Curran: NBA fixing games? It's not that outlandish
In post-Donaghy era, evidence just seems to pile up (see Brent Barry)
OPINION
By Tom Curran
updated 4:55 p.m. CT, Wed., May. 28, 2008
Well, it’s good to see that the Tim Donaghy case hasn't forced NBA officials to make sure their officiating in the biggest games appears agenda-free.
With a majority of America drooling over the prospect of a Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals, the officiating crew of Joey Crawford, Joe Forte and Marc Wunderlich butchered the final half-minute of the fourth game in the Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Spurs on Tuesday night.
Coincidentally, all calls favored L.A.
Hmmmmm. Or at least the appearance of Hmmmmmmmmmm.
First came the no-call on Kobe Bryant’s three-step odyssey to the hoop that ended with a bad miss with 33 seconds left and the Lakers up 93-89. Then came Lamar Odom obliterating Tony Parker on a breakaway with 28 seconds left. Odom got called for the goaltend but not for driving Parker through the photographers and into the first row with contact after the layup (that’s part of the play, folks, being able to maintain body control after the shot attempt). Then came Kobe with the amazing, changing pivot foot as he was harassed by Manu Ginobili near midcourt. Then came Brent Barry up-faking Derek Fisher, getting LANDED ON and not getting a call.
That’s four calls in a half-minute in Game 4 of a conference finals all favoring a team that was on the road.
Pre-Donaghy, I’d have laughed at anyone who said games are fixed and the league orchestrates who advances in the playoffs. NBA officials don’t have agendas, they just aren't any good, I’d have countered. But the Donaghy case pretty much blew reasonable doubt out of the water, didn’t it.
In these playoffs, I’ve watched the Celtics pummel Josh Childress within an inch of his life as they advanced past Childress’ Hawks. Then I watched LeBron James get away with ridiculously implausible transgressions when the Celtics played the Cavs — a charge call that went his way when he jumped in front of Paul Pierce at crunch time in Game 6 of the Eastern Semis; a jersey pull on Pierce in Game 7 that was in clear view of the planet in Game 7. And those are just a few of the ones that spring to mind immediately.
There are going to be misconceptions about what happened in San Antonio. Laker loyalists will counter that the Spurs had a healthy advantage in free throw attempts (19 for the Lakers, 26 for the Spurs at the end, but it was a greater differential earlier in the game). The fact is, when the game was on the line, the Joeys and Mr. Wunderlich swallowed their whistles when the Lakers were on defense. Another misconception: Barry wasn't fouled attempting a 3-pointer. He up-faked. He got landed on. He dribbled once. Then he shot and missed. He was fouled on the floor and deserved the two free throws that could have tied it.
My favorite part? Time and again, the camera will focus on the white chocolate Easter egg with eyes that is the head of Joey Crawford. “One of the best,” the announcers will unfailingly blurt. When your “best” is a guy who was suspended indefinitely by the commissioner last year for being an overofficious jerk (and challenging Tim Duncan to a fight, which was the cherry on top), you might have an issue.
Tidbits
• I want everyone to consider for a moment these words spoken by ESPN's Stuart Scott after a feature on the friendship of Kevin Garnett and Chauncey Billups concluded.
"As always, sports is really about passion more than it is the actual sport."
Now. Please tell me what the heck that means.
• Tim Duncan is calcifying before our eyes, by the way. He missed five point-blank layups in the second half last night and was just horrific down the stretch for San Antonio in a 10-for-26 performance. He looks tired. He looks old. I'd rather have Pau Gasol at the moment.
• Stephen A. Smith's recent column in ESPN the Magazine about the O.J. Mayo case is very good. It reminds me of two things: USC has David Stern to thank for any headaches caused by Mayo or other "student-athletes" the NBA refuses to allow to ply their trade professionally until first pretending to go to college. Second, Stephen A. is more fun to read than listen to or watch.
• You can find any number of smoking guns to point to when trying to make a point about players not getting a fan's perspective but here's one offered by Red Sox DH David Ortiz last week. In response to a new initiative by MLB to try (again) and speed up the pace of games, Ortiz told The Boston Globe, "There's so much stuff involved in this game. When you have a payroll of $180 million, you're doing everything to win, right? So if I'm a team owner, I don't see the reason why, when I put a good team together, why the game has to be rushed. If I'm a team owner and you come to me with something like that ... You know what? [Expletive]!"
Know why the game has to be "rushed," David? Because the length of them — the Red Sox, in particular — is a massive turnoff for fans. If you told Ortiz he had to sit through a two-hour, 40-minute movie six nights a week he'd tell you to, "(Expletive)!" But it’s OK for baseball fans who foot the bill for those $180 million payrolls to be subjected to that?
Consider that, if the average game takes 160 minutes to play, the regular season is a cool 432 hours long. That's 18 days of uninterrupted baseball. That's fun.
• If Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Carlos Boozer don’t wind up on Team USA and Lamar Odom, Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups do ... well, that will be bad.
