The NBA's tank race is on, and it's getting ugly
- The NBA is facing a borderline unprecedented tanking race over the final weeks of the season.
- Nine teams at the bottom of the standings are just five games apart, with eight of those teams racing to the bottom to improve their standing in the draft.
- The NBA has already threatened action against teams for tanking, making it unclear how blatant teams will be in losing.
Despite the NBA warning teams about tanking, the anticipated race to the bottom is on, and it's not pretty.
Due to unique circumstances, eight teams appear to be jostling for the best positions in the NBA draft lottery, with one team, the Brooklyn Nets, trying to win, but incapable of doing so.
Currently, the nine worst teams in the league - the Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Nets, Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, and New York Knicks - are all separated by just five games.
It was evident that the NBA would be facing a tank-off, but recently, these teams have taken it to new levels. Since the All-Star break, these nine teams have combined to go 11-42.
How tough is it for teams to break into the mix for the very worst seed? On February 6, Kristaps Porzingis tore his ACL, all but ending the Knicks' playoff hopes. That night, the Knicks were 23-31, 11th in the East. They've gone 1-9 since then and are still 11th in the East.
Mavs owner Mark Cuban was fined $600,000 for admitting that his team would be better off losing at this point in the season. Despite the heavy fine, the Mavs are 1-5 since the break. Last week, the Mavs lost to the Bulls despite leading by 11 points with 10 minutes left to play. It was the fifth time they've lost this season despite leading by double-digits with 10 minutes to play, according to ESPN.
The Mavs loss - or the Bulls win - also highlights an important aspect of the race to watch over the final month of the season: head-to-head matchups. On Sunday, the Kings had a costly win over the Knicks that bumped them from a tie for third-worst record in the league to a three-way tie for fourth-worst record. Similarly, the Hawks beat the Suns on Sunday, giving them two wins since the All-Star break and bumping them into the tie for fourth-worst record. All of these wins affect lottery balls, and thus, a shot at a top prospect in June.
There are too many games left for teams to start sitting veterans with vague physical ailments, but that time is soon approaching. How the league attempts to monitor what is shaping to be all-out race to the bottom will be worth monitoring.