8 games left. I think we finish 5th worst with 29.2% chance of a top 3 pick.

[BigAlTheFuture]

Grizzlies will be a tough out.. Would have been better if the Lakers won last night. Kings are playing their starters and has a better chance to steal a game from one of the better teams. Lakers, along with the Sixers, are blatantly tanking. Sitting out their starters for a loss.

Best case scenario would be to lose one of the Sixers game and finish 4th in the reverse standings.  But that seems unlikely.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

we shall see soon enough!!!!!

[SHAQATTACK]

we shall see soon enough!!!!!

Danny needs to see that Brad tanks the year .....playing Anthony, Babb ,  Pressey , and limit the minutes of Sully and Rondo and Hump too.

At this point teams are protecting their stars when possible for playoffs ...resting them.....not based on pleasing fans ....it's about the future .

Bad teams should be playing for draft position ,  if their is no post season for them.

Beating up on a few teams that are. Trying to tank themselves has no meaning ......just helps their cause and hurts ours.

A lot of these teams have blatantly got rid of players that could have helped their winning percentage.

If I'm DA ....I don't let them have the top picks , I fired back with my worst players ., just like Mitch on the Lakers.

[slamtheking]

I'm curious what the reaction will be should a team with a better record than the C's leapfrog into the top 3.  the lottery never goes in the exact order of record.  I'm predicting several posters will have a seizure should their priority of losing as much as possible backfiring.

[clover]

I'm curious what the reaction will be should a team with a better record than the C's leapfrog into the top 3.  the lottery never goes in the exact order of record.  I'm predicting several posters will have a seizure should their priority of losing as much as possible backfiring.

Positioning for the best possible odds of success, even if it turns not to pan out, is never of itself a mistake. It may be if the tradeoffs to get into that position weren't worth being so positioned, but the totality, including the odds, of possible outcomes are the right measure of a decision--not some random element of chance.

[nickagneta]

I'm curious what the reaction will be should a team with a better record than the C's leapfrog into the top 3.  the lottery never goes in the exact order of record.  I'm predicting several posters will have a seizure should their priority of losing as much as possible backfiring.

I mentioned this in another thread. Are those that want tanking so bad going to realize, finally, if we have a team or two leapfrog us, that this is called a lottery for a reason and its because the odds are stacked against you bettering your position.

This happened in 2007. We tanked too much. We had the second worst record in the league and got to pick 5th.

This is the reason why you don't tank. Its a lottery. Anything can happen and usually does. Just play the game and let things fall where they may because teams with the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th worst records select in the top all the time.

What scares the heck out of me is that the tankers are going to be in full force for at least another year. The plethora of threads and posts(I find the ones in the game thread cheering for losses to be most aggravating) calling for tanking  are just going to continue and continue. Sigh!!!

[Fafnir]

How did we tank too much in 2007?

Plus even if you get jumped where you start determines how far down you fall. Draft tanking is very much also about securing your slot rather than trying to win the lottery.

[nickagneta]

How did we tank too much in 2007?

Plus even if you get jumped where you start determines how far down you fall. Draft tanking is very much also about securing your slot rather than trying to win the lottery.

Tell that to the myriad of posters that went apoplectic over landing the 5th pick that year or the same group that went nuts back in the Duncan draft when the C's draft 3rd and 6th instead of 1st and 3rd.

[footey]

I'm curious what the reaction will be should a team with a better record than the C's leapfrog into the top 3.  the lottery never goes in the exact order of record.  I'm predicting several posters will have a seizure should their priority of losing as much as possible backfiring.

The lottery is not the point.  After the lottery picks the top three spots, all other spots are seeded  based on record.  that is why the record is important. Could mean the difference between a 4th pick and an 8th pick, which is significant.

[slamtheking]

How did we tank too much in 2007?

Plus even if you get jumped where you start determines how far down you fall. Draft tanking is very much also about securing your slot rather than trying to win the lottery.

