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* WCF 1993
I didn’t see it anywhere but the biggest fix of all occurred in game 7 of the Western Conference finals in 1993 between Phoenix and Seattle. I am a Suns fan and live in Phoenix and was at the game so you can understand what I say is very true. The league had a motive and an agenda which was obvious from the very start. They wanted MVP Barkley and the Suns agains Superstar Jordan and the Bulls. What a ratings Bonanza for the finals. The joke started right from the beginning as the Suns paraded to the line repeatedly. The Sonics were called for many phantom foulls with little or no contact. I sat in the 8th row and saw it all. It was an embarrassment as a Suns fans to be given a free trip to the finals. The Suns had a good team but the outcome of this game was decided by the league and it’s officials long before it started. The Suns shot an NBA record 64 free throws making 57 in a 123-111 win. The Sonics had three of their top four scorers foul out, Shawn Kemp, Ricky Pierce, and Eddie Johnson. Nate McMillan was saddled with fouls and finished with five. Only Danny Ainge had five for Phoenix.
I tried to find a box score on the web to check and see who the officials were as I had forgotten. I found one box but no officials were listed. I called a friend who worked at a Phoenix Newspaper and he went to the microfilm department to look it up. Lo and behold, the referees were Bavetta, soon to be Supervisor of Officials Ed Rush, and Mike Mathis who later plead guilly to tax evasion in the IRS referee airline ticket scandal. “Three good Comapany men”. It was the biggest most obvious fix I had ever witnessed with plenty of motive. That’s right 64 free throws in a 48 minute game where the 2 teams are supposed to be fairly equal. No team had shot more than 41 free throws in a game and most shot between 20-30.
David Stern spent the last few weeks talking about the singing criminal Donaghy, yet he hired back several referees who plead guillty or served time in the IRS referee Airline Scandal to officiate NBA games after they plead guilty or spent 5 months in prision as Ken Mauer did as he tried to beat it in court. Mauer also served 5 months home arrest and 800 Community Service hours. By the way referee Mauer officiated games 2 and 5 in the NBA finals. Where was Stern’s honesty and integrity there? Did these guys have too much on the league and he had to hire them back? It makes no sense. Why accuse Donaghy of singing for a lighter sentence, that the judge said Donaghy would not get than the already suggested sentence that federal prosecutors proposed of 33 months? She already thought the sentence was too light for the type of crime here. Stern’s statements had no credibility and Donahgy could have received 25 years so in order for them to propose such a reduction Donaghy must have been some substantial help. The league as the “victim” legally in this case does not have to release any details of this case and I suspect we won’t get much from Stern after the July 14th sentencing and much released will be spun in favor of the league. For Stern to call Donaghy a convicted singing criminal and then stick convicted criminal Ken Maurer out there to do two final’s games, well……….I don’t think I have to say any more.
By the way if you can find a copy of the late Earl Strom’s book, “Five Decades in the NBA” around it is worth your time to buy and read it. The league didn’t like the book and bought all copies it got it’s hands on off the shelf, yet some got out about 1992. In it Strom talks about the league asking it’s officials in the ’70s to give all marginal calls to the home team in an effort to boost lagging attendance,by allowing the home teams a better chance to win. Strom would have no part in it, He worked a game with Bavetta at NJ with Philly the visitor. There were 2 men crews at the time not 3 as today. Strom made a late call which he felt was correct against the home NJ team, which appeared to have given Philly the win. Bavetta came runnig in and overruled the call and gave the home team NJ the win. Bavetta was an ex Brooklyn cop (as was Delaney, but not from Brooklyn), but that didn’t stop Strom from beating Bavetta black and blue after the game. As he tossed Bavetta out of the referee locker room, he told him if he ever overruled one of his calls again the next beating would be worse. Strom holds the highest winning % of road team wins of any NBA official at 43 %. A fair guy with a great book if you can find it.
Anyway I thought I should bring up the 1993 game which many aren’t old enough to remember or have forgotten it. Can you spell corruption. They don’t do it every year or series but only if they felt it would enhance TV ratings substantially. ——-Larry from Phoenix, Az.
* WCF 1993
I read the first sentence and got bored.
Cliff notes plz?
I don't see how one forgets its a business. In the name of making money, people do anything.
I don't know if Larry remembers it all that well based on his commentary, but I think he's trying to suck-up to other fanbases. This is becoming one of the popular "conspiracy games" along with the '02 WCF Game 6 and '06 Finals Game 4. He's right about Kenny Mauer, but I also think he's just a terrible official along with Bennett Salvatore.
