For an organization which likes to present itself as a math friendly NBA entity…this was a dagger of stupidity unequaled in this entire season of shameless tanking in the southern plains of Oklahoma.
This was worse than the embarrassment which took place in Memphis in December as the Thunder lost by 73 points.
This was shadier than having to shut down Rookie of the Year contender Josh Giddey for the season at the All-Star break.
Perhaps…Sam Presti forgot to convey to second year coach Mark D the importance of continuing to lose games down the stretch.
Always remember Barry Trame’s prescient line…”Just because you’ve worked at a Taco Bell, doesn’t mean you should manage a Taco Bell.”
Maybe the guy developing the players shouldn’t be the guy orchestrating the tank.
It was stunning to observe as for the second straight season the Thunder coming down the home stretch don’t appear to be versed on how to finish a tank once they’ve already wasted the time of their fans for the previous seventy-two games of an NBA regular season.
But I’m not shocked and that’s why I felt very good about betting the Thunder this afternoon with or without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
This was just so Thunder as they got out-tanked and out-snookered by the feeble Magic who were on the second night of a back-to-back.
You see, this is where tanking becomes a very shady proposition. The Thunder were done in by their own third string point guard Theo Maledon who’s place on an NBA roster next season is probably going to be somewhat dicey.
So what do you expect Theo Maledon to do in these last ten games of the season as the very future of his NBA career could be on the line?
Devalue his own NBA roster viability?
Here’s what he did instead…in thirty-two minutes of play, Theo Maledon went 9-13 from the field and scored an efficient 32 points and was a game best +33.
We’ll see if this gets him benched for the remaining nine games of the season as the Thunder still have two games against the woeful Portland Trailblazers and another winnable game left against the Detroit Pistons.
Not all of these young players participating in this shameless tank have a secure NBA future.
Some, like Theo Maledon, need to show the rest of the league what they can do on an NBA basketball court.
Good for Theo Maledon.
Not so good for the Oklahoma City Thunder on a night when they could have improved their position for a run to a top three lottery pick.