Cooper Flagg may not have suited up in an NBA game yet, but his impact is already reverberating throughout the league. At just 18 years old, he made his NCAA tournament debut against Mount St. Mary’s, bravely playing through an ankle injury that had sidelined him for most of the ACC tournament. NBA scouts and executives will undoubtedly flock to the stands to witness the talented Duke Blue Devils squad, with Flagg standing out as the consensus top pick, dominating the ACC and NCAA in various advanced metrics.
The issue of tanking, or teams deliberately losing to secure better draft positions, continues to plague the league. The NBA has initiated investigations into teams accused of strategic player rest, a common tactic to improve draft odds. While overt tanking practices, such as the Utah Jazz’s recent fine for resting Lauri Markkanen, have been penalized, subtler tanking strategies persist, causing concern among league personnel.
In response to tanking concerns, the NBA has introduced measures to discourage the practice. These include flattening lottery odds for the worst teams, implementing a play-in tournament to incentivize competitiveness, and enforcing the Player Participation Policy to ensure teams field their best players. Despite these efforts, teams have found ways to circumvent the rules, highlighting the challenges in maintaining the integrity of the game.
Cooper Flagg Sweepstakes has introduced new methods for resting players. A recent decision by the Nets to rest Cam Johnson raised eyebrows among fans and left many puzzled. Despite not being injured or sick, the Nets opted to have Johnson sit out Thursday’s game against the Indiana Pacers for “rest” purposes. Surprisingly, the team made this call even though they had not played the day before and had no game scheduled for the following day.
This move to rest players is becoming more common in the NBA, extending beyond traditional back-to-back games. The Nets’ decision to rest Johnson falls in line with a trend seen across the league, with teams strategically managing player fatigue and injury risk. The practice of resting players, also known as a DNP-Rest, is now being used in various game scenarios, not just during back-to-back sets.
The Nets’ decision to rest Johnson is seen in the context of the team’s positioning in the lottery sweepstakes, where they are vying for better odds in the draft. By sitting out Johnson, a key player, the Nets suffered a loss to the Pacers, impacting their chances in the draft lottery. This strategy mirrors similar actions taken by teams like the Toronto Raptors, who have also employed frequent DNP-Rests without facing league repercussions.
The disparity in how the league handles player rest is evident when comparing cases like Markkanen from the Jazz, who faced scrutiny for being rested, with Barrett from the Raptors, who has been rested multiple times without issue. The criteria used by the league to define “star players” and enforce resting rules can lead to inconsistencies in how teams navigate player management strategies.
The criteria for achieving “star player” status under the Player Participation Policy have been closely examined, including the investigation into the Sixers’ star trio of Embiid, Maxey, and George. This scrutiny may explain why the Raptors have chosen not to rest Scottie Barnes, a rising star, during games designated for rest. However, a closer analysis of Barnes’ substitution patterns has revealed a subtle tanking strategy that has attracted attention across the league. The Jazz have taken note and appear to be adopting a similar approach. When unable to rest their key players for an entire game, both the Jazz and Raptors have resorted to a compromise: selectively benching players mid-game.
Recently, there have been instances of players being benched quietly during critical moments of games. This tactic harks back to 2019 when the New Orleans Pelicans faced a dilemma with their star player, Anthony Davis, who desired a trade but remained willing to play. In an effort to prevent injuries to Davis and preserve his trade value, the Pelicans sidelined him during games towards the end of the season. This decision drew attention from the league, which emphasized the importance of upholding competitive integrity by fielding healthy players. Subsequently, the Pelicans compromised by having Davis play but sitting him during crucial fourth quarters, even when victory was within reach.
While Barnes may not be on par with Davis, he is considered a star player under the NBA’s guidelines, prompting the Raptors to emulate the Pelicans’ strategy by strategically resting him and other key players during pivotal moments. In a recent game against the Blazers, Barnes was subbed out in the fourth quarter with impressive stats but did not re-enter the game as the Raptors ultimately lost. This tactic was a mild attempt at tanking compared to the more blatant actions taken against the Jazz, where key players were benched during a close game that the Raptors managed to win.
The strategy of selectively benching star players has become a contentious issue, not only within the league but also among stakeholders like the betting community. The practice has raised concerns about the integrity of the game and its impact on various aspects, including sports betting. As teams navigate the delicate balance between competition and strategic resting, the implications of such tanking tactics are becoming increasingly apparent.
Plastic container filled with bouncing balls – what’s the fuss? However, the situation is far from light-hearted. Jontay Porter, a former NBA player once with the Toronto Raptors, faces the possibility of a 20-year sentence in federal prison for an unexpected reason – leaving games prematurely under suspicious circumstances. Porter stands accused of colluding with bettors to manipulate his player props for financial gain, marking the first fixing scandal in the NBA since 1954.
Less than a year later, we witness key Raptors players mysteriously absent during crucial game moments, raising concerns among the betting community and beyond. The Porter scandal’s negative impact lingers, casting a shadow over every late-game player benching in the NBA. Questions arise: Was the player truly injured? Did they take a page from Porter’s playbook? What were their pregame prop bets?
However, the real danger transcends mere speculation. Throughout the season, various NBA team staff members have reported an alarming trend to Yahoo Sports – sports bettors resorting to personal threats, including invoking family members and private details, a disturbing development also covered by The Athletic last month. The situation escalates with struggling teams resorting to tanking, caught in the NBA’s conflicting incentive system. While aiming to secure a top draft pick like Cooper Flagg by intentionally losing games, these teams risk incurring fines from the league for not playing competitively.
The alternative approach of discreetly quitting mid-game, although not under investigation according to sources, carries its own serious consequence – receiving death threats. League insiders reveal the prevalence of toxic messages that have become disturbingly routine, accepted as part of the unwelcome association with sportsbooks. Due to the substantial earnings of players, coaches, and executives, few openly discuss the rising tide of gambling-related accusations, blurring the line between genuine concerns and baseless allegations.
The reluctance to address these issues openly is underscored by the experiences of individuals like Tyrese Haliburton and J.B. Bickerstaff. Haliburton acknowledged feeling like a mere commodity for bettors, while Bickerstaff disclosed receiving gambling-related threats in the past, emphasizing the perilous nature of the situation. Bickerstaff’s decision to share his ordeal publicly shed light on a troubling aspect of the industry that might have otherwise remained hidden.
The narrative underscores the delicate balance between the business of sports and the risks associated with gambling-related pressures, urging a closer examination of the challenges faced by those involved in the industry.
Coaches often receive death threats, which can make their job more challenging and dangerous. They have valuable insider information about player availability strategies for specific games. For example, if the Raptors plan to rest certain players like Barnes, Quickley, and Poeltl towards the end of a game, this information could be advantageous for bettors and sportsbooks. While teams are required to disclose injury reports before tipoff, they don’t have to reveal if a player will play the full game, affecting player prop bets. It will be interesting to see if this practice continues during March Madness and which team will secure the top pick in the upcoming draft. A notable example is when the Pelicans shut down Anthony Davis for the final weeks of the season in 2018-19, which ultimately led to them landing the seventh-best odds in the draft lottery. Subsequently, they won the lottery and drafted Zion Williamson, a highly regarded prospect from Duke.
