And so Stern bought off the Jazz to take a dive

[SpurPadre]

You guys think the Lakers vs. Rockets game will be the worst officiated game since the Kings got jobbed against the refs in the '02 WCF? I mean, surely Stern will pull out all the stops to get the Lakers the best possible seeding now.

[Ice009]

Wouldn't the Jazz prefer a lottery pick rather than making the playoffs to get bounced?

[TampaDude]

You guys think the Lakers vs. Rockets game will be the worst officiated game since the Kings got jobbed against the refs in the '02 WCF? I mean, surely Stern will pull out all the stops to get the Lakers the best possible seeding now.

The Lakers are scripted to face the Spurs in the playoffs. Just deal with it.

We're gonna see Miami and OKC in the Finals again. Heat in 4...MAYBE 5 at most.

[SpurPadre]

Wouldn't the Jazz prefer a lottery pick rather than making the playoffs to get bounced?

Maybe that was Stern's main bribery? "Hey, I can do that thing where I rig the balls to get you guys a top 10 pick?!"

[SpurPadre]

The Lakers are scripted to face the Spurs in the playoffs. Just deal with it.

We're gonna see Miami and OKC in the Finals again. Heat in 4...MAYBE 5 at most.

I am dealing with it but I wonder how blatant the poor officiating will be to the Lakers' advantage? If I'm the Rockets, I wouldn't even think of any type of hard fouls or that player will be ejected and suspended for 10 games...lol.

[BatManu20]

The Lakers are scripted to face the Spurs in the playoffs. Just deal with it.

We're gonna see Miami and OKC in the Finals again. Heat in 4...MAYBE 5 at most.

[Ice009]

Maybe that was Stern's main bribery? "Hey, I can do that thing where I rig the balls to get you guys a top 10 pick?!"

Nothing to do with that at all. I am surprised Utah was this close to the playoffs, and even had a chance to still make it on the last day of the season. I thought they were going to start tanking a couple of weeks ago. Lakers don't have a draft pick, so they don't really have any choice, Utah, on the other hand can get a possible lottery pick, so I don't know why they were even trying to make the playoffs.

[TheGoldStandard]

Wait, James Harden is playing tonight and that guy gets to the line no matter

[JingleJangleJingle]

the Jazz went 9-3 in their last 12 games even won a few on the road...if the rig job was not so blatant they would have locked up the 8th seed a couple of games ago.

[TheyCallMePro]

That was the worst performance I've ever seen by a team trying to make the playoffs in the closing game of the regular season. And I thought last year was bad when Phoenix lost to the Jazz and Steve Nash rested for long stretches in the game and in the 4th quarter of that must win game. The Jazz were taking jump-shots all night. They lacked any sort of intensity throughout. And to think, Memphis was simply playing for home court advantage while the Jazz were playing for their playoff lives. Heads should roll in Utah. This team was supposed to make the playoffs when they decided to keep Jefferson. Just blow it up and start over Jazz. You have mediocre players and guys who just don't play hard. That's a worse situation to be in than even the really bad teams like the Magic/Suns/Bobcats.