Remember this thread?
http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=95493.0
This game is Exhibit A. It's well into motion
Thanks for sharing that. Last night was a pretty good example of how horrible the NBA is right now. The Memphis Charlotte game was obviously also. However, the Hawks Kings game was one that both teams wanted to lose. The Hawks started Damion Lee, Mike Muscala and Isiah Taylor with Andrew White, Josh Magette and Tyler Dorsey playing significant minutes. They outtanked the Kings who played some actual NBA vets and legit young players.
Philadelphia got to play another tanking game and Orlando did not put up a fight. It was their 5th straight tanking win. While all teams obviously play the same schedule, Philly is benefitting from the tanking more than other team. When the teams that played Memphis, Orlando and the Knicks earlier in the season they were still putting in effort to win playing guys like Gasol, Evans, Wright, Porzingas, Vucevic, Gordon etc major minutes. Now all these guys are not playing at all or playing 25 or less. The 76ers will play their first game against a team trying to win in almost 2 weeks on saturday.
Finally, Utah picked up a pretty easy win against a Dallas team that mostly packed in it and Houston won a sloppy low scoring affair in overtime 100-96.
Not really NBA basketball.
The Sixers are benefitting because they played the toughest 1st half schedule. Their series with us, Toronto, Houston and GSW complete in the 1st half. That's why I said if they were close to a .500 team after the 1st half of the season and Embiid stayed healthy that they'd make the playoffs. I didn't expect them to be competing for the 3rd spot but I didn't expect Embiid to have already played 60 games with 11 games left in the season.
