Wouldn't you love to have this piece of paper?

[fearless]

Apparently the Knicks plan which games they're gonna win and lose beforehand. Wouldn't you love to have that list?

Seriously, I've always suspected that things like this go on in the NBA because there just too many games where a whole team doesn't show up. I get the feeling it has to be planned sometimes.

Jarrett Jack added 15 points for the Trail Blazers, who gained some extra incentive from a story that counted this game as a victory for the Knicks in their quest for a playoff berth.

"I don't know who it was, but we saw somebody, they had the rest of their games, and it had a check mark for a win, and an X next to the team for a loss," Jack said. "And it had a check mark by our name. Somebody showed me this morning. I don't know if that was some added motivation, but we all saw it. Sometimes reporters get the other team in trouble."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=270322018

[durito]

the knicks aren't good enough to pick which games they want to win

[onlooker]

the knicks aren't good enough to pick which games they want to win

But at least we would know what games they didn't want to win. Those would be the ones I bet the house on.

[Dark Horse]

Probably just a projection, with an eye on making the playoffs, against which games they reasonably expect to win or lose. Not an intent to win or lose them.

[The HG]

That is the idea that some teams "mail it in" at the end of the year, even good teams (Utah?) at times, which we all should be looking out for. Yeah, some teams do wacky things like play certain guys more or less, like what Boston did against Charlotte recently when they were accused of "losing on purpose". Teams clearly think differently about games and scores later on in the year than they do earlier.

[fearless]

But at least we would know what games they didn't want to win. Those would be the ones I bet the house on.

That's exactly what I was thinking.