It makes no sense why the league would want to fix games against the Suns. By all accounts this finals was a ratings disaster, SA was too damn boring to attract viewers, and the Suns are the antithesis of the Spurs. You'd think if there were any fixing going on, it would be against the Spurs and for the Suns. The Suns, players, coaches, organization, and fans, all love to come up with excuses for their repeated failures, and I'm really annoyed when I hear them. It's really unfortunate that now they've just had a plausible-sounding excuse fed to them on a silver platter, while in reality if you think about it the excuse doesn't make sense.
Yeah I remembered that game too. When it was announced that Mcgrady was going to be out, the spread quickly jumped to 8 points and the betting public quickly pounded on the Suns. If the mob that he was working for was taking bets on this game, they would have taken a huge hit because only a small percentage wagered on the Rockets. And if you would have looked at the final few minutes of this game, there were barely any fouls called.
If a fix was on, The NBA had no part in it. The Suns this past year were the betting public's darling so it would make sense for it to go against the Suns.
SmitingPurpleEm, Your comments against the Suns failing and wanting to complain by using an excuse like this is comic gold. Obviously, you have little to no knowledge of betting, it is not an NBA conspiracy for ratings, the NBA wasn't involved. It was orchestrated by bookies, who have little reason to care about ratings. The favoritism is based on the spread, and the over/under. I don't like the Suns, but if one of their games was fixed by a referee, then the Spurs do have another asterisk. Some of those calls made no sense, and the Suns do have a reason to complain. S.K.
The NBA didn't rig it for the Spurs, but Stern and his boy did a great job at being so stubborn that it screws not only the entire Suns team but the fans as well. "Rules are rules." But common sense is also common sense. I personally felt robbed of a great series, and this whole referee scandal is just another page in the book.
So much for the NBA being off the radar during the offseason after the draft. I wish I could fast forward to see where this is headed.
As dumb as it is for a ref to bet on games where he's officiating, how dumb is it to bet against the ref?
So much for it being just one ref. http://www.nypost.com/seven/0723200...__fla___and_jana_winter_in_cape_may__n_j_.htm The disgraced ref is said to be set to spill all - threatening to bring down anyone and everyone with him, sources said. He'll be naming names of other refs, coaches, players and game "validators," who sit unobtrusively in the stands to review calls on the court, the source said. "There are other allegations of gambling that the FBI will run down," based on Donaghy's talk so far, one source said.
You're right. I was thinking of the Phoenix game in March where the Rockets lost by 20 and were down by 10 early in the game.
I didn't read through the whole thread yet, but Colin Cowcrap on ESPN radio brought a good point I never thought of: a great way to change the game is to call 2 quick fouls early on a star player. I'm looking at you Yao.
That would be crazy if it turned out that Dirk wasn't a choker, but a point shaver. It's unlikely that it's Dirk, but I can't wait to see who gets tangled up in this.
No I cannot imagine coaches and players would do that. How can a coach fix the game by himself? Tell his players to stop defending, or shoot air balls? Players can change games? Not so easy either, especially if you are a bench warmer. If you are a starter, then you must be making millions. Why would you risk your career for a few thousand bucks? Knowing what we know now, I'm not saying the games of the NBA are clean. But I think we're going too far by saying the players and coaches are involved. Well, I hope I'm right about this. I'm keeping my fingers crossed
coaches can bench players can't they? how about scrubs getting in the game in a blowout to make it a closer game to beat the spread? The same scrubs that make $300,000 a year that can double their salary by doing this a couple times a season.
Jordan had a gambling problem. Jordan's father killed. Jordan all of a sudden retires in his prime. Jordan then returns. Hmmm......
