We've all heard media pundits say that teams tanking for draft order is bad for different leagues, primarily the NBA. But what happens when a team tanks the regular season only to show out come playoff time? That is what the Chaos Lacrosse Come has (seemingly) done for the last two seasons.
Coming into the PLL postseason, Chaos had the lowest seed with the second worst record in the league at 2-8. They snuck into the playoffs because its an 8 team league, and right now producing more content through games is more important then telling a team that couldn't bother to play with any decency throughout the summer the truth that they don't belong in the playoffs.
Say what you want about how Chaos and Archers could have beaten them, but it's clear that Chaos are better than the win/loss record they brought with them. Blaze Riorden is doing Blaze Riorden things again. The defense is stepping up in game plan execution and physicality. The offense is.... ok so the offense hasn't really improved that much from their infuriating regular season style, but you get the idea.
"But Sean, basically half their team started the season late because of the NLL season."
Yeah, and? Most of those guys are offensive players, and I just said their offense is brutal to watch more often than not. Adding guys like Dhane Smit and Josh Byrne are important for putting the ball in the back of the net, but it doesn't mean they look any better stylistically, which is the key issue here.
I don't understand how this team can just dick around the entire regular season, show up in the playoffs, and start kicking ass and taking names. It was cool the first time they did it, because it felt like a fluke. It feels like it was planned this time around, and it infuriates me to no end.
The PLL can't get the reputation of a league where the regular season doesn't matter. They need every week to mean something to maximize their growth potential and fanbase expansion. If the Chaos win the 'chip again, everything the other 7 franchises will have done during the season will be totally invalidated. We need Waterdogs to win the Cash App Championship for the sake of legitimacy.
Waterdogs weren't the top team in the league record-wise at any point, but they showed the ability to be that over multiple games. They weren't just winning, they looked the part of a championship caliber team. It would actually make sense for them to win the title. If they don't, and Chaos does pull this off, there is only one solution that the PLL can take.
Relegate the Chaos to punish tanking. I need the Rabil brothers to be ready to pull the trigger on this the moment the final horn blows if Chaos are on top. A message needs to be sent.
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