Maybe if those within the Los Angeles Lakers organization had a better grasp of their team’s reality, they’d be more inclined to admitting the merits of tanking. In wake of Magic Johnson saying that he hopes the purple-and-gold “lose every game,” owner Jeanie Buss strongly refuted that such a strategy ultimately yields winning basketball.
Via ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne:
“I think the teams that use that as a strategy are doing damage,” Buss said as part of a wide-ranging ESPN The Magazine joint interview with her brother, and Lakers president of player personnel, Jim Buss. “If you’re in a tanking mode and you’re doing that for three years or whatever, that means you’ve got young players from the years that you were at the bottom that you’re teaching bad habits to. I think that’s unforgivable.
“If you’re tanking and you have young players or you keep a short roster, you’re playing guys out of their position or too many minutes, you’re risking injury. It’s irresponsible and I don’t think it belongs in any league.”
Does telling lies about the importance of three-point shooting teach players bad habits?
I asked Lakers coach Byron Scott about his philosophy on 3-pointers. "I don't believe it wins championships. (It) gets you to the playoffs."
— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) October 17, 2014
If putting a player at a different spot than his natural position risks injury, should the Lakers really consider making Kobe Bryant a point guard? Via Bill Oram of the Orange County Register:
Shifting Bryant to point guard at critical junctures is something Scott said he had been thinking about, and he said he has gone so far as to contemplate starting the 36-year-old at the position.
“I even talked to him about it,” Scott said. “I said, ‘I’m thinking about it, but I’m not there yet.’ So yeah I have thought about it.”
And what about players logging too many minutes? Kobe is the first player age 36 or older to play at least 35 minutes per game since Jason Kidd managed the feat in 2010. He’s the sixth veteran to do so since the new millennium.
But no, the Lakers definitely aren’t tanking. That would be irresponsible.
What do you think?
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