Tanking has been a hot topic all season long in the NBA media, but it's a discourse that the win-now Cleveland Cavaliers haven't been involved in to any extent. That's changed all of the sudden, but not in the way that you'd expect. With three games left on their regular-season schedule, the Cavs have a good reason to purposefully lose these games, so as to avoid passing the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference standings.
By passing the Knicks and landing with the No. 3 seed, the Cavaliers would be setting themselves up for a second-round matchup against the Boston Celtics or the New York Knicks. Cleveland would much rather see the Detroit Pistons in the second round -- hence the strategy of staying behind the Knicks in the standings.
The Cavs (49-29 entering Wednesday) aren't in any danger of falling below the fifth-seed Atlanta Hawks (45-33), even if Cleveland goes 0-3 in its last three and Atlanta goes 3-0. By the way, the Cavs and Hawks happen to be facing off twice in a row this week (Wednesday in Cleveland, Friday in Atlanta), before Cleveland finishes its regular-season campaign by hosting the Washington Wizards on Sunday.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst asserted on Monday that the Cavaliers are "heavily incentivized to not play to win" their remaining games, not only because they don't want to be the No. 3 seed, but because Atlanta is only two games ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 5 seed, and the Cavs would rather play Atlanta in the first round than Philly.
This all leads to an interesting debate amongst fans: Should the Cavs be considered smart or cowardly if they do indeed adopt the approach of "tanking" these final three games? Ultimately, can this really be called tanking, or is it in a different category altogether?
Cavs tanking final three games would reveal fear of Celtics
The Cavs wouldn't be engaging in traditional tanking by trying to lose these last three games, but that doesn't mean it's the right move. From a psychological perspective, by trying to duck the Celtics and/or Knicks in a second-round matchup, the Cavs wouldn't be acting like the best team in the East is supposed to act. The Cavs would be essentially admitting their fear of the Celtics and/or Knicks as teams they'd prefer not to face. Some fans would simply call this a wise decision, but is this really how a champion operates?
Imagine if the Cavs were to abandon this strategy altogether and even say to the media something along the lines of, "We're trying to win every game and get the highest seed possible, because we think we're the favorite against any other East team in a playoff series, regardless of the round." This would have the Cavs moving like a champion, and it would send a message to the Celtics and Knicks that Cleveland does indeed feel they are a better team than them.
Cavs would exude confidence by abandoning tank strategy
Maybe Cleveland should take the above approach instead (though they probably won't). The Cavs are not without their flaws, but they are still arguably the most talented team in the East. The strategy of putting off a stronger opponent until later in the postseason has its own flaws. Injuries pile up throughout the playoffs, and sometimes a team is in better shape to play its best in the second round than during the Conference Finals.
For a Cavs team looking to win it all, what's really the difference between facing the Celtics in the second round versus facing them in the ECF? Would you feel better about your season if you lost later on in the playoffs? No, because you're in championship or bust mode. Second place is the same as last.
By throwing this end-of-season tank in the trash and basically saying, "Bring on the Celtics as soon as possible!" the Cavs would give themselves the greatest chance to enter that matchup with the swagger needed to pull off a series win.