My Theory: (if proven true, I will never have any faith in David Stern ever again.)

[NameOfTheGame]

The NBA actually wants a Memphis-LA Western Conference match-up. This will be good in a few ways...one of which is the Lakers, the biggest money-making machine the NBA has, makes a lot of money for the NBA, like always.

But the second, much more subtle, goal is to finally vindicate Memphis for the ABSOLUTELY horrible, egregiously severe case of straight-up COLLUSION they took part in in the Pau Gasol trade of 2008.

If you recall, the Lakers gave up chump-change, a RETIRED Aaron Mckie (i think), and a little known Euro-center MARC Gasol in that deal. (And some draft picks.)

There was a HUGE deal made about this, including comments from Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich, all around the league, mainly because the Grizzlies could have gotten a MUCH better deal for what they gave up (an All-Star Center) from SEVERAL other teams, including the Chicago Bulls. (They would've included like a BOATLOAD. I think Luol Deng and Tyrus Thomas, who I still maintain was just lacking in proper coaching, among others, were in serious discussions/possibility.)

But the Grizzlies, with an under-the-disguise-of-semi-official-"unemployment" Jerry West (former Laker Legend) acting behind the scenes, orchestrated an under-the-table OUT OF ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY NOWHERE deal that landed Pau Gasol in L.A. juuuuuuust after they recently lost Andrew Bynum for the season, basically. Bynum would eventually come back and the tandem of Bynum/Gasol/Odom would be THE MAIN REASON why the Lakers would be in prime position for a three-peat...this year.

Let's get back to the Grizzlies. They were left the laughing-stock of the NBA for a while. But the League's wheels are ALWAYS spinning...Over the next few years, they'd land key after key player, culminating in the Juggernaut (aka Zach Randolph)...and NOW, with an improved Marc Gasol, who is still just a fraction of the player his big brother is, is primed to render all "collusion" talk mute. If you're a chump who believes in The Man all the time, that is.

Let's go to Chicago. Now, I KNOW, they raised all kinds of hell for being shafted like no other. So what happens? They land key player after key player until now THEY are primed to make serious noise for years. Crying, shafted, "less-favorite" son appeased.

Let's take a trip to San Antonio -- the adopted, from-a-previous-marriage son who never pleased his parents the way they wanted him to. Now, they've ALWAYS been shafted, but they've somehow ALWAYS found some random-ass player from some random-ass league in some random-ass country to fill roles with a (relatively) broke-ass owner, who's finally trying to sell the house, the barn, EVERYTHING to battle and win against ALL ODDS yet again. Not to mention, they've NEVER followed protocol when it came to acting in accordance with King Stern.

(And seriously...they almost NEVER land a marquee free agent or mega-trade. EVER.)What happens to them?

They somehow figure out a way to get the best record in the Western Conference but, conveniently, due to some super bad luck they suffer some injuries towards the end of the season. BUT this opens a golden opportunity for the NBA to face them off against these so-called "up and coming" Memphis Grizzlies. NO WAY the NBA lets this opportunity pass them by. They're ensured a loss to the suddenly seemingly randomly appointed Memphis Grizzlies.

Oh, but it isn't so random. Not in the NBA.

Let's go back to Boston, a few more seasons ago. How'd they get their "Big Three"?? Kevin Mchale, a former Celtic Legend, is the GM of Minnesota, the team that had Kevin Garnett. And waddaya know...they send him to Boston in a seemingly, borderline-barely fair deal that nets them a bunch of borderline-barely good players. That trade single-handedly saved the Celtics. And where's Minnesota? You tell me.

Now...all this is pretty straight out of my head right now and I haven't had the time to REALLY research and bolster this and make it all shiny and polished. (Not even a single Google search, actually, so I don't know if i even have the very general facts straight here.) But IF I were to do this, and I got paid to do so...like the slightly-better-than-mediocre writer, Bill Simmons, I'd be an ESPN writer in no time. And getting death-threats from David Stern himself.

BUT. Even without this "golden" Lakers-Memphis match-up, by taking down the top-seeded Spurs, Memphis has already made the required statement for the NBA that it needed to make. All they have to do is take OKC to 6 or 7 games and that'd suffice in Stern's eyes, I'm betting.

