"As durable as tinfoil" (Aldridge article)

[ACF]

David Aldridge has an interesting article
at nba.com. Now, I don't believe in all the
conspiracy theories but I think the refs in
the league could be a lot better. When I
started watching NBA basketball, there was
hardly a bad call in a game*, now it seems
those calls abound and they only feed the
fires of those aforementioned theories.

(*I exaggerate to make a point)

Enough talking, check out the article:

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/david_aldridge/05/28/daily.dose/index.html

[LB3533]

I'll tell you why there is no such thing as NBA Finals conspiracy....because if there was, the Lakers nor the Cavs would make it to the Finals this year.

The only proof that there is a conspiracy is if it is a Denver Nuggets VS Orlando Magic NBA Finals.

[Steve Weinman]

David Aldridge has an interesting article
at nba.com. Now, I don't believe in all the
conspiracy theories but I think the refs in
the league could be a lot better. When I
started watching NBA basketball, there was
hardly a bad call in a game*, now it seems
those calls abound and they only feed the
fires of those aforementioned theories.

(*I exaggerate to make a point)

Enough talking, check out the article:

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/david_aldridge/05/28/daily.dose/index.html

Wow, ACF, thanks for posting this - I don't know if I've ever seen that side of Aldridge before, and I kinda like it.  

In regards to your preface, ACF, I would say that there is a distinct discussion to be had about in-game officiating - star treatment, inconsistency based on time of game, general disregard of the rulebook (see: traveling) - that is different from what DA brings up here.  They are intertwined to an extent, no doubt, but I think that while there are some understandable complaints about the officiating, DA's point about the league-wide conspiracy business makes sense.

Ultimately, I found myself most entertained by a tone very different from what you get from Aldridge when he's doing sideline reporting for TNT.  I need to start reading his work at nba.com more regularly.

-sw

[dlpin]

As I said before, there is no doubt that there is a lot of ambiguity about the rules. The truehoop blog had an interesting piece on how nba refs are instructed to call traveling differently than what is in the rule book.

I think this leaves the refs in the unenviable position of calling games where the standards of what is what are loosely defined. That is where I think the "superstar" calls and the home calls come in. When in doubt, try not to p--- off the crowd and the big names.

Now, if there was a conspiracy to fix the finals, we'd have finals that would always be lakers in the west and a rotation of Bulls, Celtics and Knicks in the east.

[ACF]

I'll tell you why there is no such thing as NBA Finals conspiracy....because if there was, the Lakers nor the Cavs would make it to the Finals this year.

The only proof that there is a conspiracy is if it is a Denver Nuggets VS Orlando Magic NBA Finals.

How so?

[ACF]

David Aldridge has an interesting article
at nba.com. Now, I don't believe in all the
conspiracy theories but I think the refs in
the league could be a lot better. When I
started watching NBA basketball, there was
hardly a bad call in a game*, now it seems
those calls abound and they only feed the
fires of those aforementioned theories.

(*I exaggerate to make a point)

Enough talking, check out the article:

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/david_aldridge/05/28/daily.dose/index.html

In regards to your preface, ACF, I would say that there is a distinct discussion to be had about in-game officiating - star treatment, inconsistency based on time of game, general disregard of the rulebook (see: traveling) - that is different from what DA brings up here.  They are intertwined to an extent, no doubt, but I think that while there are some understandable complaints about the officiating, DA's point about the league-wide conspiracy business makes sense.

Very true, Steve.

[Thruthelookingglass]

I'll tell you why there is no such thing as NBA Finals conspiracy....because if there was, the Lakers nor the Cavs would make it to the Finals this year.

The only proof that there is a conspiracy is if it is a Denver Nuggets VS Orlando Magic NBA Finals.

How so?

Just a guess, but LB3533 might just think the Lakers and Cavs are so overwhelmingly better than their competition that the only way either could sneak into the Finals is with a leg up from the League.  But I may be missing something.

[reggie35]

I decided to email Aldridge about his article. Here's what I wrote:

Dear Mr. Aldridge,

As your article convincingly points out, the facts do not corroborate an NBA led conspiracy. Conspiracies that big would be hard to keep a secret anyway as there would be too many people involved. However, conspiracies of a few are much easier to pull off and the NBA *has* in fact had a problem with this (Donaghy). I think many conspiracy kooks think that Donaghy was not the only problem referee. The facts here are a lot less convincing as it only takes one crooked ref to sway a game.

