The Tanking Conundrum

In case it hadn't been made clear by their current four-game killing spree, the Boston Celtics have no intention of tanking--that is, losing intentionally for the purposes of getting a better draft pick. Doc Rivers won't hear it, but he is diplomatic about those who would rather he did:

"There's nothing you can do about the talk," he says. "You can't quiet people. You can't even go into the discussion. I look at it several ways. People on that side or the other side are Celtic fans. Both sides want the Celtics to do well."

Which side are you on, Celtics fans? Grizz fans? Can you root for your team to lose?

I've been in the situation as a fan. And it was for football, not basketball, where the pick would have been guaranteed with one Week 17 loss, instead of just getting me more ping-pong balls. I started watching the game with the idea that I'd secretly be pulling for the Chargers to lose, but when the game started, I couldn't do it.

I have a tendency to develop an attachment to individual players, as opposed to the team as a whole. It was that loyalty that prevented me from rooting for the tankjob. The running back wanted to win, the linebacker wanted to win, the safety wanted to win ... and if they were going to go out there and bust their heineys for a win, I didn't have it in me to root against them. Maybe that makes me a sap. I can live with being a sap.

It's not that I don't get the other side of it. It makes sense to want your team to lose in that situation. You sacrifice a few ultimately meaningless games right now for years of potential prosperity in the future. It's perfectly rational, especially when the prize could be Kevin Durant or Greg Oden. I just tend to lose sight of it when the game starts, when winning becomes the only thing that matters.