2021-22 Celtics Playoffs Discussion

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

I'll preface this with saying I'm basing my comment off what I saw.


Ime leaving Rob out of the game was his Pete Carroll moment. Not putting him in made as much sense as passing rather than running lynch. Butler killed us with no shot blocking presence.  First year coach, so I just hope he learns from this. Just because a guy who sucked all night hits a shot, you don't leave him in at the expense of your wild card.

maybe he could have left AL in and put in TL??

[gouki88]

I'll preface this with saying I'm basing my comment off what I saw.


Ime leaving Rob out of the game was his Pete Carroll moment. Not putting him in made as much sense as passing rather than running lynch. Butler killed us with no shot blocking presence.  First year coach, so I just hope he learns from this. Just because a guy who sucked all night hits a shot, you don't leave him in at the expense of your wild card.

maybe he could have left AL in and put in TL??

Personally I would have put TL in for Smart. Al stays in for rebounding. TL would have been lined up on Butler for me.

Ah well. Onto G7

[angryguy77]

So I was talking with my dad in the car today. My parents are convinced the NBA is rigging these games to make sure the series goes longer. Like they weren't surprised to see the Heat win Game 3, then the C's in a blowout Game 4, and then the Heat winning yesterday even with the odds against them. Because if those outcomes were changed, the series probably would have ended in just 5 games if say, Boston took both Games 3 and 4 (or Miami did).

The NBA wanted this to go 7 games and honestly, seeing how the refs called it last night does anyone really doubt that? My parents even think the C's will win by double digits tomorrow and that the refs will "let them play". Since the other series ended in 5, this one needed to go 6+ but also, Golden State probably could have easily swept Dallas but GSW basically got blown out from the start in Game 4. My dad thinks something was going on there too lol so that there'd be at least a Game 5.

Game 3 of the C's-Bucks series was also one where the C's got screwed by the refs, and losing that game probably is a big reason the series went to 7 games as well ultimately.

I don't think my parents are entirely wrong tbh. I think people here have been speculating the same thing, the NBA is a rigged league that's superstar and ratings driven even more so than other sports. Boston is a big market and so having an extra game involving them or something would help ratings and revenue. Same for other big cities (Miami, LA, NY, etc.). The refs also play a part in that.

We already know there's a lot of riggings going on. NBA ain't gonna call clean games. They do it based on their own private agendas, whatever the commissioner orders. Yesterday's game alone prob made over $20M revenue so Adam Silver must be jumping for joy right now lol. The ones who suffer the most are fans because they're fans of the basketball team and emotions get riled up when they win/lose.

C's wouldn't have to go 7 games against the Bucks had that controversial ending didn't happen in Game 3. C's wouldn't have to go 6 or 7 games had they properly beaten the Heat in Game 3.

If I believed the NBA was rigged, I wouldn't watch.   That doesn't mean that I think their aren't bad calls and that sometimes those calls have an influence on who wins and loses.  If the bad calls go in a direction that supports the argument of lengthening series' or favoring a team that will produce more revenue then that's "proof" to those who think it's rigged.   The C's losses in this series were due to an abominable quarter in G1, and abominable quarter in G3, and being generally outplayed in by a team who had the best player on the court.  Nonetheless, the C's still could have won -- but they weren't good enough over the last 2 minutes.  But that's why we have a G7 on Sunday.

I'm not saying I know you're wrong or that Phantom's dad is wrong, I'm just saying I don't really see it.  And I especially can't picture just how the order gets generated from Adam Silver.  Is it in code?  How many people are in the pipeline?  How many engage in the conspiracy on a daily basis?  And reporters aren't interested in blowing the lid off this -- or are they on the take as well?   Too many people involved and too much cost at risk to "rig" the games.  Maybe it's an unspoken truth amongst refs to try to extend games... maybe..., but all the millions you are talking about for extending a series are resting on trust that the very people who are willing to be dishonest in their daily work will then be "honorable" and not reveal the truth.

