See, Orlando had the lead, and now they collapsed as well. This is how it's done, but we don't get it.
This is why every Laker win is so dangerous. Their tank opponents are going to win so rarely that it's easy to catch up to them. A loss to NY tomorrow would be amazing, but I'm not expecting it at this point.
And some people thing #4 is safe. ORL has 4 more wins, but if they continue tanking like this.... I'm not sure.
Wow you guys are really freaking out. Even after tonight's loss Orlando has the same record over the last 10 games as we do. We are losing at the same rate as them. Our spot at 4 is fairly secure at this point. We are just as bad a team as the Magic and we play in a tougher conference. We collapse just as well as any team. We lost 6 games in a row by single digits.
ORL plays @ BOS on Friday and then play 4-5 really tough opponents. Got to really hope they beat BOS to give us some more breathing room because they arent beating CLE, HOU, Mavs, & POR after that
Our pick is not safe, you're kidding yourself if you think it is. Our team is not tanking, when we lose it's because we played an inferior game, this team has no quit or losing on purpose in it. On the one hand I'm proud of that, on the other, pride will cost us a huge asset.
Pride and a bunch of guys playing to get more money is putting our pick in jeopardy. The front office needs to make it clear that the pick is a top priority. I still think we end up fourth, because, well we suck. I have also watched the Magic play many times out here in Florida, so I really think the cushion we have will hold up. Still, there is no point in needlessly risking the pick with a bunch of meaningless wins.
It may cost us, but it doesn't have to. The teams we are "fighting" for the 3rd and 4th spot are also winning from time to time and we have a relatively decent cushion on Orl. We shall see how the rest of the season goes but I'm pretty confident we will keep the 4th spot. For some reason I'm more affraid of our bad luck during the lottery. BTW... I can't help but Wonder how this team (we all know we have a bad team, don't we?) manages to stay semi-competitive. Tanking aside - Byron must be doing something right and the young guys we have on the tam must have some potential if they are able to at least keep the score close and win some of the games.
Byron gets hammered a lot but I think he has less to work with since all the out for the season injuries hit, than 'antoni had last year. But even when we lose it's nothing like the embarrassing blow outs Dan's methods produced. You're correct, we compete like muthas and it's something to be proud of and frightened of at the same time every game.
I said this way before and I'll say it again, we can't rely on other teams winning or losing. Sure it may look like they have the better talent but what's stoppingg them from tanking as well, we aren't the only team looking to get a better draft position. The front office needs to step in and tell Byron that we need to lose games, winning all these meaningless games is pointless. What boggles my mind is how this team remains competitive in most games.
Agreed. This is crucial to keep the pick above all else at this point in this lost season. Two completely different kinds of summers await the fan base and the franchise. One of them is unthinkably bad if they blow this at this late stage, after being clearly the front runners for the 4th worst record.
The thing that makes our situation so brutal is that of the top 5 in the lottery we stand to lose the most because it is only top 5 protected. It is truly annoying that the others don't even have as much at stake as us (except of course Philly who wants us to fall out so they can get our pick). Count me in as another fan who is very concerned about us losing our pick even if we land at the 4 spot (best possible realistic scenario right now). We've had a string of bad luck (and some awful decision making) since the good Doctor became very ill and afterward. We can no longer expect that gambler's luck of the great Jerry Buss. I don't think Jim has the same mojo at all. I know I'm being a bit superstitious but . . . I'm worried.
Will? or might? You guys are talking like if we land at 4 or below it's a foregone conclusion we're losing the pick. I mean jeez I know it's not guaranteed we get our pick, but we're in a good place to keep it. We're not likely to move up or down, so there's no point in stressing about it. I don't WANT this team throwing games. It's not the responsibility of the coach or players to do that. We're doing what we can to hurt the roster. Nick Young has been sitting for weeks, Kobe is gone, Randle is gone, Nash doesn't exist, Kelly is playing out of position, we're giving minutes to Wes Johnson, we're being lead by a 2nd Round Rookie and Jeremy Lin. I mean what else do you want? You want us to just sit anybody that gets productive? I don't want to do that. We're going to lose most games anyway, I'm not going to debase myself and act like the f***ing Sixers. That's unacceptable. I'm disappointed we're talking like this. It's upsetting seeing guys that I respect like you and TIME and LJ talking about or team throwing games. Every time we win one game the site flips over. Then we lose six in a row and people aren't satisfied. How *** backwards are we going to let ourselves get?
I am not a superstitious person in the least bit, but I will admit, I feel like the Doctor's mojo is more than just an attitude and swagger the Lakers had. There might have been some mystical qualities. I kind of picture Buss playing poker against the Devil where the bet was his soul against unprecedented NBA success.
I think I agree with therealdeal on this one. I'm a little worried, but in my opinion, our spot at #4 is pretty much set now. Even if Orlando Magic happen to win only 1 entire game for the rest of the season (which is unlikely), I believe we will still be at the #4 slot as long as we maintain this pace of winning 1 out of every 4 games.
