Donaghy: 2002 NBA Playoffs series fixed

Entirely plausible theory, but I'll tell you what: He just created a shit storm for a ouple of his former co-workers. Within 24 hours, several past or present NBA refs are going to be absolutely swamped with media phone calls and will soon find themselves the subject of investigations by multiple law-enforcement agencies.

 

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200205280SAC.html

Oh, gee, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to post game Five's stats. That had a nice free-throw disparity, too, you see.

Here's game six. Yup, there was a disparity.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200205310LAL.html

But how the hell did they fix the series, considering the Lakers had to make a lucky comeback in game Four? And the Kings choked in Game Seven?

Also, Pacer fans: stop bitching about 1998's Game seven. The Greatest Player in the History of The Game had a shit game, and the Bulls still beat you.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199805310CHI.html

 

Tell me if I'm wrong on this. In reading that story, I didn't see proof of a conspiracy. It seems to me the league has plausible deniability here because the supervisor only ordered the officials to call the rules as they are written in the book.
To me, the most interesting stuff here is the allegation that some referees had improper dealings with team owners. That's a pretty damning revelation.

 

You don't think the fact that this comes from a former NBA official changes things and elevates this issue beyond that type of flip dismissal? Jeez, you're acting like this discussion is out of line because its just the usual Sacramento whining. Um, NO, its not just that anymore.

Regardless of Donaghy's credibility, it IS a big story--I don't believe anybody from the NBA inside has ever alleged a fixed series before--and this issue is just heating up whether you wanna hear it or not. You might even have to endure talk of your Lakers getting the dreaded * next to their 02 Championship before its over.

 

The real question here is how much traction will this story receive, considering the main purveyor of sports news also owns the rights to air the game in question.

To be honest with you, when one of the 3 biggest sports leagues has their integrity in question to this degree, this should have been big news from the moment this came up.

But dress codes and other player related crap received more attention than this evolving story.

To me, this is one of the biggest things to take place in sports in the past 20 years.

 

Uh, I don't care if the issue heats up. It's a hell of a story. If you think there would be any talk of an asterisk aside from fanidiots and overzealous columnists, then you're on drugs.

But the bitching gets tired after six years. That Voisin column was a complete whine-fest. The Kings choked away the deciding game at home. They had a mediocre coach and a so-called superstar who plays hot potato in close games.

I'll give no more time to Pacer fans' delusions about 1998.

 

Yes, you are correct.

I would place it right with steriods.

 

The Mavericks probably didn't deserve to win the 2006 title, but I'm still wondering why the officials decided that Dwyane Wade was the second coming of Air Jordan. That guy got EVERY call in that series (admittedly, the Mavs didn't reallyl have anyone who could guard him.) Not saying the refs were betting in that series but jeez they sure seemed prejudiced against Dallas.

 

It wasn't just the Dallas series that season -- it was the entire playoff. That right there was the most recent vomit-inducing display by NBA officials. Absolutely pathetic the way that Wade got a whistle anytime anyone even sweat on him throughout that entire run.

 

Of course there never would've been that deciding Game 7, and your Lakers had been eliminated by that mediocre coach and so-called superstar, if not for some egregiously one-sided officiating in game 6.

At least that's how it looked to nearly every non-Laker fan who watched that game. And now they've got a sworn statement from a former NBA official dumping a boatload of fuel on that fire.

 

I'm a Laker fan and personally questioned the officiating of that game.

 

The NHL looks better and better every day.