How does the NBA get word to the refs who they want to win?
It's all in Donaghy's book. I wonder if the people who discount him have read his book. The mechanisms and stories he tell seem to really match the product on the floor. And, as always, a team can overcome the refs. It's just really hard. Foster tried to redeem KD and let the Nets win game 4 but the Celtics overcame him.

yup. this is a dirty league. we have seen star favoritism for years plus strange calls at certain times.

it is that old saying

" you gonna believe adam silver/the association or your lying eyes?"

You have a league with some refs having astronomical % in favor of home teams. Then there are star calls.

If the league wanted to, it cod clean upnthe officiating so you had a bit more consistency.  Not all refs are going to be 100% equal, but there is no way you should have guys doing these games that clearly are calling games depending one where and when they are working.

We live in an era where big US corporations use slave labor in China to make cheap widgets. Why is it so out of the question that the NBA would engage in shenanigans to increase their bottom line?

[flybono]

League needs to use far more referees in these series
It’s the same refs every other game and every other game which is a problem and a legit concern

60 or 70 of these guys and it’s always a select few?

[Goldstar88]

Hope they win game 7 for Al. He didn’t look like himself at all the other day, surprised he even played.

Al Horford reportedly played in Game 6 of the Celtics-Heat series Friday following the death of his grandfather, José Reynoso Núñez, a day prior.-Boston.com


@AnnaHorford
Thank you to everyone who sent kind words Al’s way. He & his abuelo were very close. Some things are bigger than basketball.
4:32 PM · May 28, 2022

[kraidstar]

There's no point in taking Tim Donaghy's word about more or less anything unless he's under oath.

But, more importantly:

The website NBAstuffer.com says that home teams have won 75 percent of the games this postseason in which Foster was the main referee, with road teams getting called for 54.1 percent of fouls.

If anything, the C's should have been the beneficiaries of the officiating trends/biases. Or do we really think the revenue of an extra ECF game really outweighs a Celtics - Warriors Final?

The FBI said Foster and Donaghy would communicate before every game Donaghy bet on. The FBI said this, not Donaghy. Then Foster gets promoted.

If you distrust Donaghy then you by extension should distrust Foster and his bosses.

[Neurotic Guy]

So I was talking with my dad in the car today. My parents are convinced the NBA is rigging these games to make sure the series goes longer. Like they weren't surprised to see the Heat win Game 3, then the C's in a blowout Game 4, and then the Heat winning yesterday even with the odds against them. Because if those outcomes were changed, the series probably would have ended in just 5 games if say, Boston took both Games 3 and 4 (or Miami did).

The NBA wanted this to go 7 games and honestly, seeing how the refs called it last night does anyone really doubt that? My parents even think the C's will win by double digits tomorrow and that the refs will "let them play". Since the other series ended in 5, this one needed to go 6+ but also, Golden State probably could have easily swept Dallas but GSW basically got blown out from the start in Game 4. My dad thinks something was going on there too lol so that there'd be at least a Game 5.

Game 3 of the C's-Bucks series was also one where the C's got screwed by the refs, and losing that game probably is a big reason the series went to 7 games as well ultimately.

I don't think my parents are entirely wrong tbh. I think people here have been speculating the same thing, the NBA is a rigged league that's superstar and ratings driven even more so than other sports. Boston is a big market and so having an extra game involving them or something would help ratings and revenue. Same for other big cities (Miami, LA, NY, etc.). The refs also play a part in that.

We already know there's a lot of riggings going on. NBA ain't gonna call clean games. They do it based on their own private agendas, whatever the commissioner orders. Yesterday's game alone prob made over $20M revenue so Adam Silver must be jumping for joy right now lol. The ones who suffer the most are fans because they're fans of the basketball team and emotions get riled up when they win/lose.

C's wouldn't have to go 7 games against the Bucks had that controversial ending didn't happen in Game 3. C's wouldn't have to go 6 or 7 games had they properly beaten the Heat in Game 3.

