Man, you gotta feel for Timofey Mozgov. He goes from not playing on a really good team because the team is too good to play him, to not playing on a really bad team because the team is too bad to play him. Maybe that sounds like I’m saying Mozgov would make the Lakers better, which I’m definitely not saying. That would be stupid. Actually, I’m having a hard time deciding if Walton’s decision to move him to the bench is a tanking or anti-tanking move. Can it be both? Probably not.
Technically Tarik Black is the one who supplanted Mozgov in the starting lineup, but I consider it a team effort of supplanting by him and Ivica Zubac. It’s hard to say if Zubac is making the Lakers better right now. It’s probably better if he doesn’t. His defense has been a little iffy (just a little), which only helps the Lakers’ tank, but he might have to do even less on that end to be a truly damaging player.
He probably did too much this game, costing the Lakers a valuable loss. 4 blocks is 8 points taken away from the Knicks, and if you consider his 10 points that means he accounted for more than enough spread to turn a loss into a win. Come on, Zuu. Tanking requires coordinated effort from all players, and deciding to play well, even for a little bit, is not tolerated.