Tell that to the myriad of posters that went apoplectic over landing the 5th pick that year or the same group that went nuts back in the Duncan draft when the C's draft 3rd and 6th instead of 1st and 3rd.

exactly.  having the worst record does not guarantee the top pick.  never has.  it's just better odds.  the worst team only has a 25% chance of getting the top pick.  there's a 75% chance that they don't.   

the people who have been advocating a Philly-style dump of any and all talent we have (predominantly Rondo and Green trades) just to get better odds completely astound me. 

[nickagneta]

I'm curious what the reaction will be should a team with a better record than the C's leapfrog into the top 3.  the lottery never goes in the exact order of record.  I'm predicting several posters will have a seizure should their priority of losing as much as possible backfiring.

The lottery is not the point.  After the lottery picks the top three spots, all other spots are seeded  based on record.  that is why the record is important. Could mean the difference between a 4th pick and an 8th pick, which is significant.

That's where we differ. I don't see a huge difference between drafting 4th and draft 8th. Not in this draft. Not in any draft. The talent drop off after the first 2-3 players is usually fairly defined and usually you then get a bunch of players in that next tier.

[Cman]

I'm curious what the reaction will be should a team with a better record than the C's leapfrog into the top 3.  the lottery never goes in the exact order of record.  I'm predicting several posters will have a seizure should their priority of losing as much as possible backfiring.

I mentioned this in another thread. Are those that want tanking so bad going to realize, finally, if we have a team or two leapfrog us, that this is called a lottery for a reason and its because the odds are stacked against you bettering your position.

This happened in 2007. We tanked too much. We had the second worst record in the league and got to pick 5th.

This is the reason why you don't tank. Its a lottery. Anything can happen and usually does. Just play the game and let things fall where they may because teams with the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th worst records select in the top all the time.

What scares the heck out of me is that the tankers are going to be in full force for at least another year. The plethora of threads and posts(I find the ones in the game thread cheering for losses to be most aggravating) calling for tanking  are just going to continue and continue. Sigh!!!

What scares the heck out of me are all the threads that will pop up around the draft about "trade this, trade that". Then when no major trade goes down, the whole summer will be "trade this, trade that".

The Latest Forum Topics will be littered with rumors and ESPN trade machine generated conjectures. I'm already a little bummed out just thinking about it.

Sigh. Time for me to perk up with a coffee, and turn my little old frown.... upside down!

[MBunge]

I'm curious what the reaction will be should a team with a better record than the C's leapfrog into the top 3.  the lottery never goes in the exact order of record.  I'm predicting several posters will have a seizure should their priority of losing as much as possible backfiring.

The lottery is not the point.  After the lottery picks the top three spots, all other spots are seeded  based on record.  that is why the record is important. Could mean the difference between a 4th pick and an 8th pick, which is significant.

That's where we differ. I don't see a huge difference between drafting 4th and draft 8th. Not in this draft. Not in any draft. The talent drop off after the first 2-3 players is usually fairly defined and usually you then get a bunch of players in that next tier.

The difference is in getting the best player to fit your team.  There may not be much separation in talent between 4th and 8 in a draft but one might be more suited to a team than another.  For example, it looks like the best players available when Boston picks this year could be a power forward and a point guard, the two positions where Boston doesn't really have a great need.

Now, I'm against tanking because you just don't increase your chances of getting a higher pick by that much.  But the difference between a chance at Embiid at 4 or Exum at 5 would be pretty huge for the Celtics.

Mike

[wdleehi]

I'm curious what the reaction will be should a team with a better record than the C's leapfrog into the top 3.  the lottery never goes in the exact order of record.  I'm predicting several posters will have a seizure should their priority of losing as much as possible backfiring.

The lottery is not the point.  After the lottery picks the top three spots, all other spots are seeded  based on record.  that is why the record is important. Could mean the difference between a 4th pick and an 8th pick, which is significant.

That's where we differ. I don't see a huge difference between drafting 4th and draft 8th. Not in this draft. Not in any draft. The talent drop off after the first 2-3 players is usually fairly defined and usually you then get a bunch of players in that next tier.

The difference is I see Ainge in the best position to grab the guy he wants vs. being in a spot where he has to hope the player drops.  (or just take the best of the rest)



I trust Ainge's drafting, but give him the best spot available please. 

[D.o.s.]

Yeah I'd agree with that ^