Rigging is easy but during the regular season the league has no incentive for this. Refs are another story, if they are addicted gamblers, but here the league has an incentive to stop them. The problem is in the playoffs. The league wins if playoffs last longer. All they have to do to encourage refs to extend series is to pay them by the game. The 2005 Rockets/Mav series has all the marks of that. The team that is ahead (Rockets) gets officiated differently after they win the first two games on the road. Everybody wins, except the team that is ahead.
There is way too much money being made to risk losing by "rigging" the league. There is no one in the back offices of the NBA HQ determining the results of games. There may be some referees who have their own personal agenda or are just flat out bad referees, but they are not taking direction from the league as to what calls to make and when.
Sterling's era Chris Paul would shoot a free through if someone sneezed near him, now the Clippers won't get any call regardless how they flopps
Is it rigged ? Probably not Do we consistently have absolutely terrible mind boggling calls ? Yeah Is it urban ? Chea
If I thought it was rigged, I would never follow the NBA. Its strange to me that something like 75% here think it is rigged....and yet they actively follow the NBA?
The NBA is not trying to catch up with the NFL It is trying to catch up with SOCCER Being the #2 game in America and in the World is not bad [bigger than NFL in the world and bigger than soccer in America] So catering to BIG MARKETs is not imo so much an incentive they are about growing THE BRAND Better having a international mixed team like the Spurs than the horrible NY team in the finals It does alot of outreach internationally Rocket River
ALSO - the NBA is not rigged in a way to say. . . "THIS TEAM MUST WIN" it is more about 'keeping the game close and 'exciting' Rocket River
I think this is probably the most accurate. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there have been fixed games by rogue referees, players, or coaches, but I would have a REALLY hard time being convinced that there is or ever was a systematic fixing of games by the league. Makes you scratch your head, doesn't it? Ha ha...wait, you are saying that the league uses the referees to push the San Antonio Spurs as the global face of the NBA and THAT is why the Knicks won't make the Finals? Oh, man.
I say it is rigged, because the athletes level of performance is measured. And even a biased call can affect the outcome of a closely contested match. The NBA players almost all play at peak performance. Regardless if they are tired or hurt. Most are like machines in their mind, pushing their bodies to the brink. A few like MJ, Hakeem, Magic, Byrd, etc. can rise above have their peers because they can maximize the competitive advantage over their peers (your genetic freaks as they are so kindly referred by so many). But all of the competition is skewed by a mere call by a referee strategically placed in the game (usually as a momentum killer). Humans can inject bias in a game, a bias originating by either personal feelings or per instructions. But just because there is bias, does not mean the outcome is strictly decided by non-players. Some players can elevate to levels that can thwart even outside interference. But for us fans it is very irritating to see game officials make call with no rhyme or reason. You almost have to watch the NBA with a grain of salt, and mostly enjoy the athletic performance and the soap opera. Kind of like wrestling fans watch Pro-wrestling for entertainment, and not competition.
That's the difference between you and me. I know it is rigged and I still support a team that competes and tries to take it. The Rockets try to win games even when they aren't getting any free throws. They are not like Carmelo Anthony who gives up if the whistle isn't being called for him all game.
Believe it or not, SA is the 7th most populated city in America and it only has one sports team. They don't have a football or a baseball team. A lot of money is being made off of them.