If I believed the NBA was rigged, I wouldn't watch.   That doesn't mean that I think their aren't bad calls and that sometimes those calls have an influence on who wins and loses.  If the bad calls go in a direction that supports the argument of lengthening series' or favoring a team that will produce more revenue then that's "proof" to those who think it's rigged.   The C's losses in this series were due to an abominable quarter in G1, and abominable quarter in G3, and being generally outplayed in by a team who had the best player on the court.  Nonetheless, the C's still could have won -- but they weren't good enough over the last 2 minutes.  But that's why we have a G7 on Sunday.

I'm not saying I know you're wrong or that Phantom's dad is wrong, I'm just saying I don't really see it.  And I especially can't picture just how the order gets generated from Adam Silver.  Is it in code?  How many people are in the pipeline?  How many engage in the conspiracy on a daily basis?  And reporters aren't interested in blowing the lid off this -- or are they on the take as well?   Too many people involved and too much cost at risk to "rig" the games.  Maybe it's an unspoken truth amongst refs to try to extend games... maybe..., but all the millions you are talking about for extending a series are resting on trust that the very people who are willing to be dishonest in their daily work will then be "honorable" and not reveal the truth.

https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/scott-foster-recipient-of-134-tim-donaghy-phone-calls-refereeing-celtics-heat-game-3/

The FBI revealed that Scott Foster and Tim Donaghy were exchanging 30 second phone calls before every game Donaghy bet on.

When this news became public, Scott Foster was not fired by the NBA. He is now arguably their top official.

Please explain what that means.

Can’t speak to what it means re: Foster but don’t think for a minute that you know it means an Adam Silver-Scott Foster series-extension cheating scheme.

Donaghy obviously was corrupt, but for personal gain and not in ways suggested by the conspiracy above.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

So I was talking with my dad in the car today. My parents are convinced the NBA is rigging these games to make sure the series goes longer. Like they weren't surprised to see the Heat win Game 3, then the C's in a blowout Game 4, and then the Heat winning yesterday even with the odds against them. Because if those outcomes were changed, the series probably would have ended in just 5 games if say, Boston took both Games 3 and 4 (or Miami did).

The NBA wanted this to go 7 games and honestly, seeing how the refs called it last night does anyone really doubt that? My parents even think the C's will win by double digits tomorrow and that the refs will "let them play". Since the other series ended in 5, this one needed to go 6+ but also, Golden State probably could have easily swept Dallas but GSW basically got blown out from the start in Game 4. My dad thinks something was going on there too lol so that there'd be at least a Game 5.

Game 3 of the C's-Bucks series was also one where the C's got screwed by the refs, and losing that game probably is a big reason the series went to 7 games as well ultimately.

I don't think my parents are entirely wrong tbh. I think people here have been speculating the same thing, the NBA is a rigged league that's superstar and ratings driven even more so than other sports. Boston is a big market and so having an extra game involving them or something would help ratings and revenue. Same for other big cities (Miami, LA, NY, etc.). The refs also play a part in that.

We already know there's a lot of riggings going on. NBA ain't gonna call clean games. They do it based on their own private agendas, whatever the commissioner orders. Yesterday's game alone prob made over $20M revenue so Adam Silver must be jumping for joy right now lol. The ones who suffer the most are fans because they're fans of the basketball team and emotions get riled up when they win/lose.

C's wouldn't have to go 7 games against the Bucks had that controversial ending didn't happen in Game 3. C's wouldn't have to go 6 or 7 games had they properly beaten the Heat in Game 3.

If I believed the NBA was rigged, I wouldn't watch.   That doesn't mean that I think their aren't bad calls and that sometimes those calls have an influence on who wins and loses.  If the bad calls go in a direction that supports the argument of lengthening series' or favoring a team that will produce more revenue then that's "proof" to those who think it's rigged.   The C's losses in this series were due to an abominable quarter in G1, and abominable quarter in G3, and being generally outplayed in by a team who had the best player on the court.  Nonetheless, the C's still could have won -- but they weren't good enough over the last 2 minutes.  But that's why we have a G7 on Sunday.