© 2008 NBC Sports.com
URL: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24862337/
Oh yeah, it's a big conspiracy.Everybody's in on it, just to insure the Lakers/Celtics get in the finals and the networks get high ratings. Give me a freaking break. Speaking of ratings, MessNBC couldn't get ratings if their life depended on it. Quick, get that blowhard Keith Olberman on the case. He'll get to the bottom of it, say something loud and stupid, then we'll go back to ignoring him again.
Oh by the way - everyone conveniently forgets (especially Spurs fans) that Barry took steps before the non-call. Is that a conspiracy that should be looked into also?
Refs fixed games every year except the years when the Spurs win.
Oh by the way - everyone conveniently forgets (especially Spurs fans) that Barry took steps before the non-call. Is that a conspiracy that should be looked into also?
Lame.
If game 4 was called fairly/consistantly throughout the Lakers wouldve won by 20.
consistently
thank you
Lakers fans are so funny.
They spent the last years calling the Spurs the "Stern"s, interjecting astericks, shouting from the roof tops about the NBA's convoluted attempt to control world basketball via the Spurs. I've read your boards. go have a circle jerk with Laker Lanny. Phil complains after the first quarter about the refs in public TV and says that's the real problem and his dream comes true.
A MSNBC writers states his opinion and says the NBA's past history, ref shenanigans and its lackadaisical approach to integrity is biting them in the ass.
Hilarious. But when the Lakers are involved , the game is as pure as driven snow. After all the NBA commissiioner Stern is on record as being a Lakers sycophant since the Shaq and Kobe days, he'd love nothing more than a ménage a Trios
Freaking hilarious.
god i wish we could be more like our coach and players and stop blaming the officials, especially considering our history of flops and cheap shots. sometimes it's embarrassing to be a spurs fan.
Well at least we're not Lakers fans. The league's official re s. Like your post.
I think it was Suns fans that started calling Spurs the Stern.
that's because you're not a Spurs fan.
Somebody tell Tim he said this and see how Tim reacts tonight. If Tim sucks, then I guess its true.
I wonder what LL has to say after years of blaming refs are always against LA
I remember a playoff game between the Lakers and Spurs some years ago where the Spurs picked up 24 or 26 fouls BEFORE THE HALF to Zero for the Lakers.
By the end of the game, the refs had evened up the fouls somewhat, but the Spurs were playing from behind and with foul trouble all during the game so even with the number of fouls being close, they were still at a disproportionate handicap for the game.
Every basketball fan has seen games where the refs control the game with their whistles--whether it is for gambling purposes or simply incompetence.
All that being said, we weren't gonna win that game with two starters with zero points (Oberto, Finley) and one with 7 (Bowen) and Manu not playing well. It was a tribute to the players' true grit that we kept coming back and had our chances at the end.
Lakers and Kings series in conference final was rig by refs. I believe this no question. Calls were crazy in this series.
Yeah, as much of us I think HOPED it wouldn't happen, I remember some saying "If you play LA in the western Finals, your getting get screwed over by the refs" I held onto the refs have nothing to do with it blah blah blah, but after game 4, how can you not start to believe that stuff?
Kobe Bryant has been to the free throw line 6 times in this entire 4 game series.
Take your conspiracy theory and shove 'em up your ass.
That's 1.75 free throw attempts per game and 1 free throw every 15 shots...
Despite that, we're beating the Spurs fair and square. The Spurs team, nor the head coach would've called that a foul because players and coaches know the game.
The media started this storm over the Barry "non-call" because you can't find one Spur or Lakers player that ed about any of the calls.
Funny, isn't it?
Its' funny - after game 4 I posted this was a defining moment in basketball and all the sources indicate it is. Let me point out before anything else that the Spurs lost the game not because of the last foul but because their inability to make plays when it counted plus a horrible scheduling that didn't allow them to rest as you are supposed to.
Now back to the topic, that foul and the hundreds of inconsistencies we are seeing from the league lately are defining this season for good. Almost all sport writers are going out of their way to indicate the non-call at the end of game 4 between the lakers and spurs.
Then they go into other details about the NBA, like conspiracies, rogue refs, blown fines from Stu Jackson, etc.
I think we are on the verge of some major restructuring in the NBA - the journalits are aiming at this and are increasingly pushing in this direction.
Yes, game 4 was a definining moment in the history of this sport in the US.
Really fixed?
Or just fixed when the Spurs lose?
Which is it?
Spurs earned all their les legitimately, but when they lose, it is fixed?
Grow up.
Great, ing post. This should be stickied to the top of the forum for all to read.
I was rooting for you guys(Still am) but I knew something like this was going to happen, its simple ,if Stern doesn't want you to win a series or if you have a problem with one of the Refs your chances of winning the series are pretty low. Next time the Spurs have to try to play close to perfect to win, ball movement, energy, tough defense, rebounding all have to be shown for you to even have a chance.
I want video do entation of all these missed calls you and your dumbass fans keep bringing up. It could be that the Spurs and Bruce Bowen are playing a great series on your beloved Kobe. Just because he isn't going to the line doesn't mean he's getting screwed over.
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