There’s a difference between “influenced” and “rigged.” No one can deny any true sport is influenced by the personal biases of the refs who call it; it’s just an issue of to what degree. The NBA is not “rigged,” though. If it was, the Spurs and Suns would have had opposite success rates in the playoffs in recent years.
There's a difference between "influenced" and "rigged." No one can deny any true sport is influenced by the personal biases of the refs who call it; it's just an issue of to what degree. The NBA is not "rigged," though. If it was, the Spurs and Suns would have had opposite success rates in the playoffs in recent years.
Good point about the spurs and suns. Nobody likes watching the Spurs, I think the NBA had really low ratings those years for the finals.
Making their accomplishments over the last 8 years that much more astonishing, considering that the refs might have been working against them at times.I watched the Mavericks-Heat finals because of the local interest, and I thought it was rigged heavily in Games 6 and 7. Dallas was doing everything right, only to not get any whistles and to get whistled for getting perspiration on Heat players.
I guess all the people bitching about Federal oversight in sports will have something else to bitch about when Congress goes after Stern.
Game 7 was so rigged that they didn’t even play it!
[QUOTE=49timesthelovin;324609]Game 7 was so rigged that they didn’t even play it![/QUOTE]
You are correct. It was Games 5 & 6 I was referring to. The last two games of the series is what I watched.
[QUOTE=49timesthelovin]Nobody likes watching the Spurs, I think the NBA had really low ratings those years for the finals. [/QUOTE]
That has more to do with their populace than it does with the team. They play a similar style, but better, than the Ewing-Starks Knick teams of the 90’s. The Eastern Final and Final games that included those Knick teams were not watched because they were fun to watch. That team just happened to be in New York instead of south Texas.
Last year’s Finals had the NBA poster boy in it, and it still only drew a 5.6 rating. That was a matchup of the #17 media market versus the #37 media market. This year, it’s the #2 media market versus the #7 media market. MIRACULOUSLY, the ratings are up 50%. I just can’t figure it out. :huh:
I never knew it was rigged but now it does make sense, that Lakers-Kings series was pretty much when I really started to hate the Lakers, the yankees of basketball. I always loved the kings (Webber kind of) especially vlade, peja and mike B, even doug christie. The Lakers were not likeable partially because of their smug, duke-like attitude (Kobe would have been a perfect fit in durham, or UNC-CH for that matter, what a snotbag.) Shaq was likeable but the way that he could bulldoze anyone with a charge and then couldn’t be touched at the other end looked more like a strongman competition than basketball. Their brand of basketball was not fun to watch, and the favortism was obvious.
Regardless whether it’s rigged or not, I hope they become more strict in terms of giving technicals for complaining to the refs. I really don’t mind the NBA as much as some. But the constant griping to the officials after every play annoys the hell out of me. I used to hate Kobe. He’s grown on me a little bit know, if for no other reason that I believe he is the best player in the world. But with the ability to see all plays again with a DVR, I would guess Kobe is only correct with his gripes to the officials 50% of the time. Yet, he acts like the officials are absurd with their calls.
Regardless whether it's rigged or not, I hope they become more strict in terms of giving technicals for complaining to the refs. I really don't mind the NBA as much as some. But the constant griping to the officials after every play annoys the hell out of me. I used to hate Kobe. He's grown on me a little bit know, if for no other reason that I believe he is the best player in the world. But with the ability to see all plays again with a DVR, I would guess Kobe is only correct with his gripes to the officials 50% of the time. Yet, he acts like the officials are absurd with their calls.No kidding, I watched a playoff game with him in it, where he flipped out, scowled, and immediately went over to the ref complaining after missing a shot, then they showed the replay where the defender didn't even touch him at all.
That Kings-Lakers game 6 was unbelievable, and even more suspicious, the Kings were at home. At least in this year’s series, you can count on the home team getting most of the calls. It’s also interesting to note which refs are assigned to which games (as Bill Simmons points out all the time). Certain refs seem to make a lot of questionable calls in big games, I would guess these are the “company men” donaghy is referring to.
I personally have always thought there was some suspect stuff in the NBA (I think it exists in all sports, but it is easier to identify in basketball).
Other than the lottery being behind closed doors, the game that set me off was Portland @ LA, Game 7 in LA. The Trailblazers were up big most of the game, Rasheed Wallace was unstoppable. Then came the 4th quarter and everything went against Portland, but mostly Wallace missing badly on shots he was draining all game (and whe I say missing badly, I mean missing the rim.)
If Portland would have won that game, the NBA Finals would have been Portland versus Indiana…
I think it is harder for outside forces to influence the game in most major sports.
So much of basketball is on the fly and a ref making bad calls can be chalked up to them just being off that day. But the fact that officiating in basketball has been so bad for so long, and the fact that in the NBA there is a questionable outcome to so many games, especially crucial games, that it is hard to believe that the game hasn’t been rigged.
I remember watching the Hornets’ playoff series in 2001 and 2002, and I clearly recall thinking that some WEIRD stuff was getting called against Charlotte… everyone hopped on Paul Silas’ ass for saying that the league was putting the screws to them because for the Hornets to win when the owner was trying to move the team would be embarrassing to the league. He may’ve been right.
I remember watching the Hornets' playoff series in 2001 and 2002, and I clearly recall thinking that some WEIRD stuff was getting called against Charlotte.... everyone hopped on Paul Silas' ass for saying that the league was putting the screws to them because for the Hornets to win when the owner was trying to move the team would be embarrassing to the league. He may've been right.
I somewhat remember that. I remember thinking that every time Mashburn would get going, he would get called for a foul.