#tanking

#tanking

Despite the beautiful arena and the constant development around it, the Golden State Warriors have officially moved into basketball's worst neighborhood. The Celtics strolled in and methodically dismantled the Dubs. Even with a little garbage-time hustle, the Steph-less Warriors looked exactly like what they are right now: a team walking slowly toward a dead end. This isn't hell. NBA hell comes with lottery ping-pong balls and a shiny new 19-year-old savior to sell the fanbase.

This is ridiculous! Tanking is losing behavior done by losers. Purposely losing is something nobody should want to be associated with. Embarrassing for the league and for the organizations. And the talk about this as a "strategy" is ridiculous. If you are a bad team, you get a good pick. That makes sense. But purposely shutting down players and purposely losing games is a disgrace and impacts the integrity of whole league.

The team has had one game-changing blue-liner since that title, in Borje Salming, so Tanev's play last year was a breath of fresh air to Toronto's defensive core. Signing a 35-year-old defenseman to a six-year deal was risky, so it's unfortunately not surprising that he got hurt this year. Tanev has only played 11 games and it's quite possible that those will be the only 11 games he plays this year, as missing the entire season seems like a serious possibility.

The Washington Commanders' roster is too old. A 3-8 record with aging personnel implies bigger problems than a bad string of injuries. But those injuries have mattered, and it would be wrong to overstate the problem. The Commanders are in better shape now than at any point over the last decade. If they had nothing beyond Jayden Daniels, that would still be true.

Tanking, a quirky Nebraska pastime, involves floating down rivers in galvanized livestock tanks, evolving into a summer ritual perfect for socializing and relaxation.