Tim W. wrote:
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If you disagree, fine, but there's no point using the example of Dwyane Wade to argue against what I said, when what I said was basically: since we won't be picking in the top 5 anyway, and after the top 5 picks level out, we might as well pursue a good centre.
In other words, if you're drafting outside of the top ten, the chances of finding an elite player is incredibly small, and the chances are even smaller of finding one in the NCAA, where presumably you can get a better look at them than elsewhere.
http://82games.com/nbadraftpicks.htm
Looking at the numbers, there is a much bigger drop off between the top 5 and picks 6-10 than there is between picks 6-10 vs. the rest of the lottery.
As for the injuries, it's all well and good to get into the conspiracy theories, but a few things wrong with it. The first is that Colangelo isn't going to fire Triano as coach after making him throw games.
Secondly, and more importantly, it's pretty common knowledge that pretty much all those players were, in fact, injured (including Barbosa, who needed "surgery").
Besides, it's pretty common for teams, especially teams out of the playoff hunt, to experiment with lineups in the last couple of weeks to take an extra long look at some players who haven't played yet. ALL the teams do it.
Most importantly, take a look at their month by month record...
http://www.basketball-reference.com/...R/2011/splits/
It's not as if they finished the season of any worse than normal. Wouldn't that be a necessity if you want to tank?
Besides, it's pretty common for teams, especially teams out of the playoff hunt, to experiment with lineups in the last couple of weeks to take an extra long look at some players who haven't played yet. ALL the teams do it.
Most importantly, take a look at their month by month record...
http://www.basketball-reference.com/...R/2011/splits/
It's not as if they finished the season of any worse than normal. Wouldn't that be a necessity if you want to tank?
I'm not a mind reader: I don't know for sure when or if Bryan instructed Triano to sit people. But the lineups Toronto played in April were NOT conducive to winning, and it strains credulity that Bargnani, Johnson, Barbosa, Evans, and Calderon were all unable to play simultaneously.
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