But you never know....OKC has some pretty prominent San Antonio connections too...

Bottom-line: The NBA is a for-profit MONEY-making machine first and foremost. You think ANYONE who's running a business as lucrative as this would NOT do things to ensure it makes the MOST money? You'd almost have to be crazy to just sit there and "watch good basketball" play out. No...you want to make money at all costs, you do whatever it takes to make the most money. At all costs. And that's what they do...while trying, unsuccessfully in my eyes, to walk that precarious tight-rope between manipulating the masses and keeping their faith. As ALL for-profit businesses do.

BOOM.(I realize this isn't THAT revolutionary. But I think I can put this together much better in a way that no article I've come across has. But...I don't get paid for this. So I probably won't.)

_________________

Go Cal Bears! Go USC Trojans!

[eric365]

didn't read after the 1st paragraphe.

Memphis was just better. No excuse.
BTW refs helped the spurs big time in the fourth quarter of game 5...

[NameOfTheGame]

didn't read after the 1st paragraphe.

Memphis was just better. No excuse.
BTW refs helped the spurs big time in the fourth quarter of game 5...

One game =/= "The Big Picture." Bro.

[hater]

Memphis was the better team in every single one of the 6 games. Manu's will won game 2 and miracles game 5.

Complete thread failure

[NameOfTheGame]

Memphis was the better team in every single one of the 6 games. Manu's will won game 2 and miracles game 5.

Complete thread failure

Goddammit, people...I'm NOT talking about the SERIES itself for fuck's sake...

USUALLY. "The Man" works on a larger scale, with a much larger scope, with many more moving parts than the average-joe has access to or even is not distracted enough to notice.

(BTW, I am reeeeaaaaallllllyyyy not a conspiracy theorist...in most anything. this is just a random thought that came to me while just...thinking about shit, in general. Sorry. I thought this was what "Forums" were for...)

[koriwhat]

i hate conspiracies but damn if that series vs memphis wasn't total and utter bs! headlocks, pushes, etc... not to mention the bs 8 pt run in less than 10 seconds or whatever in game 6 right after the spurs finally grasped the lead, yeah...

fuck david stern and fuck the nba for what it has become.

[Oh, Gee!!]

yeah, grizzlies were just better than the spurs. keep your head up, OP. we'll get them next year.

[cantthinkofanything]

Goddammit, people...I'm NOT talking about the SERIES itself for fuck's sake...

USUALLY. "The Man" works on a larger scale, with a much larger scope, with many more moving parts than the average-joe has access to or even is not distracted enough to notice.

(BTW, I am reeeeaaaaallllllyyyy not a conspiracy theorist...in most anything. this is just a random thought that came to me while just...thinking about shit, in general. Sorry. I thought this was what "Forums" were for...)

You're missing the big picture. This is bigger than the NBA. This goes back to the banning of the Free Masons in Spain. I think this is all you need to know to take it from here.

Oh yeah, two more words to make it come together, "Gasol Brothers".

[GSH]

Dude. I bitch about the refs as much as anyone. I think the officiating is biased in favor of franchise players. I think that the officiating is biased in favor of certain styles of play. And I think that too many of the refs are intimidated by the home town crowd. (Which may or may not even out, depending on referee assignments.)

BUT... that being said. There is NO conspiracy that directly involved cooking the calls on the floor. None. It just doesn't exist. The NBA promotes certain players and certain teams, in order to try and generate excitement and sell their product. That has an indirect effect on the human beings that call games. (In my opinion.) Sometimes the league instructs the refs to look for certain things, before certain games. (Less so, since Stu Jackson got pushed aside.) But they don't tell the refs to purposely blow calls in favor of one team or another.

There are definitely nights where calls are very inconsistent on opposite ends of the floor. I think that has a lot to do with referee expectations. If a team is known for being "aggressive", they are allowed to pay more aggresively. If a player is known for being a great ball handler, he gets more calls when driving. (Because it's obvious that the only way to stop him is to foul him.) But all of that has to do with the league as a whole, and not just certain teams.

[NameOfTheGame]

You're missing the big picture. This is bigger than the NBA. This goes back to the banning of the Free Masons in Spain. I think this is all you need to know to take it from here.

