Bad call like all sports but time to move on to next game
Not a run of the mill bad call. This one raises crucial questions.
1. How does a ref (Pacers fan) say "no contact" after watching replay? The L2M Report acknowledged contact.
2. Haliburton's injury caused a lot of money to be bet on Boston. Did this have anything to do with the calls?
3. If so, how many other times or ways do the refs affect the game one way or another?
4. Was there a pattern here? "One bad call" can happen. But combine that with:
A. Celtics given zero free throws in the 1st half of prior game against Pacers.
B. Celtics fast break wiped out when ref calls technical foul on Pacer.
C. League L2M Report says no foul on Porzingas that gave Pacers winning free throws.
5. If there was a pattern here, what was the goal?
A. To keep the game close in order give to home team fans their money's worth?
B.To enable a particular team to win on a particular day?
C. To protect gambling interests and make them happy?
6. If the goal was to affect the game, who made this decision? The league, the ref, other outside interests?
7. How often does this happen?
These are serious questions. Never forget- when the FBI caught Tim Donaghy, they went to David Stern and asked him to keep it quiet so they could see if other refs were giilty. And Stern leaked it to the press so no one else could be caught.
I will not just move on.