Portland Trail Blazers: Is tanking off the table?
After trading away several of their stars, the Portland Trail Blazers were supposed to drop like a rock. Instead, they won four in a row. Does this mean they can call off the tank and try to make the playoffs?
At the deadline, Portland Trail Blazers Interim GM Joe Cronin traded away CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, and Robert Covington. Portland was supposed to fail miserably. By doing so, they would improve their draft position. It looks like Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and the rest of his team didn’t get the memo.
After Wednesday night’s road win over Memphis, Rip City’s team is on a four-game win streak. Two days before knocking off the Grizzlies, they beat the Bucks in Milwaukee. Both teams have the third-best records in their respective conferences.
Is the tank off the table? There are two reasons for each side.
Yes, tanking is out
It’s all about the money. More production brings more money, plain and simple. Anyone who rolls over and plays dead over the final few months of the season loses his leverage at contract negotiation time.
Along those lines, the Portland Trail Blazers have a lot of young players. Under other circumstances, they might not get an opportunity like the one they have right now.
Take Trendon Watford as an example. On a two-way contract, he was a DNP for most of the season. Over the last four games, Watford is averaging 17 minutes, 5.5 points, and 5.8 rebounds per game, including 10 boards against the bucks.
And, of course, Blazers fans have seen what Anfernee Simons can do in Damian Lillard‘s absence. Both Simons and Watford are up for new contracts at the end of the season. These players, among others, have a huge financial incentive to keep up the good play.
The other big factor is pride. Players don’t take the court to lose, and they take winning seriously. Also, these guys know each other off the court. The last thing a player wants to hear all summer is one of their boys going off how he got his butt whooped the last time they played.
No, the tank lives, Portland will eventually sink in the standings
Heart, money, pride, hustle, and respect are very important, but talent is too. The Portland Trail Blazers don’t have enough of it to seriously compete as a playoff team. Jusuf Nurkic doesn’t have a true backup at center, and The Portland Trail Blazers as so thin in the frontcourt; another injury forces someone shorter than Norman Powell to play minutes at small forward.
Somewhere along the line, the Blazers will run out of gas. Simons was on the team through an entire NBA season. But not one when he’s played this many minutes. Also, Portland is so outsized that opponents will eventually wear them down. It isn’t easy dragging Nicola Jocic or Anthony Davis up and down the court, let alone a bruiser such as Draymond Green.
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Do you think the Portland Trail Blazers will tank the rest of the season? Let us know in the comments section below.