Oh yeah, two more words to make it come together, "Gasol Brothers".

Dude. I think you're probably like the most hilarious person ever, man.

[cantthinkofanything]

Dude. I think you're probably like the most hilarious person ever, man.

You should see your mom wearing nothing but clown makeup and panty hose.

[NameOfTheGame]

You should see your mom wearing nothing but clown makeup and panty hose.

wtf is wrong with you?

[cantthinkofanything]

wtf is wrong with you?

Sorry...me??? You should go back and read your OP.

[JamStone]

Couple of thoughts since I think you're dead serious:

-When and why did you ever have faith in Stern in the first place?
-This is not "your" theory. It's not an original idea. Played out actually.
-If there was some directive as you suggest in your post, were Tim Duncan and Popovich in on it? They'd have to be because they let Memphis run the train on them.
-How will it ever be proven to be true? You expecting another Donaghy type of confession? The officiating wasn't the reason why the Spurs lost.

[NameOfTheGame]

Couple of thoughts since I think you're dead serious:

-When and why did you ever have faith in Stern in the first place?
-This is not "your" theory. It's not an original idea. Played out actually.
-If there was some directive as you suggest in your post, were Tim Duncan and Popovich in on it? They'd have to be because they let Memphis run the train on them.
-How will it ever be proven to be true? You expecting another Donaghy type of confession? The officiating wasn't the reason why the Spurs lost.

I never said it was my theory. I never said anything was "original." What I did say was that this was just a random spewing of thoughts on the matter that IF I were to put some real effort into it, I could PUT TOGETHER and present it in a way that I, MYSELF, have not come across yet...

...which is, by the way, how anything worthwhile that has ever been read, said, listened to, or watched has ever come about. Being put together and presented correctly/properly/with due-diligence. NOT because it's like super duper original or anything.

God. Damn. You'd think a forum -- a "sports" forum -- would be a lot more receptive to random "spewing" of thoughts every now and then.

What'd you want me to call it? "THE" Theory?

[FromWayDowntown]

Spew thoughts all you want.

Just don't expect people to agree with you when your spewed thoughts are charitably called asinine.

[NameOfTheGame]

Spew thoughts all you want.

Just don't expect people to agree with you when your spewed thoughts are charitably called asinine.

Honestly, I've seen more "asinine" shit be spewed multiple times by you within your 16,381 posts. As the gangsta from Nazareth would say, "Cast the first stone, bitches."

[kaji157]

What i do agree is that part of the officialiting changed towards the end of the season to favor teams against us.
During this season no overly physical defense was allowed, and fouls on the paint were called differently.
Over the end of the season where we started crumbling the NBA noticed this and caried it over the Grizz series, instead of going to a touch-is-foul guards oriented reffering that would benefit us, such as in the Chicago, OKC or Dallas series.
We got the same calling as the Celtics, Lakers and Atlanta series, a no kill no foul kind of calling that will overlly kill san antonio, even if they survived this series due to the age of their players.

It is pretty suspicious to me that this turned out this way, ticky tack fouls were called normally during the Chicago series on rose, OKC series on Durant and Dallas got the same treatment against Portland.
We all know this was the outcome the league wanted.

But it's the other way of calling what it's making me think about "conspiracy" those refs landed on particular series where that kind of criteria will be determinal to the winning team chances of advancing.
Other than the lakers who still had a chance.

Memphis would have lost the series if less contact was allowed.
And Howard would have been unstoppable on a no-contact scenario.

The league clearly wants Howard out of Orlando, and it was no secret that the Idea of the Spurs going to another finals at the expenses of up-and-coming OKC or Cash-Cow Lakers was like a nightmare.

[FkLA]

The NBA actually wants a Memphis-LA Western Conference match-up. This will be good in a few ways...one of which is the Lakers, the biggest money-making machine the NBA has, makes a lot of money for the NBA, like always.

But the second, much more subtle, goal is to finally vindicate Memphis for the ABSOLUTELY horrible, egregiously severe case of straight-up COLLUSION they took part in in the Pau Gasol trade of 2008.

