It's the Ping Pong Ball Derby. Both Memphis and the Pups are sitting at 16-50, just 1/2 game better than the Seattle club for the second worst record in the league. The Wolves have clearly stated that, unlike the last two seasons, they will actually try to win games down the stretch, as if this year's effort can somehow restore some semblance of dignity to a franchise that has sunk to some pretty low depths. Meanwhile, Memphis makes no such claim and has been losing with impunity. Including tonight, there are three more games to be played between these clubs. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see these toothless old bears lie down as if it were time for the hibernation. Meanwhile, our sick and diseased dogs will lash out and win these games to spite themselves.

Eff this team. Eff their stupid, lazy VP. Eff their stupid owner. I feel bad for the good soldiers. BAJ, you should have never signed that contract. You could have gotten max dollars to play somewhere else.

Minnesota is favored by seven and the O/U is 203. I've got them and I'm giving the points.

<GreekHouse>During the last game log, SBG made a note about Hanny and Pete BSed for a while about how the Wolves shouldn't tank. There is something to be said for letting your team's young players develop and tanking might hurt that. But from an ethical perspective, is it so wrong to tank? Isn't it unethical for the team to do things that would hurt the organization long term? From this perspective, isn't it more ethical for the team to tank in order to maximize their chances of getting the top pick?

Let's face it, the lottery system is terrible and needs to be fixed. There is no sport in the world with a higher correlation between the draft position and future success of its players. This gives teams more incentive to throw games than in any other sport, and with such a long season, it gives them plenty of time to do so. If a team starts purposely losing games in order to maximize potential draft position, all they are doing is exploiting the rules of a broken system. In fact, you could make a good argument that it's their duty to their fans to do so.

What the NBA needs to do is institute a draft system that encourages teams to play well throughout the season. One idea would be to say that if a team's winning percentage falls by a certain amount after the all-star break, then they move down in the draft order. There could be allowances made for teams that really suck in order to prevent any team from getting too screwed over. It wouldn't be a simple system, but it would still be simpler than the salary cap.

Tonight's game features two teams that should both really want to lose this game. Can you imagine this game if an idea similar to the one I described above were instituted? One team or the other could be struggling to finish the season with a second half winning percentage high enough to not lose their draft pick. The other one could potentially increase their draft pick by winning this game rather than losing it! This would add an entirely new element to these otherwise uninteresting bottom of the barrel matchups. Instead, the Wolves will probably continue to do the "ethical" thing and win this one while the Grizz lie down and die. Wolves win by 20. So long ping pong.</GreekHouse>

<SBG>I'm back, having read GH's preview. It's clear to me that "not tanking this year, dudes" is an organizational mantra. Draft position is important the NBA like in no other sport, to be sure. I would add this qualification. That depends on how deep the draft is. If there are five really good players, you'd damn well better be in the top five slots if you suck as bad as the Wolves do. However, if the draft is one player and then a bunch of second tier players that are all about the same (which I've heard this draft is), well, then, maybe tanking isn't all that important. The Wolves ain't going to have the worst record in the league, we all know that. Moving down a slot or two may or may not hurt all that much. We'll see. That's, I think, the calculation that the Wolves have made. So, we get the sanctimonious BS about not tanking. The last two seasons were just about as embarrassing for me as a fan as I can believe. We had a top five player in the league and we tanked.

I can see tanking this year for everything it's worth, unless the draft is like what I think it is. One player, plus a group in the second tier. Then, play hard, dudes, you probably weren't getting the Number One anyway. Just don't tell me how much you think it's important not to tank. You just got done tanking two years in a row. I have a certain level of intelligence and I don't like the way you keep insulting it.</SBG>