NBA investigating Kings for bizarre play vs. Warriors in wake of Draymond Green complaints

Not for Warriors forward Green, however. After the game, when a reporter asked him about the NBA's epidemic of tanking, Green explained it was clearly out of control, as the Warriors had clinched a play-in spot despite their recent 5-12 stretch. He then singled out Christie's timeout call as an example of teams trying to lose.

That's the biggest reason that commissioner Adam Silver and then NBA are investigating: Embarrassment. The NBA fined the Utah Jazz for resting starters in every fourth quarter and the Indiana Pacers for sitting healthy players, but only after public outcry from people like ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.

Teams are making far more extreme decisions than the Kings in order to facilitate losing, but they don't have a prominent player speaking out about them and going viral.

Doug Christie and the Kings aren't really tanking

While Christie was lambasted for McDermott's intentional foul, he followed it up by drawing up a play for a McDermott three-pointer when the Kings got the ball back. His only controversial move was sitting rookie center Maxime Raynaud, but against a guard-heavy Warriors lineup, that's defensible. The NBA will still look into the situation, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

The Kings' loss dropped them to 7-9 in their last 16 games, hardly the mark of a team losing on purpose. With Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine out for the season and Keegan Murray injured, the Kings have limited talent. While DeMar DeRozan missed Tuesday's game, he's played in 77 of the Kings' 80 games this year.

Teams have done far more egregious things than Christie has this season, especially when the Kings head man is coaching for his job. Ultimately, the mistake cost the Kings one single point — hardly a devastating error.

Does the foul cast doubt on Christie's coaching competence? Perhaps. Does it mean he and his team are nefariously tanking? Not at all. No matter what Green thinks.