If you recall, the Lakers gave up chump-change, a RETIRED Aaron Mckie (i think), and a little known Euro-center MARC Gasol in that deal. (And some draft picks.)

There was a HUGE deal made about this, including comments from Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich, all around the league, mainly because the Grizzlies could have gotten a MUCH better deal for what they gave up (an All-Star Center) from SEVERAL other teams, including the Chicago Bulls. (They would've included like a BOATLOAD. I think Luol Deng and Tyrus Thomas, who I still maintain was just lacking in proper coaching, among others, were in serious discussions/possibility.)

But the Grizzlies, with an under-the-disguise-of-semi-official-"unemployment" Jerry West (former Laker Legend) acting behind the scenes, orchestrated an under-the-table OUT OF ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY NOWHERE deal that landed Pau Gasol in L.A. juuuuuuust after they recently lost Andrew Bynum for the season, basically. Bynum would eventually come back and the tandem of Bynum/Gasol/Odom would be THE MAIN REASON why the Lakers would be in prime position for a three-peat...this year.

Let's get back to the Grizzlies. They were left the laughing-stock of the NBA for a while. But the League's wheels are ALWAYS spinning...Over the next few years, they'd land key after key player, culminating in the Juggernaut (aka Zach Randolph)...and NOW, with an improved Marc Gasol, who is still just a fraction of the player his big brother is, is primed to render all "collusion" talk mute. If you're a chump who believes in The Man all the time, that is.

Let's go to Chicago. Now, I KNOW, they raised all kinds of hell for being shafted like no other. So what happens? They land key player after key player until now THEY are primed to make serious noise for years. Crying, shafted, "less-favorite" son appeased.

Let's take a trip to San Antonio -- the adopted, from-a-previous-marriage son who never pleased his parents the way they wanted him to. Now, they've ALWAYS been shafted, but they've somehow ALWAYS found some random-ass player from some random-ass league in some random-ass country to fill roles with a (relatively) broke-ass owner, who's finally trying to sell the house, the barn, EVERYTHING to battle and win against ALL ODDS yet again. Not to mention, they've NEVER followed protocol when it came to acting in accordance with King Stern.

(And seriously...they almost NEVER land a marquee free agent or mega-trade. EVER.)What happens to them?

They somehow figure out a way to get the best record in the Western Conference but, conveniently, due to some super bad luck they suffer some injuries towards the end of the season. BUT this opens a golden opportunity for the NBA to face them off against these so-called "up and coming" Memphis Grizzlies. NO WAY the NBA lets this opportunity pass them by. They're ensured a loss to the suddenly seemingly randomly appointed Memphis Grizzlies.

Oh, but it isn't so random. Not in the NBA.

Let's go back to Boston, a few more seasons ago. How'd they get their "Big Three"?? Kevin Mchale, a former Celtic Legend, is the GM of Minnesota, the team that had Kevin Garnett. And waddaya know...they send him to Boston in a seemingly, borderline-barely fair deal that nets them a bunch of borderline-barely good players. That trade single-handedly saved the Celtics. And where's Minnesota? You tell me.

Now...all this is pretty straight out of my head right now and I haven't had the time to REALLY research and bolster this and make it all shiny and polished. (Not even a single Google search, actually, so I don't know if i even have the very general facts straight here.) But IF I were to do this, and I got paid to do so...like the slightly-better-than-mediocre writer, Bill Simmons, I'd be an ESPN writer in no time. And getting death-threats from David Stern himself.

BUT. Even without this "golden" Lakers-Memphis match-up, by taking down the top-seeded Spurs, Memphis has already made the required statement for the NBA that it needed to make. All they have to do is take OKC to 6 or 7 games and that'd suffice in Stern's eyes, I'm betting.

But you never know....OKC has some pretty prominent San Antonio connections too...

Bottom-line: The NBA is a for-profit MONEY-making machine first and foremost. You think ANYONE who's running a business as lucrative as this would NOT do things to ensure it makes the MOST money? You'd almost have to be crazy to just sit there and "watch good basketball" play out. No...you want to make money at all costs, you do whatever it takes to make the most money. At all costs. And that's what they do...while trying, unsuccessfully in my eyes, to walk that precarious tight-rope between manipulating the masses and keeping their faith. As ALL for-profit businesses do.

