For those of you who know me well, you've probably heard me rant about how I thought the NBA was rigged. That said, I used to believe that games outcomes weren't steered, but controlled to a great degree. There are a lot of theories out there about how the game can be controlled...from salary cap breaks to things that simply make the game more entertaining, there is a lot of room and even some evidence of tampering.
My theory was elaborate, but plausible. The first element of my conspiracy was the officials. As we're seeing in each game of th 2008 playoffs, they can control the outcome of contests. For instance, we've seen 60 point swings during this year's playoffs in at least 3 series. I've heard for so long that the players are professionals...little things like crowds and environments simply don't affect athletes of this ilk. Well, if that's the case, something else is at play here...the foul counts don't help anything either.
The second layer of my theory was that the coaches were involved. Granted, not all coaches played along, but most do. Subtle changes in the rotation of players can make a big difference. We saw a bit of this last night as the Lakers held a slim lead and the Celtics came out of one of their last timeouts with only one of the big three in the game. Why would a coach do such a thing? Well, it's simple. That coach owes EVERYTHING to the NBA. What type of guy owes so much? An ex-player, of course. In fact, I can only count 7 coaches that didn't play in the league...most, in fact, had long, successful careers.
The third layer was that a superstar from each team needed to play ball wit the plan...this guy can't be just any good player, he needs to be a guy who, once again, feels somewhat in debt to the league for his status. I'm not talking about throwing the game, I'm talking about missing free throws, faking sickness or injury or even taking it easy from time to time.
Many have questioned my theory...and I understand them thinking I'm nuts. Afterall, we haven't heard a songbird come to the forefront and spout off about anything even close...until now.
Granted, this little birdie is a less-than reputable source in the fact that his character is clearly horrible...but even liars tell the truth sometimes. Tim Doneghy has started talking about various playoff series in which the league told officials, not just him, to keep certain players from playing their game. To some, this is sacrilege, but the story has legs as former Rockets coach was fined, and get this, $100,000, for complaining about officiating during the Rockets/Mavs series a few years ago.
This goes along with my vast theory as Van Gundy is just a good coach...not an ex-player. Like his brother who has also gotten into trouble with the league for complaining about officials, these two have never been tight-lipped about their displeasure about NBA officials...until last night.
If you saw the halftime story about Doneghy's account of the series in question, I found it laughable. Van Gundy wouldn't really talk about his problems with the refs and Stern's response, to me anyway, was not believable. Just like in the Roger Clemens case, the easiest thing to do is to start questioning the words of a proven liar...but what if both sides are liars? Then it comes down to the court of public opinion...Like a gameshow, Who's the Bigger Liar?
Regardless of what the public and eventually the legal system finds out, it doesn't matter who was the bigger liar...The biggest victims of such a conspiracy would be the fans first, and the game second.
Like all pessimists, I hope you can tell me I'm wrong someday...But I seriously doubt you'll be able to.
10 comments:
So, the big question now is when will Congress get involved?
I have known games were rigged since the infamous Larry Johnson "Continuation" call that allowed the Knicks to beat the Pacers in game 3 or 4 of the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals. That was the biggest horsecrap call in the history of basketball.
Travis, that was the height of it, in my opinion...it was getting ridiculous at that point.
Paul, isn't that just what we need? Another congressional committee! Yeh!
Oops - my bad, looks like Stern has already "briefed" congress. Silly me.
Let us not forget the Scottie-Pippin-4-Step.
Or the Ewing 4-step...some of my favorites.
Larry Johnson was fouled hard on that play, boys, and his continuation was consistent with NBA continuations.... I wouldn't even put that in the top 50 egregious calls. It was actually according to the way NBA fouls are called.
I have more problem with all Jordan's pushing off and traveling throughout the 90s. Ask the Jazz if they think his series-winner in '98 was legit -- or if Russell might have gotten a hand in his face had he not been shoved to the ground by His Airness.
But yeah, I don't know why I'm arguing. I think it's a legit conspiracy, the NBA is a joke, blahbidy blah blah blah.
Lakers-Celtics! What a surprise matchup!
Jordan's series winner was more legit that LJ's continuation. Johnson could have stopped, had a cup of coffee, toasted a bagle, and ate it in the time between the foul and his actual shot attempt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mylQPDTKgLM
Cripes, I was drunk off my ass at a party when it happened and I saw that!
Oops, wrong video, here's the right one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5kyzvyM6KU&feature=related
Bill Simmons is spot on:
That reminds me, I have decided to ignore Tim Donaghy's "accusations" about chicanery with NBA officiating for the same reason I argued we should have ignored Matt Walsh during SpyGate -- if someone's a complete scumbag, then anything they say should be taken with the caveat that a complete scumbag is saying it. Besides, we didn't need Donaghy to tell us something horribly unsettling happened with the officiating for Game 6 of the 2002 Kings-Lakers series. We all watched it and I have written about it at least 10 different times -- along with Game 7 of the Sonics-Suns series in '93, LJ's Four-Point Play in '99 and the Hubert Davis Game, it was one of the four fishiest NBA games since I graduated college. Actually, "fishiest" isn't a strong enough word. The credibility of the sport was briefly compromised. Again, I didn't need some scumbag felon to elucidate this for me.
I'm not sure NBA players are involved in the game fixing, but it's obvious that the officials are. Both games 2 and 3 of this year's NBA Finals are a testament to that. (The free throw disparities in both games made it blatantly obvious.)
I remember watching the Larry Johnson four point play when it happened with a friend of mine who had no interest in either team. He commented on how one-sided the officiating was. Usually your friends just tell you you are over-reacting, not the case in that game.
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