The Utah Jazz have allowed 15 or more points 21 times this season. That’s more than the total wins – 18 if you’re counting.
That’s an understatement; the Jazz lost by 22, 23, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 40 and 45 points. Yes, that’s 5 bucks less than the 50 bucks burger. in this economy.
advertise
So when head coach Will Hardy was debriefed after Monday’s 20-point loss in Houston, his frustration nearly seeped through the microphone as he asked his players to display a level of professionalism and attitude — not just a play-by-play mentality, but almost as if they were interviewing for next season. In fact, Hardy did Admits he is deciding who will stay in the future.
“I thought we were poor defensively with our physicality at the rim,” Hardy said that night. “But overall, we were never really able to settle down. I think our physicality as a team has to continue to get better and we’ll review who’s willing to do that and who’s not.”
Outside of the front office and ownership group, there’s a very fine line between embracing tanking and focusing entirely on winning basketball games. Come the 2026-27 season, the Jazz will welcome back Jaren Jackson Jr. and Walker Kessler to the starting lineup, immediately forming one of the NBA’s most dangerous front lines with star Lauri Markkanen, who will reportedly miss time after injuring his right hip and ankle in practice this week. Add in fast-rising talent Keyonte George (who hasn’t played since early February) and Utah State should Back to the top of the Western Conference.
If you’re a Jazz fan — or a member of their front office — and looking at the upcoming draft class, how do you salvage the remaining players faced with the prospect of missing 80% of your starting lineup and finishing last in the Western Conference? A gray area develops, knowing that the buzzword will change from “development” to “controversy” in a matter of months. Such a strange space can be seen just by watching and listening to Hardy, a coach who was born into a winning culture (having been an assistant with the Spurs and Celtics) and parachuted to the Jazz.
advertise
“I feel the same way about our team,” Hardy said. “These are our players and I’m with them. As for our young players, my responsibility to them is to try to help them get through this part of their career, but more importantly, recognize where they are in their lives. These young men are openly maturing and improving – and that’s hard to do. We all have a responsibility to continue to push [our program] forward. “
Even among teams where losing is almost second nature, the underlying sentiment is the same. It’s hard to find people who like to lose. Yes, they embrace development and growth and understand diluted expectations. But tanks shouldn’t just be on the nightly menu.
“Part of it is [veterans] And their example,” Kings coach Doug Christie said after Wednesday’s loss in Houston. “Part of it is them being communicators. Talking to the young players, these are the things we rely on them for. … Some of our rookies are going to make mistakes, and we’re willing to live with them. “
Welcome to Tank Week, live on the Discovery Channel.
advertise
Somewhat ironically, in the days following the All-Star Game — a celebration of the NBA’s elite and a glimmer of hope for future iterations of competition — the league offers games with the Mavericks vs. Nets, Kings vs. Grizzlies, Kings vs. Mavericks and Pelicans vs. Jazz. Relegation round robin.
According to Tankathon, four of those teams currently have top-10 odds in the June draft lottery and have complete autonomy over future drafts. In Utah’s case, its first-round pick is top-eight protected (which is why you probably wouldn’t trade Derrick Favors); if the score falls between 9 and 30, the Oklahoma City Thunder will be on the hook. Now we don’t even have to worry about New Orleans, as the Pelicans will automatically hand over their draft pick to Atlanta (thank you, Joe Dumars).
You may be the most casual observer of college basketball. It takes about 30 minutes of research to understand the hype surrounding the AJ Dybantsas, Darryn Petersons, and Cam Boozers of the world. The list could easily extend to Kingston Flemings, Darius Acuff and Caleb Wilson. Litigation agencies controlling lost franchises recognize that any one of these blue-chip prospects could almost immediately change the course of their respective organizations. Hence, the tank.
That’s why some teams’ blatant activity reached such egregious levels that Commissioner Adam Silver had to step in and take some action. This new class is one of the deepest in the past decade, making teams salivate as a result.
advertise
But back to this week’s festivities. Want to know more about Sacramento’s Maxime Leno’s rim protection? Brooklyn’s Egor Dёmin’s shooting improved? How many minutes will Memphis’ Olivier-Maxence Prosper be under center? Who doesn’t like that?
Rest assured, no matter how bad the product looks, the mystery doesn’t stop there. The Warriors are currently ranked 15th in odds, but are not far away from cracking the top 14. Draymond Green played 32 minutes in Tuesday’s 113-109 loss to New Orleans, playing alongside Gui Santos, De’Anthony Melton, Moses Moody and Pat Spencer, before undergoing “injury management” on Wednesday (a win over the Grizzlies). Between now and the end of the season, teams that find themselves in the play-in bracket or outright will be freer in resting players. No matter how small the advantage may seem on paper, NBA teams thrive on opportunity. It’s like PEDs to them.
So what can Silver actually do to curb tank enthusiasm? In a meeting with NBA general managers last week, Silver reportedly said the NBA plans to aggressively attack the root causes of the tanking problem, hoping to eliminate it through rulemaking.
Such a potential rule being discussed — preventing teams that reach the conference finals from finishing in the top four next season — would directly impact teams like the Indiana Pacers, who might be lucky enough to have one of the above names after a season without Tyrese Haliburton. The alternative — preventing the team from finishing in the top four and/or in the bottom three after consecutive years — would hopefully halt the Sixers’ progress and earn a right to last for years until they stumble upon a Joel Embiid-type guy. But even other suggested ideas, such as flattening the odds for all lottery teams, using a two-year window, loosening protections and freezing odds at the trade deadline, would only partially solve the problem, according to ESPN.
advertise
It’s been a great basketball week with the Pistons taking on the Spurs and Thunder, the Celtics taking on the Nuggets, and the Cavaliers beating the Knicks on the road. We also got bonus points, beating Indiana by 21 points, Washington State by 21 points, Chicago by 32 points, Memphis by 21 points and Sacramento by 31 points.
(Jevon Small was a sneaky low-cost addition for Memphis as a hard-nosed guard who shot over 50 percent from three. The same goes for the Kings’ Nique Clifford, who should play a role regardless of the team’s future. But it’s still one of the worst weeks in basketball history.)
Thursday brings us tank mecca: New Orleans-Utah and Sacramento-Dallas. someone Gotta win those games!