The fuel for these kooks is inconsistency. There are different rules for different players. There are different rules in the last two minutes versus the first two minutes. There are refs that are clearly, statistically biased in favor of the home team. This inconsistency creates a perception of wrong-doing even if no crooks are involved. As a basketball fan, it makes it difficult to watch a game when you feel that the game is not fair. I get this feeling a lot more watching the NBA than I do watching NCAA or other sports.

The officiating in the NBA is the worst of all professional sports. Basketball is perhaps the most difficult sport to officiate given the speed of the game, but this doesn't mean the league can ignore what is a real problem with officiating quality. The league should take steps to make sure the rules are applied consistently. Add another official, add a sideline official to review tape, change difficult rules, do something!  As long as officiating is perceived to be inconsistent, kooks will question the motives.

[ACF]

I decided to email Aldridge about his article. Here's what I wrote:

Dear Mr. Aldridge,

As your article convincingly points out, the facts do not corroborate an NBA led conspiracy. Conspiracies that big would be hard to keep a secret anyway as there would be too many people involved. However, conspiracies of a few are much easier to pull off and the NBA *has* in fact had a problem with this (Donaghy). I think many conspiracy kooks think that Donaghy was not the only problem referee. The facts here are a lot less convincing as it only takes one crooked ref to sway a game.

The fuel for these kooks is inconsistency. There are different rules for different players. There are different rules in the last two minutes versus the first two minutes. There are refs that are clearly, statistically biased in favor of the home team. This inconsistency creates a perception of wrong-doing even if no crooks are involved. As a basketball fan, it makes it difficult to watch a game when you feel that the game is not fair. I get this feeling a lot more watching the NBA than I do watching NCAA or other sports.

The officiating in the NBA is the worst of all professional sports. Basketball is perhaps the most difficult sport to officiate given the speed of the game, but this doesn't mean the league can ignore what is a real problem with officiating quality. The league should take steps to make sure the rules are applied consistently. Add another official, add a sideline official to review tape, change difficult rules, do something!  As long as officiating is perceived to be inconsistent, kooks will question the motives.

An effort such as this is always
worth a Tommy Point 

[guava_wrench]

Great article by DA. In the end, no matter what the outcome, people will come up with fantastic explanations for outcomes they didn't like.

I find it interesting that umpires don't get more bad press, since calling balls and strikes is the most questionable refereeing practice in all of sports. Now that we have technology that tracks pitches, we can see how inconsistent home plate umpires are even during a single at bad. Though managers and players get kicked out for arguing with them, for some reason fans don't like to make crazy stories around their mistakes.

There are also plenty of missed out/safe calls on the basepaths. It is odd that baseball fans can accept such imperfections, but basketball fans have adopted the culture of overreacting to each call.

[fairweatherfan]

I'm no conspiracy guy, but one thing I hate about counterarguments like this is the assumption that if you believe the league exerts its influence to promote certain outcomes, then you also believe Stern has the power to 100% ensure such outcomes will happen.  There's a big gap between "the league hopes certain players/teams will succeed to drive up ratings and revenue, and may subtly influence things in that direction" and "the league is deliberately and repeatedly fixing the outcome of games to guarantee their desired matchups".  Most conspiracy theorists believe some version of the first statement, but Aldridge is attacking the second.  It's a strawman argument, and as he says it's tinfoil-thin.

The issue isn't if Stern is some all-powerful puppet master, it's whether he or anyone else tilts the scales in some ways toward star players or big-market teams.  Tilting the scales doesn't mean the desired team will always win, but it does mean the playing field isn't entirely level.  This is a much harder argument to disprove (or prove), but it's the one Aldridge should be addressing.

[LB3533]

I'll tell you why there is no such thing as NBA Finals conspiracy....because if there was, the Lakers nor the Cavs would make it to the Finals this year.

The only proof that there is a conspiracy is if it is a Denver Nuggets VS Orlando Magic NBA Finals.

How so?

Just a guess, but LB3533 might just think the Lakers and Cavs are so overwhelmingly better than their competition that the only way either could sneak into the Finals is with a leg up from the League.  But I may be missing something.

If the NBA or Stern really does in fact rig games, then Stern would rig it so it would be a Nuggets/Magic Finals just to shut the conspiracy theorists up.

Lakers are up 3-2 right now, when in another reality if the Nuggets just learn to inbound the ball they'd have already won 4-1.

Magic might have swept the Cavs had they just guarded the inbound passer, Mo Williams in Game 2.

Watch the calls favor the Nuggets tonight and the Magic in Game 7, in Cleveland...then you will know there is a conspiracy.