Tell me if you've heard this one before …
What happens when one team purposefully tanking hosts another team that is inadvertently tanking? You get the Philadelphia 76ers versus Denver Nuggets Tuesday night matchup, of course!
Even though the 76ers have made no excuse of their “three year plan” to blow up their roster and accumulate as many top draft picks as possible, both Philly and NBA fans must understand that that’s an organizational decision. The players themselves – be it Michael Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel or the other young 76ers on the roster – certainly don’t purposefully lose when they take the court. They’re just really young and really inexperienced … but that doesn’t mean they can’t give a good effort.
Our Denver Nuggets, on the other hand, were built to compete for a playoff spot and yet the tanking – meaningfully or accidental, you decide – is happening on the court. It's gotten so bad that Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw recently alluded to the Nuggets players purposefully giving no effort at all, and it showed again on Tuesday at Philadelphia. Especially in the first half when the Nuggets gave up 61 points to the awful 76ers while contributing just 40 themselves. (It wasn't long ago that the Nuggets were good for 40 in any given quarter, but I digress …)
A decent Nuggets run during latter game garbage time wasn't enough and the Nuggets, by losing 105-98 to the 76ers, dropped their 10th game in 11 tries. That's what happens when you go 17 minutes and 55 seconds without making a three-pointer (at one point, missing 13 straight).
More to come on yet another pathetic performance by our beloved home team …