BOOM.(I realize this isn't THAT revolutionary. But I think I can put this together much better in a way that no article I've come across has. But...I don't get paid for this. So I probably won't.)

_________________

Go Cal Bears! Go USC Trojans!

No.

[Bukefal]

I think you need a big nice relaxing vacation :toast

[Obstructed_View]

The Spurs were able to be aggressive and get calls throughout the series. The one time the calls seemed to go against the Spurs, they completely quit and got fucking destroyed. Not sure how the league could have anticipated any of that. You provide cleared check stubs from the league office to Parker with "for turning the ball over" in the memo field, and I might start to believe.

[Spurminator]

This has got to be the first time anyone has accused Stern of manipulating games to benefit the Memphis Grizzlies.

[temujin]

Dude. I bitch about the refs as much as anyone. I think the officiating is biased in favor of franchise players. I think that the officiating is biased in favor of certain styles of play. And I think that too many of the refs are intimidated by the home town crowd. (Which may or may not even out, depending on referee assignments.)

BUT... that being said. There is NO conspiracy that directly involved cooking the calls on the floor. None. It just doesn't exist. The NBA promotes certain players and certain teams, in order to try and generate excitement and sell their product. That has an indirect effect on the human beings that call games. (In my opinion.) Sometimes the league instructs the refs to look for certain things, before certain games. (Less so, since Stu Jackson got pushed aside.) But they don't tell the refs to purposely blow calls in favor of one team or another.

There are definitely nights where calls are very inconsistent on opposite ends of the floor. I think that has a lot to do with referee expectations. If a team is known for being "aggressive", they are allowed to pay more aggresively. If a player is known for being a great ball handler, he gets more calls when driving. (Because it's obvious that the only way to stop him is to foul him.) But all of that has to do with the league as a whole, and not just certain teams.

For example, they didn't look very hard on how Allen was guarding Durant.
Same defense and 2 quick fouls will be called on Allen on Tuesday.

Conspiracy? Hell no, too complicated, phone calls, arrangements, meetings even.

Suggestions, rather.....

[temujin]

It is a very interesting scenario.

I still think the Spurs beat themselves by playing Bonner and Jefferson a lot.

Still, I was puzzled by watching Joey Crawford allowing a very physical game of Memphis on Durant, without doing much.

We will see what Presti can do about it.

[Venti Quattro]

Go get a rope and kill yourself :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

[Venti Quattro]

LOLOMG you're from USC why am I not surprised. :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

[romain.star]

You guys are really funny with your Stern conspiracy theories.

Nobody never won a NBA championship thanks to one sided ref decisions...

As far as I remember, every title has been won by the best team (barring injury issues).

[temujin]

You guys are really funny with your Stern conspiracy theories.

Nobody never won a NBA championship thanks to one sided ref decisions...

As far as I remember, every title has been won by the best team (barring injury issues).

:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol

[cantthinkofanything]

You guys are really funny with your Stern conspiracy theories.

Nobody never won a NBA championship thanks to one sided ref decisions...

As far as I remember, every title has been won by the best team (barring injury issues).

I agree with this except for the 2000-2002 Finals, the 2004 Finals and 2006 Finals. In these particular cases, the Spurs were cheated out their rightful champoinships due to crooked refs and collusion.
And 2008 and 2009.

[Venti Quattro]

I agree with this except for the 2000-2002 Finals, the 2004 Finals and 2006 Finals. In these particular cases, the Spurs were cheated out their rightful champoinships due to crooked refs and collusion.
And 2008 and 2009.

:lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

The mad here is off the charts!!!

[romain.star]

:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol

:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol

[GoodOdor]

Fuck Stern for rigging the spurs 4 rings!

[DMC]

Post flop ergo proctor hop

[crc21209]

This has got to be the first time anyone has accused Stern of manipulating games to benefit the Memphis Grizzlies.

:lol

[jaffies]

I never said it was my theory.

My Theory:

[Bambililos]

Wow, so the OP is the kind of person who gets paranoid when high... it happens.

