By The Sarge
The Celtics' losing streak stands at 18 in a row. Whether they are truly the worst team in the NBA, the worst coached team or they're simply tanking for the top draft pick, history proves that they are a sure lock for winning the lottery.
The last three teams that have lost 15+ games in a season have ended up with the number 1 overall draft pick. Here they are along with the player they tanked for drafted:
2001-02 Houston Rockets (Yao Ming): Rudy T was the coach of the Rockets and they lost 16 games in a row on their way to a 28-54 record. The players on the team were: Cuttino Mobley, Steve Francis, Kenny Thomas, Glen Rice and Crazy Eddie Griffin.
2002-03 Cleveland Cavaliers (King James): The Cavs were coached by John "Just Say No" Lucas (8-34) and Keith Smart (9-31). They lost 15 straight games and finished the season 17-65. Some of the players on the team were: Ricky Davis , Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Carlos Boozer, Smush Parker (damn, he even sucked then) and Dajuan Wagner.
2003-04 Orlando Magic (Dwight Howard): The Magic were coached by Doc Rivers (1-10), the NBA's official tank expert, and Johnny Davis (20-51). Their losing streak extended to a stunning 19 straight on their way to a 21-61 record. Some of the players on the team were: T-Mac (who pulled a Pierce was injured), Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, Crazy Drew Gooden and Deshawn Stevenson.
Obviously the C's are tanking to get the #1 pick in the draft and the opportunity to get Greg Oden, who is a man among boys in college. (I submit the Paul Pierce "injury" and Doc Rivers' employment as evidence for tanking.)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the purpose of a draft lottery was to prevent teams from blatantly losing.
The Sarge (or Encyclopedia Bri-Danica from the public access airwaves) is a frequent commenter, Madden trick-play specialist and longtime friend of The Association.
Wow... I didn't know Doc Rivers was such a tank Wizard. If the Celtics are so eager for talent they shouldn't degrade themselves like they are for a future number one draft pick, they should send Larry Bird through a time machine.
Posted by: Apollo | February 11, 2007 at 08:19 PM
the worst record in the nba does not guarantee a sure no.1 pick . of all teams , the celts know this (remember tim duncan)
besides , greg oden is not sure he's coming out of college .
Posted by: coach | February 12, 2007 at 10:11 AM
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Posted by: Ed Hardy | July 25, 2011 at 07:17 PM
One thing you have to keep in mind is that the NBA has added 3 new expansion teams wtihin the last decade therefore, decreasing the odds of getting the top 3 picks in comparison to before that. You used to have 11 teams in lottery and now you have 14 teams. Do the math and you will see that when there is more competition, your odds will likely decrease, even if you have the most ping pong balls bouncing around for you.As the NBA adds more expansion teams in the future, you can assume that the odds of winning the lottery will diminish even further but this system is still the best way to go. It may seem unfair to allocate the teams that do struggle with horrible records along with the teams who tank on purpose but in this day and age, it's very hard to distinguish between which team is tanking and which team isn't. You also have playoffs teams (Kings, Clippers, Grizzlies) a year ago that have been hit with injuries and end up in the lottery. So in conclusion, the system of letting luck decide a team's fate may still be a slightly better choice than allowing teams to determine their own position in the lottery.
Posted by: Sumiyanti | June 03, 2012 at 04:04 PM