I'm not saying I know you're wrong or that Phantom's dad is wrong, I'm just saying I don't really see it.  And I especially can't picture just how the order gets generated from Adam Silver.  Is it in code?  How many people are in the pipeline?  How many engage in the conspiracy on a daily basis?  And reporters aren't interested in blowing the lid off this -- or are they on the take as well?   Too many people involved and too much cost at risk to "rig" the games.  Maybe it's an unspoken truth amongst refs to try to extend games... maybe..., but all the millions you are talking about for extending a series are resting on trust that the very people who are willing to be dishonest in their daily work will then be "honorable" and not reveal the truth.

https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/scott-foster-recipient-of-134-tim-donaghy-phone-calls-refereeing-celtics-heat-game-3/

The FBI revealed that Scott Foster and Tim Donaghy were exchanging 30 second phone calls before every game Donaghy bet on.

When this news became public, Scott Foster was not fired by the NBA. He is now arguably their top official.

Please explain what that means.

Can’t speak to what it means re: Foster but don’t think for a minute that you know it means an Adam Silver-Scott Foster series-extension cheating scheme.

Donaghy obviously was corrupt, but for personal gain and not in ways suggested by the conspiracy above.

based on what you have seen with your own eyes for years with the kings, lakers, and with lebron, kobe, etc. what is there to assure you nothing is going on with these other clown refs? Not a smidgeon of doubt? I am not claiming these refs are wagering. Based on what we see I am saying it appears there is still league mandates about fouls and other violations that are cracked down upon regarding certain teams and players at certain times.

What Donaghy did was tip off an old friend about who he believed was the odds-on favorite to win the game based on league mandates about fouls and other violations that would be cracked down upon regarding certain teams and players. It was a success, as Donaghy’s predictions gave the benefactors of his information an 88% success rate.


https://www.sportscasting.com/almost-all-nba-referees-do-this-according-to-tim-donaghy/

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

There's no point in taking Tim Donaghy's word about more or less anything unless he's under oath.

But, more importantly:

The website NBAstuffer.com says that home teams have won 75 percent of the games this postseason in which Foster was the main referee, with road teams getting called for 54.1 percent of fouls.

If anything, the C's should have been the beneficiaries of the officiating trends/biases. Or do we really think the revenue of an extra ECF game really outweighs a Celtics - Warriors Final?

The FBI said Foster and Donaghy would communicate before every game Donaghy bet on. The FBI said this, not Donaghy. Then Foster gets promoted.

If you distrust Donaghy then you by extension should distrust Foster and his bosses.

[jambr380]

I remember seeing an interview with Donaghy about what 'actually' goes down. There are ref meetings before each game and apparently they are sometimes given directives about what to focus on. These can be bigger things like calling more fouls rather than letting the teams play; or sometimes they are smaller things like, carries, defensive 3 seconds, travels that I guess can get individual players off their games.

Obviously, it is really difficult to take anything Donaghy says at face value, and I generally am not in the camp of thinking the NBA rigs games, but it is interesting that they have ref meetings before games. Even if they aren't actually given directives, I suppose they could discuss anything here.

Hopefully for game 7, they are discussing giving Heat bench players technicals for being on the court while the Cs are on offense.

[Big333223]

I'll preface this with saying I'm basing my comment off what I saw.


Ime leaving Rob out of the game was his Pete Carroll moment. Not putting him in made as much sense as passing rather than running lynch. Butler killed us with no shot blocking presence.  First year coach, so I just hope he learns from this. Just because a guy who sucked all night hits a shot, you don't leave him in at the expense of your wild card.

maybe he could have left AL in and put in TL??

Personally I would have put TL in for Smart. Al stays in for rebounding. TL would have been lined up on Butler for me.

Ah well. Onto G7

In retrospect, I think that would've been the correct move. I love Marcus but he was terrible in Game 6.

