Today will either affirm or disaffirm my prior thoughts regarding the NBA.
For some time now I have been on the skeptical side regarding the NBA. Actually, now that I think about it, my skepticism has a pretty well defined starting date...
It all started back in the early 2000's when it was confirmed that a referee had intentionally thrown basketball games. I had seen a lot of questionable things back then but that was the verification I needed to know that what I was seeing was not all in my head.
However, it wasn't just the referee throwing those games that stuck out in my head because that could be a one off event. It was what the referee wrote in his book years later that really got my attention...
The referee was instructed by the league on how to officiate certain players.
He talked about how he didn't actually throw the games. Instead he was often instructed on how to officiate certain players by the league front office before the game would even start.
He claimed that he could tell with a 90% certainty who was going to win the game before it even started based upon the instructions he received from the league office prior to each game.
Things like not calling star players for fouls were often high on his instruction lists since the fans didn't' want to come watch their favorite player foul out.
In the referee's eyes he really wasn't doing anything different than he normally would, he just started leaking that information to certain questionable characters who then placed large bets using that information.
Don't even get me started on stuff like this:
(That was the year the New York Knicks miraculously won the 1st pick in the draft after David Stern chose the envelope with the slightly creased corner. That pick would become Franchise altering Hall of Famer, Patrick Ewing.)
Fast Forward to today.
The NBA denied much of what the referee wrote in his book but it has claimed numerous times that it is a business and the fact that it is a business is all the proof we really need.
There is a major financial incentive to make sure the NBA Finals last as many games as possible. If the series were to end in a sweep, the league would miss out on millions of dollars in TV revenue, ticket sales, possibly merchandise sales etc.
For that reason, in my opinion, the league will do everything they can to make sure Cleveland wins tonight.
Golden State is far and away the better team. That is not really a knock on Cleveland though, because Golden State is probably the best team ever assembled. Losing to the best team ever assembled isn't that bad of thing in the grand scheme of things.
Going back to my original point. If the best team ever assembled loses tonight, it will officially confirm my prior beliefs that the NBA is indeed rigged. If, the better team wins again tonight, it will make me rethink my prior beliefs. However, it won't totally eliminate them until the following game.
Basically if anything other than a sweep of this series happens, I believe the league is rigged. If a sweep happens it will get me to reconsider.
It would be nice if the integrity of the sport were put first and foremost, but I do understand that it is a business. It would make rooting for a mid level market team much easier for me if I knew the playing grounds were at least somewhat even...
You want to change your image, Mr. NBA? Show me a sweep!
Pictures:
http://dishnation.com/game-6-nba-finals-rigged/
http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/3-reasons-people-think-nba-as-rigged-as-wrestling/
http://www.dawgshed.com/threads/my-bold-pick-for-the-nba-east-finals.149179/
