(BleacherReport)

The line between tanking and rebuilding continues to look blurry.

Jalen Rose and Avery Johnson, NBA analysts for ESPN, broached the topic Tuesday – ironically – on a conference call with reporters in advance of the the third of four regular-season meetings between Eastern Conference titans Miami and Indiana.

Rose, left, believes what the 76ers are doing is tanking. Johnson, right, said the Sixers are doing nothing more than rebuilding.

“You know how bad you have to be to lose 25 in a row?” Rose said.

Johnson defended the Sixers (15-56), who finish a three-game roadtrip Thursday at Houston, saying so many seasons of middle-of-the-road basketball had reached its apex.

“I just think there was really nowhere for this franchise to go,” Johnson said, “…and they made a decision to move assets and play with a lot of young players and get as far under the salary cap as they possibly can and just continue to develop and nurture Michael Carter-Williams, and I think that was a really terrific decision.”

That being said, Johnson admitted that there are no guarantees for success, given the path the Sixers have chosen.

“But they at least have set themselves up to have the best chance,” Johnson said. “It’s definitely about trying to get to the playoffs and being a perennial playoff team with a chance to win the championship. So I would like to call it rebuilding.”

Rose begs to differ. He sees the Sixers’ efforts this season, which include shuffling D-League players in and out, trading away their best players, and trimming their payroll, as a means of losing intentionally.

“They play a game this Thursday night and there are going to be people that actually are paying to watch that game – whether it’s on cable, whether in person. That’s bad for the league,” Rose said. “So many empty seats, (so many) games that are meaningless on the schedule. If you’re a 76ers fan, obviously you understand what they’re doing. They may be able to turn around their fortunes really fast.

“For the paying customer, yes, it should be deemed as tanking because you want to see good basketball game this Thursday. But if you’re looking for an outlook as a Sixers fan, I could say they are possibly trending up.”

(Associated Press)

At first, Doug Collins didn't hear the verb being lobbed in his direction. Then, when it was repeated, the Sixers coach's head looked to be on a swivel, shaking back and forth.

“No.”

Defiantly and confidently, the Sixers will not tank. There are several definitions for that word. The Sixers won't embrace any of them. They won't lose games intentionally. They won't sit veterans or play rookies for any more minutes than they'd earned. They won't accept defeat for the chance at a better spot in the NBA Draft lottery.

Collins offered a few reasons why.
Read more »

(Associated Press)

It didn't take long – four minutes into his postgame presser Wednesday – for Sixers coach Doug Collins to be asked about his team playing out the string.

After the win, a 100-92 decision over Milwaukee, the Sixers face an 8½-game deficit with 11 to go. Collins wasn't having it.

“We're not done yet. Are we eliminated?” he asked. “We're going to keep playing, man. You know me, right? I've never quit before I got to the finish line. We're not going to start that now, and our team doesn't have that personality. We're not going to do that. This city and this organization means too much to me and these players. They're young guys. They're trying to build a nucleus here. They know what they have going into next year and what has to be done to make this right.”

Which is all well and good, but it begs this question: Should the Sixers tank? Perhaps a better question is defining “tanking.”

By no means does anyone prescribe to the notion that the Sixers should intentionally miss shots, intentionally throw the ball away and intentionally give away their games to the opposing teams, just for the sake of bettering their place in the NBA draft lottery. But the term “tanking” is wildly unclear. The draft is filled with uncertainty, and nothing states that a team with a high pick is guaranteed success (See: Kings, Sacramento). Most fans seem to think that there's no harm in losing a few games now to potentially win a few games more next season. Once more, though, nothing is a stone-cold lock.

If you had a crystal ball and could predict the future, what do you see for the Sixers? Do the fold up shop and call it a season? Do they play for pride and win a few more for the sake of it? What do you think?