Mavs Tanking and Scrubs Stat Padding- Easter Was a Disaster for the NBA

We went into Easter with several playoff seedings still up for grabs, and what should have been one of the most heady days of the NBA season turned into a slop-fest of tanking, scrubs having career games, and literal physical infighting.

Bones Hyland tried to fight Mason Plumlee.

Rudy Gobert tried to fight Kyle Anderson.

And Jaden McDaniels lost a fight to a wall.

Not exactly great vibes for the Clippers and the Timberwolves heading into the Western Conference playoffs.

Let’s get into some of these hilarious stat lines from game 82:

• Six point-per-game scorer Payton Pritchard having a 30-point triple-double

• 20-9-9 for Mac McClung, who struggled to plane stay on a roster this year

• 46 for Cam Thomas, and yes I know he’s been going off since the Nets shipped Kyrie out, but FORTY SIX?

• 24 for Udonis Haslem, who tapped Kareem’s 30 year old record for oldest player to score 20

• 21 and 19 for Dominick Barlow. Who is Dominick Barlow?

• A triple-double for Theo Pinson, whose career averages are 2-1-1.

• 42 and 14 for Kenneth Lofton Jr, whose previous career upper was 11.

• You had a Triple-double for Tre Mann, who has never had double figured in anything except points.

But none of those stats were as icky as the Dallas Mavericks stuff lanugo to the Spurs 42-14 without one quarter, just two days without the order came lanugo from on upper for Jason Kidd to seat Luka and Kyrie and tank for a lottery pick when the team still had a shot at the Western Conference play-in.

I don’t necessarily think the Mavs did the wrong thing by quitting. They were 10-18 without the Kyrie trade and unmistakably don’t have the defensive skill to compete. But I moreover don’t think quitters deserve a lottery pick, and the Mavs are putting all their eggs in the basket of their typhoon pick being in the top 10 so they don’t lose it to the Knicks.

They aren’t guaranteed to get Kyrie back, and he skipped his exit interview with the team superiority of self-ruling agency. This typhoon pick is a Hail Mary at improving the team unbearable to alimony Luka Doncic from forcing his way out.

But let’s talk well-nigh Luka, who has been marketed as the heir unveiled to LeBron James when the King finally cedes his throne.

I know it wasn’t Luka’s nomination to requite up, but the Mavericks are only in a position to requite up considering two top-10 talents, Luka and Kyrie, weren’t unbearable to be mediocre, much less good.

If I’m Luka, and I superintendency well-nigh my legacy and positioning as the man who will siphon the NBA- why waste any time? If the Mavericks don’t luck into a top 3 pick, just gravity your way out now. You know next year’s Mavs are going to be fighting for a play-in spot all over again.

Especially when next year, all the NBA’s weightier players are going to put increasingly accent on the regular season so they meet the 65-game minumum threshold to qualify for postseason awards. The unserious teams that floated virtually .500 this year are going to be next year’s trampolines- getting jumped allnover by everyone that’s unquestionably any good.

And maybe that 65-game threshold is exaclty what’s needed to make sure that days like Aprile 9th, 2023 never happen again. When guys that typically struggle to get 40 minutes played in one month are getting 40 minutes in one game.

Let that sink in

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