I was never an expert curler but there's just no reason USA couldn't knock the German stone out of the house.

The gambling angle re: tanking is overstated, but it seems like most are missing the point Gambling companies don't care about the accuracy/quality of lines on a random game. They care if you're placing bets at ALL, and if players' minutes are unpredictable, people will avoid placing bets entirely

part of the reason this tanking thing interests and angers me so much is because i do care a LOT about the academic part of this. i went to a fancy law school where lots of fart sniffing conversations were had in all classes about incentives and deterrence and morality. and yeah, i LOVED that shit

having a beer

This is the best writing anyone has done on tanking to date. I am not letting my bias cloud my judgment here. Exploring this through the subjective lens of 'integrity' is enlightening and insightful. We are lucky to have @nbasarah.bsky.social writing www.deseret.com/sports/2026/...

The NBA tried to embarrass the Jazz by fining them for tanking. The NBA should be embarrassed that they had to. Just fix the problem.

I legitimately wonder about the NBAPA's opinion on tanking.

Kevin Love posting a meme video (and Nurkic reposting it) poking at the sudden indignance of Adam Silver and Sam Presti The players know, man. Especially the ones that see the finish line.

I make this face a lot on the podcast

Ray Ratto, as always, completely gets it

Got mad; please don't put it in the newspaper that I got mad Enjoy the All-Star break everyone. Seems like everyone needs a vacation. 🎦: youtu.be/e_LwFCzsxEE?... 🎵: open.spotify.com/episode/2mmZ... 🍎: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

He speaks for all of us

Yep.

The Jazz signed Blake Hinson last week to a 2-way and have no problem losing (obviously), but he's a +10 in 8 minutes so far

Please disregard the various betting scandals, one of the faces of league getting in bed with Kalshi, and LA finding new and interesting ways to circumvent the salary cap - Lauri Markannen’s fourth quarter minutes are the most pressing issue facing the NBA today

Don't forget the Kings running with 3 (!!!) 2-way players last night to ensure they lose.

It’s ok guys, every game before this week had ‘integrity’, that’s why it’s such a big problem now

Of course this drops immediately after I record, but: To do this to Utah and not Toronto last year (or even Memphis LAST WEEK) for the EXACT same thing is disingenuous at best, and shows the NBA doesn't know what it's doing besides following whatever clickbait thing will pacify the dumbest fans

just recorded 80 minutes about tanking and the vitriol targeted at the utah jazz, specifically featuring getting Kalshi and Kashi (the granola company) confused with each other

@redford.bsky.social I understand the nature of blogging, but it was a little discordant to see a piece start with "There is no reason to watch the Miami Heat right now" when 5-7 teams are actually worth ignoring (incl. my own) and the Heat have some interesting stuff (one of which you highlighted!)

and i totally get that 99.9% of people On Here and There and Everywhere will not actually read the details of Jaren Jackson Jr.'s surgery and make their jokes but I am happy that it is a legitimate procedure that needed addressing and not 'ohhhh my toe hurts'.

If the Jazz were winning, this is clearly something he could've played through and addressed it in the offseason. But he NEEDS the surgery at some point to remove the localized growth. Might as well do it now. This is night-and-day from just sitting out from nebulous 'soreness' like Trae Young.

mf said 'Craig McDermott'

Can't think of anyone on the Jazz who needs a fat mental break more than Kyle Filipowski. Can't even post up Doug McDermott with any movement and then hucks up this shit

John Konchar and Vince Williams are getting their first taste of "Will Hardy doesn't fuck around regardless of the score, so you better give a fuck if you're out there or he will absolutely light into you"

Worst Qualtrics Golfer in a while.

Even if Utah didn't play any of Lauri/JJJ/Nurkic, the Kings have so many butt players.

man when Jusuf Nurkic has the ball at the top of the arc, immediately look at all of the non-Nurkic players. they start running, like, flag football routes around the defense. it's so awesome. really really want Nurk back on a 3/$18M contract next year

do we seriously have Craig McDermott minutes

I don't know what an "Isaiah Stevens" is but he's a 5'11 old rookie who played with Nique Clifford, so Sacramento has designated him the Tank Commander Rookie for the evening

Jazz clients of Wasserman are Keyonte George and Brice Sensabaugh

I think have relatively novel thoughts on tanking, especially through the lens of the Jazz, but I find the topic reductive and annoying I do the Salt City Hoops Podcast just for fun/for the love of the game; sometimes I wonder if it's worth publishing a clickbaity episode that I find annoying to do

Uhhhh Wembanyama has 23 points in 7 minutes not a typo

wut

I am an extremely loud and proud graduate of the best school in the Mid-American Conference, the University at Buffalo I am profoundly sad at this loss and it just doesn't make sense to me why these inherently popular things can't be independently and very modestly successful

there is not a bigger production/perception gap in the NBA than Brandon Ingram he's pretty good; does some pretty good things. retired players in the media seem /revere him/ and fans assume he's a nightly 30-point scorer

One more Jazz move coming this week...

shoutout to @andyblarsen.bsky.social for his many years writing awesome stuff for the Jazz beat; the Jazz community will greatly miss your voice also appreciate the work you did for Salt City Hoops many years ago to grow it into a respected voice that I can build from

then they intentionally didn't call timeout when stuck and down 1 point with the seconds ticking away. my only ask is spread the vitriol. otherwise chill out and watch something else

by the way, Memphis is also doing what everyone is screaming about for the Wizards and Jazz silly, far less competitive lineup to close the game against the Warriors. have choked away a very big lead. Taylor Hendricks leads the team in Field Goal Attempts.

Will never not annoy me to hear the Golden State crowd do the "Waaarriors" chant that is taken from a scene in a movie when the primary antagonist is literally taunting the Warriors This should have never gotten off the ground.

I have an urgent update for those Utah Jazz fans who were way too into online discourse in the 2010s:

lauri understands the stakes

And thinking back to the Orlando game, I WANT these games as a fan. I think it is important to give your real prospects a live game situation and see how they react under pressure. They fucking blew it on Saturday and looked worthless. It was awesome that they held up today against a good team.

Just finished Jazz - Heat Absolute capital-letter LOL Jazz rest their 4 best players in the 4th again, but the Heat couldn't beat the Jazz JV squad And here's the thing: the Jazz aren't playing 2-way guys and G Leaguers. Everyone out there is a main roster guy who is being developed.

i am happy to continue my guest appearances going! this was a GREAT show that helped congeal a lot of our thoughts about the Trade Deadline

In this weeks' Salt City Seven column, I looked at plays from JJJ's first appearance in purple, plus Collier's historic week, stats you won't want to miss, and a great story about John Konchar. Catch it here at @saltcityhoops.bsky.social: www.saltcityhoops.com/posts/sc7-fi...

I rounded out my Trade Deadline thoughts with some loose ends on Jaren Jackson Jr. and the tanking rosters that we no longer have to deal with on SALT CITY HOOPS! I still haven't talked about the John Tonje trade; I'm sorry 🎥: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SjB... 🎵: open.spotify.com/episode/4HOk...

Wrote about Giannis Antetokounmpo's shameful Kalshi partnership. He should backtrack and the NBA should ban any league/team employee (including players) and media partners from participation. Have the fight with the players' association if you must. www.teamziller.com/giannis-ante...

I watched last night's Jazz game while playing poker so I wasn't commenting on it, but what a perfect game. JJJ/Markkanen/Kessler is just going to absolutely destroy so many teams. I'm most excited to see if the Jackson/Markkanen 2-man game can show they have more playmaking than you think