Start to Tank A Bit

[SparzWizard]

One will instantly regret if they ask for Brooklyn in the first round lol.

Win a title is the goal. And what better way than to go through the easiest/calmest route. Not flex your macho and get weakened before becoming a meal for the next opponent. Ideally they should just rest their guys and lock up the 4th seed.

We must also be forgetting that besides going through the East bloodbath, there's also the Western conference and the mighty Suns or Warriors

[SHAQATTACK]

Bad idea ,  you play your best , let the chips fall where they may.

[nickagneta]

Bad idea ,  you play your best , let the chips fall where they may.

Yup...TP4U...Nuf said.

[PAOBoston]

Bad idea ,  you play your best , let the chips fall where they may.

This

[Kiorrik]

TANK DOWN FOR WHAT

*jumps up and down*

[Neurotic Guy]

I agree no tank.  End the season as winners. Ok - last 2 games, rest.  But with that said, I hope they wind up avoiding the Nets in round 1.  I bet Nets fans are hoping the same.

[Celtics2021]

I was thinking about this thread just now, as well as the other thread about preferred 1st-round matchups, and it occurred to me that rather than the Celtics choosing to lose a game for a preferred playoff matchup, with the way the Celtics are playing, it seems more likely that the rest of the East might consider losing a game on purpose to put off a matchup with the C's.

[Hoopvortex]

I still think the #4 seed is the best one for the Celtics

Hold it right there.

You mean the BOSTON Celtics?

Oh now I understand - you meant to say the #1 seed. Please review before you post - for a moment I thought you meant #4.

[18isGREATERthan72]

I believe you control what YOU can control.  You've got no idea where other teams are going to fall, and how the standings will shake out, ESPECIALLY in such a close playoff race.

I think it's a losers mentality to try to position yourself for an easier matchup.  You win as many games as you can without running your players into the ground, and giving them the adequate rest to be healthy for the playoffs.

Obviously a lot of people probably want the easiest path to the Finals, but I think having a hard series to start off is a great way to keep momentum in the playoffs, especially if this team can finish the remainder of its games at even 75% of the winrate they've had over the last two months.  Going against an easy opponent that ends in 4 or 5 leads to a longer layover between series, and I've seen that bite a lot of teams on the behind in the past.

[Phantom255x]

So Kyrie can now play all the games. Nets 1st round is a terrifying prospect

[18isGREATERthan72]

So Kyrie can now play all the games. Nets 1st round is a terrifying prospect

I point back to my comment right before yours. You control what YOU can control.  The Nets could potentially go up the standings, I think 6th is even in reach possibly for them with how the Bulls have been slumping a bit.

You have no idea where Brooklyn lands, unless you're talking 1-2 games left in the season.  Win as many games as you can, get the best seeding possible to have as many home games as possible, and let the chips fall where they may, because who knows where Brooklyn lands.

[Phantom255x]

So Kyrie can now play all the games. Nets 1st round is a terrifying prospect

I point back to my comment right before yours. You control what YOU can control.  The Nets could potentially go up the standings, I think 6th is even in reach possibly for them with how the Bulls have been slumping a bit.

You have no idea where Brooklyn lands, unless you're talking 1-2 games left in the season.  Win as many games as you can, get the best seeding possible to have as many home games as possible, and let the chips fall where they may, because who knows where Brooklyn lands.

Yeah that's true. I think there's a real chance Nets could overtake the Cavaliers for the 6 seed as they are 3 games back of them. Might be tough to overtake Chicago even with them slumping since there's only about 10 games left and CHI still has a 4.5 game lead on BKN

1 seed might be good to get. Face a team like Charlotte 1st round, then draw Miami/Chicago 2nd. We'll see how it unfolds.

[Celtics2021]

So Kyrie can now play all the games. Nets 1st round is a terrifying prospect

No, it's not terrifying.  The Celtics are better than the Nets with or without Kyrie.  They might wind up being a more difficult team than their seeding indicates, but they aren't terrifying.  They've got the 22nd ranked defense for a reason, and Kyrie isn't helping that.  Ultimately they're a flawed team that needs a superhero effort by Durant virtually every night just to be competitive.

[Goldstar88]

So Kyrie can now play all the games. Nets 1st round is a terrifying prospect

No, it's not terrifying.  The Celtics are better than the Nets with or without Kyrie.  They might wind up being a more difficult team than their seeding indicates, but they aren't terrifying.  They've got the 22nd ranked defense for a reason, and Kyrie isn't helping that.  Ultimately they're a flawed team that needs a superhero effort by Durant virtually every night just to be competitive.

I think it would be foolish to underestimate them. The Nets are the most dangerous team in the East if healthy and the last team I would have want the C’s to play in the first round. They nearly beat the Bucks last year and they were missing starters.

Kyrie, Curry, Durant, Simmons, Drummond with Dragic, Mills, Aldridge, Brown off the bench is as talented if not more talented than any team in the NBA.

[RPGenerate]

Tanking is for pansies, and an excellent way to get bitten on the ass by karma. Even if we wanted to, everything is too close in the standings to accurately predict who's gonna be where. The quote: "You meet your destiny on the paths you take to avoid it" comes to mind.