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Why the NBA’s Tanking Problem Isn’t What You Think

Tanking used to be a proper gentleman’s game.

It’s the hot-button topic that swept the NBA during All-Star Weekend, as a third of the league is intentionally losing games to better draft positioning.

And it’s hard to blame teams.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the betting favorite to repeat as NBA Champions. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the favorite to win the Eastern Conference.

Once upon a time not too long ago, both of these teams were at the bottom of the barrel in the NBA. The Thunder had traded away Paul George and embraced their future as a bad basketball team.

Certainly, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s development into an NBA MVP helped things. Similarly, the Cavaliers lost LeBron James and bought out Kevin Love, paving the way for painful years that resulted in top draft selections and a trade for Donovan Mitchell.

After trading away George, the Thunder didn’t even win 50 games in 2019. Steven Adams and Danilo Gallinari held court with players like Nerlens Noel, Chris Paul and Terrance Ferguson playing significant minutes. That season, the Cavaliers only won 19 games. They were playing Cedi Osman and Dante Exum for significant minutes.

But the Cavaliers and Thunder rebuilt themselves through the NBA Draft. They didn’t have superstar players to shut down.

Just last week, the rebuilding Utah Jazz shut down Jaren Jackson Jr. for the season. On Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks shut down Kyrie Irving.

As a result of the tanking commotion, NBA commissioner Adam Silver fined teams including the Jazz and Indiana Pacers. But he’s also threatening to strip draft picks, or abolishing the NBA Draft altogether, making rookies free agents to sign with any team.

Ironically, abolishing the draft would probably hurt small market teams, including the Thunder and Cavaliers, who would be the betting favorites to play each other in the NBA Finals this season.

So, maybe tanking isn’t the issue? Instead, teams have to be penalized for benching players. Sure, it’s a long season. Too long, in fact. You can’t force guys to play through injuries.

But say you’re a hardworking basketball fan in Utah. You finally get a drop of good news that the team is acquiring a top talent in Jackson, just to see he’s shut down for the season.

Or worse. Say you’re a basketball fan in Billings, Montana. Obviously, you might not have a strong rooting interest in a specific team. But you sit down to watch Cooper Flagg, one of the future faces of the league, suit up for the Mavericks. And he’s on the court by himself because Dallas traded away Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards (who are likely shutting him down for the season) and Irving is out for the year as well.

The NBA is a league that exists because of star players. Just ask Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, who revived the league nearly by themselves. Or ask LeBron James, who has dealt with the pressure of being the face of basketball since Michael Jordan retired.

The league can’t afford their superstars sitting so greedy teams can tank for draft picks. There’s no reason to tune into games. Being a bad team is one thing. But intentionally holding guys out? That’s where the real issue lies.

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Jacob Misiorowski, William Contreras power Brewers past Nationals

MLB: Milwaukee Brewers at Washington NationalsMay 1, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Jacob Misiorowski took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before leaving with a cramp, William Contreras had four hits and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the host Washington Nationals 6-1 on Friday.

Misiorowski came out of the game with a right hamstring cramp after throwing a pitch to James Wood with one out in the sixth. Aaron Ashby came on and carried the no-hit bid into the seventh before Daylen Lile’s one-out bloop double.

Contreras had four hits for the second straight game and drove in three runs. Tyler Black had two doubles for Milwaukee, which has won four of five.

Misiorowski (2-2) was dominant, striking out eight and walking two. He retired the last 12 batters he faced, the final four by strikeout. Misiorowski threw 43 pitches of 100+ mph, the third-most in a game in the pitch-tracking era (2008), according to MLB.com.

After throwing a 98.9 mph swinging strike one to Wood, Misiorowski came off the mound and looked into the dugout. Manager Pat Murphy and the team trainer came out, and Misiorowski left the game.

Three Brewers pitchers combined on a two-hitter. Ashby went 2 2/3 frames and Easton McGee pitched a hitless ninth.

Washington starter Jake Irvin (1-4) gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits over five innings.

The Brewers took a quick 1-0 lead. Garrett Mitchell led off the game with a double, went to third on a groundout and scored on passed ball.

In the third, David Hamilton walked and stole second. Brice Turang walked and Contreras lined a single to center, scoring Hamilton.

With one out in the fifth, Turang and Contreras singled and Jake Bauers walked. Luis Rengifo grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Turang, and Black doubled, bringing home Contreras to make it 4-0.

CJ Abrams walked in the eighth, went to third on Lile’s double and scored on a groundout by Brady House, pulling Washington within 4-1.