[NameOfTheGame]

I never said it was my theory. I never said anything was "original." What I did say was that this was just a random spewing of thoughts on the matter that IF I were to put some real effort into it, I could PUT TOGETHER and present it in a way that I, MYSELF, have not come across yet...

...which is, by the way, how anything worthwhile that has ever been read, said, listened to, or watched has ever come about. Being put together and presented correctly/properly/with due-diligence. NOT because it's like super duper original or anything.

God. Damn. You'd think a forum -- a "sports" forum -- would be a lot more receptive to random "spewing" of thoughts every now and then.

What'd you want me to call it? "THE" Theory?

And...I really don't think it's WWE/WWF level stuff. But a little nudging, a few pulls of the strings here and there, some bias and influence in player movement, team dealings, and maybe....mayyyyyyybe the occasional slight/subtle refereeing bias in certain games?

it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility.

Of course it's a product, the product has to be good, and you can't ever make a BAD or less-than-good basketball team win without causing uproar and making it super obvious. But between two equally "very-good" or upper-echelon teams? I'm saying it's possible.

And...in the larger, more-difficult-to track, long-term picture of keeping an upper-echelon team up there or helping along a middle-of-the-pack team get to that upper crust of the league?

Yes. I definitely think that's possible.

And...seeing/reading what I have about human history and nature...when there's this much money and power involved in ANYTHING, as much as I would like to believe in the moral incorruptibility of mankind, I just can't bring myself to do it.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." - Jimi Hendrix

We don't know peace. So I assume the love of power is still winning out.

Maybe I'm naive. So be it.

(Oh...and I consider myself a UC-Berkeley Cal Golden Bear. That's where I'm getting my degree from. But I did have to transfer out to USC for one year due to them being more affordable...for one year. Then I transferred back. Berkeley's better, I'll fully admit...for ME. USC is one of the best schools I've ever even stepped foot on. I feel proud to have gone there.)

[Trill Clinton]

Thread Backfire

[NameOfTheGame]

And...I really don't think it's WWE/WWF level stuff. But a little nudging, a few pulls of the strings here and there, some bias and influence in player movement, team dealings, and maybe....mayyyyyyybe the occasional slight/subtle refereeing bias in certain games?

it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility.

Of course it's a product, the product has to be good, and you can't ever make a BAD or less-than-good basketball team win without causing uproar and making it super obvious. But between two equally "very-good" or upper-echelon teams? I'm saying it's possible.

And...in the larger, more-difficult-to track, long-term picture of keeping an upper-echelon team up there or helping along a middle-of-the-pack team get to that upper crust of the league?

Yes. I definitely think that's possible.

And...seeing/reading what I have about human history and nature...when there's this much money and power involved in ANYTHING, as much as I would like to believe in the moral incorruptibility of mankind, I just can't bring myself to do it.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." - Jimi Hendrix

We don't know peace. So I assume the love of power is still winning out.

Maybe I'm naive. So be it.

(Oh...and I consider myself a UC-Berkeley Cal Golden Bear. That's where I'm getting my degree from. But I did have to transfer out to USC for one year due to them being more affordable...for one year. Then I transferred back. Berkeley's better, I'll fully admit...for ME. USC is one of the best schools I've ever even stepped foot on. I feel proud to have gone there.)

And...all this actually makes me EVEN PROUDER of the Spurs' 4 banners. And all the more appreciative of Mr. Robinson for keeping the franchise alive and Mr. Duncan for taking us there...FOUR TIMES!!!!

I mean seriously...HOW GOOD WERE WE!?!??!?

Really fuckin' good.

[Budkin]

I just think the Grizz kicked our asses. That being said... the NBA has the worst referees in all of professional sports. They can influence games like no others.

[spurs2112]

I see what your trying to say. I don't agree with everything your saying but some things do make sense. Everyone at some point or another has wondered if games where rig/fixed or what not. Does every body honestly believe Tim Donaghy was the only ref to do what he did. I think most people will agree that some shady stuff goes down under the table, we just don't know to what degree. Does the league really try to make a large market team succeed more often than not? Does the league pick who they really want to be in the finals? Do refs manipulate games to have favorable outcomes? Who knows. All I'm saying is it's possible. Do I/we know for sure? Of course not. But that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

As for the Memphis series. Memphis just kicked our butts. They were just better than us.

