K I'll try again.
First of all, you're falling over the word "fixing" as an absolute on every single game.
Matchfixing doesn't work the way you think it works.
Not EVERY SINGLE MATCH has to be fixed.
50% of all teams are gonna win, 50% are gonna lose.
If you can somehow guarantee you can predict 51% of the matches right, every single season, you can put $100 on every single game and make a profit.
So what I'm telling you is that you don't have to fix "that one game", if you just influence 100% of all games by just 1%, to make a profit.
Does that make sense?
So match-fixing happens on a more nuanced level.
Don't get hung up on the one statistic.
Yes, the refs influence the game. In any sport… Yes, they will slant things to extend a series to make more money. But at the end of the day, if the best team is advancing in each series, what do you care?
A few factors you may or may agree / disagree on:
1. Extent of tampering. You seem to agree that it only occurs
some games. Do most games have
some degree of tampering/bias, regardless of how much? Is it more common in playoffs? NBA Finals?
2. Who is tampering. A crooked ref or two? Players? Team owners? Or executives of the NBA?
3. Intention. Maybe the biggest question. Do you believe it's done intentionally? For example, refs could have an unconscious bias (e.g., they're influenced by the crowd, stars, or players/coaches they've had the best interactions with over the years). Or, those in position of power are deliberately affecting the outcomes each year, at a broad level.
An aside, in looking at the teams in the beginning of the playoffs, which two teams do you believe would gross the most income in a Finals match-up?