The Brewers loaded the bases on two singles and an error with no outs in the eighth. Andre Granillo struck out Mitchell and got Turang to pop out, but Contreras grounded a single to right, scoring two runs.

–Field Level Media

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Pistons escape 24-point hole vs. Magic, head home for Game 7

NBA: Playoffs-Detroit Pistons at Orlando MagicMay 1, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) shoots the ball over Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) in the second quarter during game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

Cade Cunningham scored 32 points as the Detroit Pistons came back from a 24-point deficit to stun the host Orlando Magic 93-79 on Friday, forcing a decisive Game 7 in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

Tobias Harris racked up 22 points and Duncan Robinson had 14 points as Detroit won its second elimination game in a row. Cunningham, Harris and teammate Ausar Thompson each grabbed 10 rebounds.

The top-seeded Pistons began the fourth quarter on an 18-1 run to build an eight-point lead and ended up outscoring Orlando 55-19 in the second half. The eighth-seeded Magic missed 23 consecutive shots from the field during one stretch covering about 15 minutes in the second half.

Game 7 is Sunday in Detroit.

Desmond Bane and Paolo Banchero each scored 17 points for Orlando, and Tristan da Silva added 10 points. Banchero, who posted 45 points in Game 5, shot 4-for-20 from the field. The Magic ended up 9-for-36 (25%) on 3-point attempts.

Detroit also was the No. 1 seed in 2003, when the Pistons rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Magic in the first round.

The Magic were held to 12 points over the first 19 minutes of the second half Friday as Detroit pulled ahead at 74-72 on a pair of Harris free throws with more than seven minutes to play.

Cunningham’s 3-pointer and two free throws on the next possession put the Pistons up 85-75 with less than four minutes to play. Robinson’s trey was the next basket as the lead grew.

The Pistons, down 22 at halftime, stormed back into the game by scoring 16 of the first 20 points of the second half. Detroit then went more than 4 1/2 minutes without scoring as Orlando built the margin to 71-54, but the Pistons closed the third quarter with an 8-0 spurt capped by a Robinson layup.

The Magic shot 3-for-17 (17.6%) in the third quarter, when they scored only 11 points.

Orlando appeared to take control in the second quarter and built a 60-38 halftime lead, with Bane hitting his first three 3-point attempts.

The Pistons made only 6 of 25 attempts from the floor (28.6%) in the second quarter.

Detroit shot 10-for-19 (52.6%) from the field in the first quarter to lead 26-25. The Magic began the second quarter on a 13-2 run, which ended with Anthony Black’s three-point play and Bane’s inside hoop.

After a Detroit timeout, the Magic kept pouring it on to build a 17-point lead.

Orlando forward Franz Wagner missed his second game in a row because of a calf injury.

–Field Level Media

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Jarren Duran, Jake Bennett help Red Sox knock off Astros

MLB: Houston Astros at Boston Red SoxMay 1, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran (16) runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the Houston Astros during the third inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Jarren Duran hit a three-run home run and Jake Bennett pitched well in his major league debut to propel the Boston Red Sox to a 3-1 victory over the visiting Houston Astros in the opener of their three-games series Friday night.

Bennett, who was called up from Triple-A Worcester on Friday to start in place of Garrett Crochet, allowed one run on five hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out three. Crochet was placed on the injured list Wednesday with shoulder inflammation.

Boston received four scoreless innings from four relievers after Bennett (1-0) was pulled. Carlos Correa doubled against Aroldis Chapman with two outs in the ninth, but Chapman got Yordan Alvarez to ground out to second to end the game. Chapman earned his sixth save.

The victory ended Boston’s two-game losing streak, and its three-game home losing streak.

Correa had three hits, including his third home run of the season. Isaac Paredes and Yainer Diaz each had two hits for the Astros.

Houston starter Mike Burrows (1-4) took the loss. He surrendered three runs on eight hits in six innings.

Roman Anthony collected three of Boston’s 10 hits. Anthony hit a double and singled twice. Trevor Story was 2-for-4, and Marcelo Mayer collected a single to extend his hitting streak to nine games.

The Astros grabbed a 1-0 lead on Correa’s solo home run in the top of the third.

Boston took a 3-1 lead in the bottom half of the third. After Carlos Narvaez walked and Caleb Durbin singled, Duran drove in both runners when he hit his second home run of the season.

Houston had runners on second and third with two outs in the eighth, but Garrett Whitlock retired Cam Smith on a pop-up to first base.

The loss dropped Houston’s road record to 4-13.

–Field Level Media

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