I have Game 7 of the 1993 WCF on my DVR at home and I've watched the game about 7 times. I've tried to watch it with the most neutral eyes I can and I still don't find anything about the game that was overly one-sided. Shawn Kemp was mostly tasked with trying to guard Charles Barkley and he tried to play the Karl Malone slappy defense, which led to a few fouls. He also fouled Barkley at half court, trying to go after a loose ball and another time he hammered Kevin Johnson on the baseline. Barkley and Johnson shot 22 and 16 FTs respectively because they both attacked the basket. No one else on the team attempted more than 6. Barkley had 10 offensive rebounds and 24 rebounds total, but only attempted 20 FGs. The reason for this is because when Barkley would try to put those offensive rebounds back up, he'd be fouled by Kemp, Sam Perkins, or Derrick McKey. Gary Payton and Nate McMillan could not contain Kevin Johnson on the perimeter and he continually penetrated to the basket off screens by Barkley and Mark West. Payton got himself in foul trouble by reaching for steals and hooking KJ on the offensive end, leading to meaningless offensive fouls.
Overall, the fouls were Seattle - 38 and Phoenix - 27... not as large of a margin as a 64-36 FT disparity. It all depends on how those fouls were picked up... In fact, the Spurs and Suns each had about 19 fouls in a game last year, but the Spurs shot 30 FTs to the Suns' 18. The two players that led the team in FTAs? Tony Parker and Tim Duncan... two players that - not unlike Barkley and Johnson - were able to dominate the opposition.
Thanks for the analysis; I don't remember the game
By the way, can you put the game online (torrent)?
It wouldn't surprise me if the fix was in. The league needs to address this issue of game fixing. I really do like Stern but I have lost respect for him handling this problem.
Did some of you who responded in this thread actually read all of that????
What I need to do is hook the DVR up to my computer's video in slot and play the game, then "record" it on my PC. There are two problems in this scenario: (1) Both are hooked up in different rooms (2) I'm lazy.
By the way, can you put the game online (torrent)?
If it were on my TiVo, I'd have it for you guys tomorrow.
tl;dr
kthx
I tend to agree with Pollard on this. Donaghy is not the 1st official to leave disgruntled from the NBA; you think if there were others (such as Mathis getting convicted of tax fraud or whatnot) that needed an extra chip in the pile or even to make an extra dollar that something BIG would have come out prior to this.
I like to envision the big, bad NBA conspiracy as a good story, as well. However, if the only shred of proof is Tim Donaghy, its most likely not a story that's gonna make the NY Times bestseller list.
Add this to the list of alleged NBA fixes. I am beginning to believe that some of the series have been rigged. I have even suspected big-name superstars on the take to the mob before. If it ever proves true, the NBA is done.
If you just realized that the Nba fixes games then you are very late, the Bucks-Sixers series from 2001 was what made me realize this league was fixed, also the Kings-Lakers series and the Mavs-Heat series are classic examples of fixed series.
Can you elaborate on that! I remember the last two series very well obviously, but that first one is a bit cloudy in my mind. I remember it went to 7, and that there was a lot of publicity around Iverson that year.
thx for starting a thread over nothing! Mr. attention .
By the way, can you put the game online (torrent)?
That series was a massive screwing, there was no way Stern wanted a team from ing Milwaukee in the Nba finals imo. He(?) wanted the big bucks so he made sure that the Bucks didn't win. I cant really remember the first games because it was such a long time ago but I still can remember game 6 and game 7. First off Allen Iverson got fouls called almost every time he was touched, he was untouchable in that series. What shows that this series was fixed was that the Bucks were playing outstanding defense on A.I, in the first 6 games Iverson only shot 27% but yet the series was tied 3-3.
Obviously some people will say A.I's teammates were stepping up but that wasnt really why. The Sixers were getting all the calls, they were always able to get away with pushoffs, and loose ball fouls in that series. They Bucks always got so many fouls called against them, philly got to live at the freethrow line. And on crucial possessions the refs would make sure the Sixers got to the ft line.
Here is a quote from Ray Allen during that series-
"I think there's no question about that. The league, as a marketing machine, the bottom line is about making money," Allen said. "It behooves everybody for the league to make more money, and the league knows that Philadelphia is going to make more money with L.A. than we would with L.A."
I would continue to elaborate on this series but I have to take a nap, if your still online when I wake up Ill continue to tell you everything else I rememer about that series.
I don't know what the is going on, I thought sports fans conversed in fragmented sentences not multiple paragraphs.
Thanx man, 2001 is a long time ago.
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