THE MORAL CASE AGAINST TANKING
Chicago’s skid
since Derrick Rose’s latest season-ending injury has drawn cries from Bulls fans to “tank” the season. Hey, maybe the Bulls win the lottery and get Andrew Wiggins or get the second or third pick, and select Jabari Parker, who, like Rose himself, attended Simeon HS in Chicago.
Deliberately losing, such as staying in bed for 20 hours each day, is a tempting path of least resistance if things aren’t going well. But using this strategy in the NBA is out of control.
The Sixers, Raptors, Celtics, and Magic, in the East alone, are throwing away today for the illusion of a glorious tomorrow. The Bucks, after their best player got injured in a bar fight, have also plunged into the tank. So the Bulls must “contend” with those teams, plus the Jazz in the West. Given that dirty half-dozen, plus squads that involuntarily suck like the Knicks, the chance that a team with a Deng-Boozer-Noah frontcourt loses enough to win is slim, present slide notwithstanding.
But, regardless, of the Bulls pickle, I find distasteful the idea that tanking is shrewd, Continue reading “Against Tanking”