I used to think this was all bogus. The NBA conspiracy theory. If the NBA was fixing games, why would the small market Spurs win 4 titles? Why would there be so many sweeps (like the Spurs sweeping King James in last year's finals)? Why (as has been alleged) would they try and target Yao Ming in that one playoff series when the NBA so obviously is desperate to attract the billion potential fans in China? It just didn't make sense.
Now I'm not so sure. I don't believe there's some overarching conspiracy. But do I believe there're isolated incidents where someone from the league tells the refs to call a game a certain way? Yes. I do. It doesn't have to be in a Dr. Evil way ("We need the Lakers to win this game so we can get better ratings in the finals"). It could be a little more subversive. Only telling the referees what they need to know ("Don't call so many calls on Shaq this game"). That alone can influence a game's outcome.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I always felt like Stern was a snake. If even one game is revealed to have been fixed, the NBA will take a huge hit.
Now I'm not so sure. I don't believe there's some overarching conspiracy. But do I believe there're isolated incidents where someone from the league tells the refs to call a game a certain way? Yes. I do. It doesn't have to be in a Dr. Evil way ("We need the Lakers to win this game so we can get better ratings in the finals"). It could be a little more subversive. Only telling the referees what they need to know ("Don't call so many calls on Shaq this game"). That alone can influence a game's outcome.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I always felt like Stern was a snake. If even one game is revealed to have been fixed, the NBA will take a huge hit.