rankings:
The Contenders:
30. Oklahoma City Thunder (25-5)
29. Indiana Pacers (24-5)
28. Portland Trailblazers (24-6)
27. San Antonio Spurs (24-7)
26. Miami Heat (23-7)
25. Los Angeles Clippers (21-11)
24. Houston Rockets (21-12)
Rest Of The West Playoff Picture:
23. Phoenix Suns (18-11)
22. Golden State Warriors (19-13)
21. Dallas Mavericks (17-13)
Still The Third Best In The East:
20. Atlanta Hawks (17-14)
Gimme Some More Teams Out West:
19. Minnesota Timberwolves (15-15)
18. Denver Nuggets (14-15)
17. New Orleans Pelicans (13-15)
Fine, Gimme Some Teams From The East:
16. Washington Wizards (13-14)
15. Toronto Raptors (13-15)
14. Charlotte Bobcats (14-17)
13. Detroit Pistons (14-18)
Injuries-1, These Teams-0:
12. Memphis Grizzlies (13-16)
11. Los Angeles Lakers (13-18)
Brad Stevens Division:
10. Boston Celtics (13-17)
Starting To Get Their Tank On:
9. Chicago Bulls (11-17)
8. Cleveland Cavaliers (10-20)
7. Orlando Magic (10-20)
6. Brooklyn Nets (10-20)
#RigginForSomething:
5. New York Knicks (9-21)
#RigginForWiggins/Parker/Randle/Smart/Exum/LaVine/Kyle Babcock:
4. Sacramento Kings (9-20)
3. Philadelphia 76ers (9-21)
2. Sacramento Kings (9-24)
1. Milwaukee Bucks (6-24)
By: Dan Goggin
Many solutions have been proposed, but my favorite one that I've heard is something they have proposed in the NHL. The idea is that once a team is officially eliminated from playoff contention, you then start to tally how many wins that team has from the time of their elimination until the season ends. The team with the most Wins After Elimination would be rewarded with the first pick of the draft, the team with the second most wins would receive the second pick, and so on. This system not only helps the competitive balance of the league, since it gives the worst teams more chances to accumulate Wins After Elimination, but it would prevent tanking for most of the season, which gives the fans the most competitive basketball for their hard earned money.
Now when your team is eliminated from the playoffs, instead of rooting for them to lose so they can get a draft pick which might not pan out anyway, you can keep rooting for them to win so they can get the same result. Anyway, that's just my opinion on how the draft should operate in the future. It would make each team a lot more fun to watch, no matter how bad you're supposed to be that season.
Without further ado, here is the Week 10 Reverse Power Rankings:
The Contenders:
30. Oklahoma City Thunder (25-5)
29. Indiana Pacers (24-5)
28. Portland Trailblazers (24-6)
27. San Antonio Spurs (24-7)
26. Miami Heat (23-7)
25. Los Angeles Clippers (21-11)
24. Houston Rockets (21-12)
Rest Of The West Playoff Picture:
23. Phoenix Suns (18-11)
22. Golden State Warriors (19-13)
21. Dallas Mavericks (17-13)
Still The Third Best In The East:
20. Atlanta Hawks (17-14)
Gimme Some More Teams Out West:
19. Minnesota Timberwolves (15-15)
18. Denver Nuggets (14-15)
17. New Orleans Pelicans (13-15)
Fine, Gimme Some Teams From The East:
16. Washington Wizards (13-14)
15. Toronto Raptors (13-15)
14. Charlotte Bobcats (14-17)
13. Detroit Pistons (14-18)
Injuries-1, These Teams-0:
12. Memphis Grizzlies (13-16)
11. Los Angeles Lakers (13-18)
Brad Stevens Division:
10. Boston Celtics (13-17)
Starting To Get Their Tank On:
9. Chicago Bulls (11-17)
8. Cleveland Cavaliers (10-20)
7. Orlando Magic (10-20)
6. Brooklyn Nets (10-20)
#RigginForSomething:
5. New York Knicks (9-21)
#RigginForWiggins/Parker/Randle/Smart/Exum/LaVine/Kyle Babcock:
4. Sacramento Kings (9-20)
3. Philadelphia 76ers (9-21)
2. Sacramento Kings (9-24)
1. Milwaukee Bucks (6-24)
By: Dan Goggin
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