[ElNono]

http://cdn.theurbandaily.com/files/2010/09/michael-jackson-eating-popcorn.gif

[NameOfTheGame]

As for the Memphis series. Memphis just kicked our butts. They were just better than us.

I wholeheartedly agree. But it would have been damn-near IMPOSSIBLE, even if we had a 2008 Antonio Mcdyess. Hell...I think it probably would've been ensured it went a tough 6 or 7 games even if we had a 2003 DRob next to Timmy.

BUT...in those cases, I believe the Spurs would have pulled it off. 'Cos we're muthafuckin' badass like that. (Not this year.)

[100%duncan]

what a dick and now he's bitching to people who doesn't agree

[100%duncan]

what a dick and now he's bitching to people who don't agree

[NameOfTheGame]

what a dick and now he's bitching to people who doesn't agree

um. ??

[GSH]

Nobody never won a NBA championship thanks to one sided ref decisions...

As far as I remember, every title has been won by the best team (barring injury issues).

That's not exactly true, either. Much as I hate to say it, the 05-06 Mavs got solidly screwed out of an NBA Championship by one sided ref decisions.

The 01-02 Lakers got handed a Championship by the refs. (The infamous Tim Donaghy series.) It was in the WCF, but the Lakers went on to win. And the Kings would have destroyed the Nets in the finals, just like LA did.

People may argue about others, but those two are pretty hard to argue with. I still don't think it's a conspiracy by the league, but the refs determined the champions each of those years with inconsistent/biased calls.

[temujin]

:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol

:birthday:

[temujin]

Fuck Stern for rigging the spurs 4 rings!

2 rings.

[Banzai]

Having faith in Stern is disturbing tbh

[FromWayDowntown]

The 01-02 Lakers got handed a Championship by the refs. (The infamous Tim Donaghy series.) It was in the WCF, but the Lakers went on to win. And the Kings would have destroyed the Nets in the finals, just like LA did.

Just to set the record straight:

There was no "Tim Donaghy series" in 2002. Donaghy only called one Lakers playoff game in 2002: their game 3 win in Portland in Round 1. Donaghy didn't call any games after the First Round that year (he only had 2 games in the First Round) and certainly didn't call any Lakers games in the WCSF, WCF, or NBA Finals.

In an effort to save his ass before sentencing, Donaghy pointed to Game 6 of the '02 WCF as having been manipulated by the officials who called that game (Dick Bavetta, Ted Bernhardt, and Bob Delaney), but he did so several years after the fact, pointing to a game that many others before him had alleged to be fixed, offering no new facts concerning that game, and producing no specific evidence beyond his own conjecture in support of his allegations. His claims were understandably unsuccessful, since anyone who follows the NBA even marginally would likely have known all that Donaghy alleged.

I'm not saying that Game 6 of the 2002 WCF was fair or not. But the sensationalism of Donaghy's story has led to him becoming a far more potent force in the discussion of past NBA games than he ever was when he was actually calling games. In his career, Donaghy only ever called 20 playoff games and 17 of those were in the First Round (the other 3 were in conference semifinals).

[romain.star]

That's not exactly true, either. Much as I hate to say it, the 05-06 Mavs got solidly screwed out of an NBA Championship by one sided ref decisions.

The 01-02 Lakers got handed a Championship by the refs. (The infamous Tim Donaghy series.) It was in the WCF, but the Lakers went on to win. And the Kings would have destroyed the Nets in the finals, just like LA did.

People may argue about others, but those two are pretty hard to argue with. I still don't think it's a conspiracy by the league, but the refs determined the champions each of those years with inconsistent/biased calls.

Refs are part of the game dude... it can be fair, it can be unfair... point is their decisions are part of the game and it adds more drama to the whole thing.

[TampaDude]

yeah, grizzlies were just better than the spurs. keep your head up, OP. we'll get them next year.

^ this

[TE]

crofl at the GNSF take of refs favoring Memphis over the Spurs.

[z0sa]

For once, I don't think the calls had anything to do with our first round loss. They were good, maybe even spur-favored.

ZBo is a beast, and they have huge size and much defensive awareness. That's why we lost.