The season is winding down. The excitement of the race for the final spots and playoff positioning is starting to get real, for a majority of teams, that is.
But what about those who are out of it with more than a dozen games still to go. Do you mail it in? Play for draft position?
While no player wants to be in that position, there can still be plenty of motivation of things to play for. After all, only the GMs care about draft position. And with the lottery being manipulated and massaged seemingly every year, it’s too hard to predict anyway.
But for young players looking to make a name for themselves, one of the best ways to do that is to play the role of spoiler. On the one hand it shows true professionalism to win big games when the playoffs are out of reach. In addition, it’s about the only way to get a scrap of media attention with everyone focusing on the three teams fighting for one spot.
This year, the Utah Jazz are playing that role to the hilt. In March, they have defeated the Grizzlies in Memphis and the Nets in Brooklyn, along with home wins against the Houston Rockets and Charlotte Hornets. They’ll get a chance to slow down the juggernaut known as Russell Westbrook tonight.
Teams in the hunt look at the remaining schedule and divide up the games into categories. Teams below them in the standings with bad records are “must wins.” Teams in the division are “double wins” as it counts as not only a win, but as a chit if it comes down to a tiebreaker.
Both of these types of games are killers to lose in a tight race. Twice in my career I had the pleasure of playing the spoiler. The first time was my rookie year with the Jazz. We had a decent team but never really came together. With about 30 games to go, we hit a rough patch and went on an 18-game losing streak, knocking us into insignificance. I was the rookie backup center up until that point.
Losing 18 straight makes for a long month. You really find out who your friends are. At this point in the season our coach, Frank Layden, made a lineup change and inserted me into the starting lineup. For me, Game 19 was a championship game. We were playing the Kansas City Kings and they had a decent team with Larry Drew, Mike Woodson, and Ernie Grunfeld.
It was a chance to show my stuff. I felt that I should have been starting for a while. It was a statement game opportunity to become the starter and immediately break the longest losing streak in team history. I was pumped going into the game and went around to my teammates letting them know that we were going to win this one. I needed everybody to be as into the game as I was.
We played hard and won 127-118. For the Kings, it was a big disappointment to lose to a team in the dumper, but for me it was puff out my chest time. See Frank, you should have been starting me all along. We won our next three games and finished the season on a pretty good roll at 6-4 with me starting the last 10 games. I had solidified my position as the starting center, and when we came back the next season I was the starter from Game 1.
That stretch was a turning point for me as both a player and a leader.
One of the most satisfying wins in my career also came in a spoiler game. It was near the end of my career and I was playing with the Orlando Magic. At that point I was one of the oldest players in the league and was playing limited minutes.
We were going into Madison Square Garden to play the Knicks, who were fighting for the division title. There were nine games to go in the season. For them we were a “must-win” and the press was all over the team, especially Patrick Ewing to win this one. Not only was the win important, but also we had three starters hurt. There was no way they could let this one slip away.
Again, for me it was a big game. As a 37-year-old player, there were few opportunities to be a central part in an important game. I knew that I could still play on a high level at my age and I didn’t want to be put out to pasture.
We started mostly bench players with myself at center, Derek Strong and Gerald Wilkins at forwards. We had Penny Hardaway and Nick Anderson at guards. The Knicks were thrilled to have a gimme this close to the end of the season.
As you obviously guessed, it didn’t go their way. We played loose and together. We all knew that we had a great chance to show our stuff and stick it to the Knicks at the same time. Derek and I played high/low the entire game. I played high post bringing Ewing away from the basket. If Patrick laid back I had easy jumpers, or if he came out, Derek muscled his way in for easy scores. They were slow to adjust and we beat them easily. I went for 21 with 11 boards and 6 steals. Derek had 21 and 12. (Sheridan covered the game for the Associated Press).
It was a rough night for the Knicks, and unfortunately Patrick got most of the heat. It was Patrick Ewing poster night and the fans were so upset that they took it out on him. One fan right behind the bench opened up the poster and started punching Patrick’s image in the face while he was yelling at him. I did feel bad because I really like Patrick. It was one of those things that is really funny if it wasn’t happening to you.
But it was one of those spoiler nights that made the game amazing for us. When the game ended the Knicks couldn’t get off the court fast enough while we were celebrating like it was a playoff win. The New Yorkers were pissed though. I did the post-game interview with Marv Albert and even he was mad at me! He attitude was “how dare you beat us with your subs”. He even ripped me in the interview! I was like “Damn Marv, we are both Syracuse guys, what are you mad at me for”. That was the icing on the cake.
At the end of the season the Knicks finished a couple games out of 1st in the division with the 3rd seed and didn’t make any noise in the playoffs. Clearly there were 25 other games that they could have won, but for me it was a special spoiler moment. Not only was it a satisfying game but also I got to show that I still had it. For Derek Strong and Gerald Wilkins it was a great win as well.
We held on to the No. 7 spot and avoided the Bulls Dynasty in the 1st round. We almost pulled off the upset, losing to second seeded Miami in Game 5 on a bad call.
So don’t think that games at this part of the season are throwaways. They can be real career builders as they provide a way to show your stuff. It’s easy to play when it’s easy. But when you are out of the running, you can really show what you are made of.
Danny Schayes is a Director of Business Optimization at Intensity and a leader in the business of professional sports. Schayes frequently advises sports organizations in complex business matters that include contract negotiations, pricing strategy, marketing optimization, and executive leadership. Follow him on Twitter.
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