Well now it’s pretty clear what NBA teams really think about the play-in tournament. dallas mavericks They spent the weekend doing whatever they could to get the 10th seed and out of the draft lottery, which they successfully did. Mavericks fans are probably most excited about the season ending, as it has been through injury after one car crash, a roster that fits together like puzzle pieces comprised of various bodily fluids. Spiced up with a boss who doesn’t want to take any responsibility some luka doncic Goofing off at the referee the whole time. It has been a miserable experience.
The NBA instituted this play-in system in hopes of getting fewer teams, and also keeping alive the hope for something more. How does it look now? I can attest that the Bulls, a 10-seed in the second conference, also want to get out of the hoax as soon as possible. Teams don’t “close hard” for play-in, they drop in. It’s an open manhole cover, nothing to climb through.
putting it all on the line for the draft
The Mavs thought the draft was more important, especially as their The pick this year is top-10 protected and thus will not have to be sent to the Knicks as part of the uber-successful Kristaps Porzingis trade.
The Mavs are really only answerable to their fans, and their fans are probably A. sick enough of seeing this kindergarten painting of a team that they are okay with missing a few more games, and B. hoping that Whatever Mav can do with that pick can help turn this team into something recognizable.
Tanking has been an issue in all sports lately, especially in hockey and basketball where there are generational talents waiting to turn a franchise over in both (Victor Vembanyama and Connor Bedard). And everyone is clutching their pearls about how ugly it is, which is true. This is the opposite of what the game is supposed to be.
But the league is all to blame for sexisting the draft and prospects. There was a way of it, because it’s cheap talent and if the fans focus more on that then they’re less focused on the money they’re not spending. The leagues themselves may not have pioneered draft-focused coverage of all sports, but they certainly didn’t get in the way.
This fed into the methods of pay-suppression that seem to be bleeding more and more in every league. The NBA’s new CBA makes it harder for teams to stick together with a second apron after the initial luxury tax. The NHL won’t raise its salary cap next year until they get even more back from the players. MLB is no different.
These leagues can’t have it both ways, making it impossible to put teams together if they’re interested, and then when teams are gaming the system they make the most out of the crooked system they’ve created. There is benefit.
There’s a simple answer to all of this, it’s an NBA that hasn’t been played with for a long time. Randomize the draft. Why should the fucker get any reward? Yes, this would be the time to talk about ending any draft, but for most it’s a little much. So just randomize it with weights to make sure no team gets the top pick two years in a row or something. If you suck, get creative to get better. Only win 17 games but end up with the 12th pick? Fuckin figure it out.
It may take a few seasons for teams to extricate themselves from a world where being terrible should be rewarded, and find a way to build rosters that are at least representative. nothing worth having comes easy.
But of course, all of these teams are owned by billionaires who expect everyone to bail out when the crap is over. So why would their toys be any different? There shouldn’t be rewards for being bad. Sports seem to be the only place where everyone agrees on a non-capitalist system. So which one is it?
Bad day at the office for the USWNT
Despite beating Ireland 2-0 in one of the last tuneups before the World Cup, it wasn’t a great weekend for the USWNT. That’s because Mallory Swanson, unquestionably the best player on the team for a while now, saw her knee munching graham crackers.
Which is obviously my fault.
The U.S. has depth at the wide attacking position, with Sophia Smith or Trinity Rodman or Midge Purse or Lynn Williams able to take chances. But none of them had the devastating lethality that Swanson did for club and country last year. They allowed the US to play Smith or Swanson sliding down the middle when Alex Morgan needed a rest, as there isn’t much depth behind Morgan as a #9 (Caterina Macario’s position is insane) . He’s probably gone now.
The U.S. still has plenty of issues in midfield (they rely heavily on Julie Ertz to solve most of the problems, even though she hadn’t played a game in two years before Saturday). A sure thing this summer. to happen. There was a lot to do with a player like Swanson who could do nothing and had the type of skill that not many opponents could easily deal with. Smith has that ability, although has shown less of it with the national team than Swanson (Smith only 22).
This is a major blow, although America is hardly alone. England (Beth Mead) and the Dutch (Vivien Miedema) will both be without top stars as well. This is what happens in international football. It’s heartbreaking for Swanson, who didn’t make the last Olympic team and didn’t play a big role in 2019. A big World Cup could put him in the running for the Ballon d’Or or the FIFA Player of the Year. The tournament will go on without him, and the USWNT is a major weapon.