Come out focused and take care of business and they can still go to the Finals. As much as Miami is a team to be scared of, the Heat fans are nothing. Celtics can win there.

[Phantom255x]

So I was talking with my dad in the car today. My parents are convinced the NBA is rigging these games to make sure the series goes longer. Like they weren't surprised to see the Heat win Game 3, then the C's in a blowout Game 4, and then the Heat winning yesterday even with the odds against them. Because if those outcomes were changed, the series probably would have ended in just 5 games if say, Boston took both Games 3 and 4 (or Miami did).

The NBA wanted this to go 7 games and honestly, seeing how the refs called it last night does anyone really doubt that? My parents even think the C's will win by double digits tomorrow and that the refs will "let them play". Since the other series ended in 5, this one needed to go 6+ but also, Golden State probably could have easily swept Dallas but GSW basically got blown out from the start in Game 4. My dad thinks something was going on there too lol so that there'd be at least a Game 5.

Game 3 of the C's-Bucks series was also one where the C's got screwed by the refs, and losing that game probably is a big reason the series went to 7 games as well ultimately.

I don't think my parents are entirely wrong tbh. I think people here have been speculating the same thing, the NBA is a rigged league that's superstar and ratings driven even more so than other sports. Boston is a big market and so having an extra game involving them or something would help ratings and revenue. Same for other big cities (Miami, LA, NY, etc.). The refs also play a part in that.

So my parents may have been right all along. Yes, the refs started to make a ton of bogus calls but notice how they seemed to occur each time Boston went up 13+. Almost like they wanted to keep it close and make sure this wasn't like Suns-Mavs Game 7 which was over in like the 2nd quarter.

Granted, the final 3 minutes was atrocious by the C's and they shouldn't have even let MIA cut it to less than 6, but otherwise the C's may have been on their way to a double-digit win.

[Phantom255x]

So I was talking with my dad in the car today. My parents are convinced the NBA is rigging these games to make sure the series goes longer. Like they weren't surprised to see the Heat win Game 3, then the C's in a blowout Game 4, and then the Heat winning yesterday even with the odds against them. Because if those outcomes were changed, the series probably would have ended in just 5 games if say, Boston took both Games 3 and 4 (or Miami did).

The NBA wanted this to go 7 games and honestly, seeing how the refs called it last night does anyone really doubt that? My parents even think the C's will win by double digits tomorrow and that the refs will "let them play". Since the other series ended in 5, this one needed to go 6+ but also, Golden State probably could have easily swept Dallas but GSW basically got blown out from the start in Game 4. My dad thinks something was going on there too lol so that there'd be at least a Game 5.

Game 3 of the C's-Bucks series was also one where the C's got screwed by the refs, and losing that game probably is a big reason the series went to 7 games as well ultimately.

I don't think my parents are entirely wrong tbh. I think people here have been speculating the same thing, the NBA is a rigged league that's superstar and ratings driven even more so than other sports. Boston is a big market and so having an extra game involving them or something would help ratings and revenue. Same for other big cities (Miami, LA, NY, etc.). The refs also play a part in that.

So my parents may have been right all along. Yes, the refs started to make a ton of bogus calls but notice how they seemed to occur each time Boston went up 13+. Almost like they wanted to keep it close and make sure this wasn't like Suns-Mavs Game 7 which was over in like the 2nd quarter.

Granted, the final 3 minutes was atrocious by the C's and they shouldn't have even let MIA cut it to less than 6, but otherwise the C's may have been on their way to a double-digit win.

My parents also think they will make the Finals go 6-7 games guaranteed even if one team looks dominant over the other

Since even the cheapest tickets at TD Garden will be like $900, and there’ll be a ton of revenue for each game in a lot of different areas (stadiums, concession, TV, etc)

[trickybilly]

Does anyone know why Larry didn't present the MVP award himself?

[gouki88]

Does anyone know why Larry didn't present the MVP award himself?

Neither he nor Magic did. Might have been a scheduling thing? It seemed like the announcement was quite last minute