NBA must crack down on blatant tanking or risk bigger issues

There's an unwritten rule about tanking in the NBA, especially in the season's final month. While some teams shut down their top players citing "injuries," others adopt the bold route of competing through 45 minutes and mailing it in when it matters.

The Wizards have broken said rule in recent weeks. In Monday's 112-97 loss to the Trail Blazers, they trotted out Jordan Poole and Khris Middleton for exactly 10:31 each, shutting down both players in the second half and rolling with the reserves. 

They resorted to a similar tactic in Wednesday's 128-112 loss to the Jazz, shutting down Poole in the fourth quarter after playing him for nearly 20 minutes through the first three periods. 

Encouraging illegal activities?

The Wizards' blatant tanking has reignited the unpleasant conversation of gambling in the sport. While the NBA prohibits players and team personnel from betting, many fans have a vested interest in the outcome of games as they try to cover a spread or a prop bet. 

As such, players, especially from tanking teams, could be tempted to pass on intel to bettors for mutual gains. Last year, Jontay Porter was hit with a lifetime ban for a few prop bets that were traced back to him.  

ESPN's Tony Kornheiser believes the NBA is playing a dangerous game by allowing teams to tank blatantly. 

"The Wizards attempted to lose and succeeded at losing," Kornheiser told "Pardon The Interruption" on Wednesday. "The only reason I bring this up is because all sports now have gambling partners. So, if the NBA is encouraging you to bet, they can't give you a boat race. They have to gurantee the integrity of the game, and they did not in that case [with the Wizards]."

Kornheiser's co-host, Michael Wilbon, felt it was unfair to single out the Wizards, pointing out how teams across the league were engaged in blatant tanking since late February. To that end, the Jazz on Wednesday played starting center Walker Kessler for just 15 minutes, less than half of his season average of 30.2 minutes. 

The Wizards (15-53), Jazz (16-54) and Hornets (17-51) are in a three-horse race to finish with the worst record. All three have the same odds (14 percent) to earn the No. 1 pick in May's NBA Draft Lottery.