Tim Donaghy..Scary..

[SalmonAndMashedPotatoes]

Due to the subjective nature of officiating, it's quite easy to subtly effect the outcome of a game.  That doesn't mean the outcome is decided 100% by the officiating, since players do get in the way and it is possible to win a game when the officials are subtly favoring the other team.  But that doesn't mean subtle manipulation wasn't present, or a factor in the game. 

As for game 4, I'd point to two major inconsistencies in that game--the diff between how Rondo and Nelson got the whistle on their forays to the hoop, and the diff between what was considered an illegal screen, depending on which team was doing the picking.  The Cs couldn't stop the pick-and-roll for most of the night, and a big reason was because Orlando set about 20 moving picks throughout the game.  Meanwhile, we had 3 illegal picks called against us, each one less egregious than what Howard and Lewis had been doing all night, and one of them was a blatant reputation call against Rasheed.  The inconsistency of what was and what was not an illegal pick had a giant impact on the outcome of the game, but it was a subtle manipulation, dependent on Orlando taking advantage of illegal picks by aggressively exploiting them when available.

[guava_wrench]

Also, for the record, Donaghy now claims that he never fixed NBA games, and claims that he only gambled on them based upon his instincts and reactions to other refs.

In other words, Donaghy is a liar.

If he can't even confirm that he did not fix games, and he is as bad as we can confirm, what evidence do we have for anyone else?

The statement he made about calls is a safe one to make since so many fans perceive their team as a victim of the refs every game, regardless of what calls are made.

[vinnie]

What would a day on Celtics Blog be like without another conspiracy theory thread? Tim Donaghy is like those who say they can predict the future. Speak in generalities, so then when something happens that is related to what you said, it looks like you knew exactly what you were talking about. I only wish all of these ridiculous conspiracy theories would go away.

[connerhenry43]

i hate refs as much as anyone but we lost game four. there were a few calls here and there (davis block on jameer) but for the most part, they evened out. the one thing is when sheed got a tech, but when rashard lewis got all over a ref shortly thereafter, no tech. sheed brings that on himself, but in a playoff game, either call them both or neither.

i also agree about moving screens. perk gets nailed all the time with that call. some are legit, but some are reputation. someone going to tell me that every dwight howard screen is executed perfectly?

all that being said, we lost because of poor play and often unintelligent play and because our best player was not 100%. let's make up for it tonight.

[looseball]

What would a day on Celtics Blog be like without another conspiracy theory thread? Tim Donaghy is like those who say they can predict the future. Speak in generalities, so then when something happens that is related to what you said, it looks like you knew exactly what you were talking about. I only wish all of these ridiculous conspiracy theories would go away.

If Tim Donaghy admits to betting on games, he must have been trying to influence the outcome in his favor.  How could he not?

Is it a conspiracy theory then to think there might be others trying to influence the outcome of games, for whatever reasons?
Nobody seems to praise any of the refs for their integrity, and most calls can go either way, so... 

[reggie35]

Tim Donaghy is looking mighty prescient right now.

[connerhenry43]

What would a day on Celtics Blog be like without another conspiracy theory thread? Tim Donaghy is like those who say they can predict the future. Speak in generalities, so then when something happens that is related to what you said, it looks like you knew exactly what you were talking about. I only wish all of these ridiculous conspiracy theories would go away.

If Tim Donaghy admits to betting on games, he must have been trying to influence the outcome in his favor.  How could he not?

Is it a conspiracy theory then to think there might be others trying to influence the outcome of games, for whatever reasons?
Nobody seems to praise any of the refs for their integrity, and most calls can go either way, so... 

actually the fbi investigated it and donaghy never rigged a game himself. do your research first.

if you watched tonights game and do not think something is crooked with stern and crawford and rush, i feel badly for you. i have seen wwe matches less transparent.

[jasail]

I have always been in the camp of don't complain about the officiating, it is bad but it usually ends up cutting both ways.  However, after being a fan of the league for 25+ years I am seriously reconsidering my dedication to watching this sport.  The officials made this game about them tonight and to no surprise it was Donaghy and Rush.  When there is smoke there is fire.  

I will say that the Magic out played the Celtics tonight and deserved this win regardless and this is not an excuse.  It is a FACT that this was a terribly officiated game.  Now this happens throughout the course of the season, but in the playoffs the right way is to let the teams play and let emotions ride.  This DID NOT happen tonight.  

At the end of the day this is on the leagues shoulders.  They could have, and more importantly should have, addressed this YEARS ago (Sac v LA).  They did nothing but enable the officials, turning a blind eye to abject failure at ones job, and going as far as protecting the officials at the expense of the players, the coaches, the owners and most importantly the quality of product.  It is a travesty.  

For most of this decade I knew how bad it was during the regular season, but it never really bothered me because my team never was never really competitive; point being there were bigger fish to fry.  Also, I watch a lot of baseball and know over the course of the season bad calls happen (often) but it eventually evens out (usually) and in the playoffs the best crews are out there often exuding professionalism. 

However, watching important playoff basketball over the past couple years, I am beginning to see and understand how widespread this ineptitude and arrogance is. Refs taking over not only games, but series into their hands, is egregious beyond words. In games like these either you let them play and show emotion or you call it tight early and make BOTH teams adapt. This was not done tonight. The refs tried to control the game, which is fine if done right, but it was uneven, reactionary and completely opposite of how this series has been called so far.    

In the end I hope this officiating blows up in the leagues face and they are forced to clean house (which is doubtful as Selig and company still run baseball and Joe West still has a job).  Regardless the league has put blinders on and moved forward.  Stern can continue to levy fines and fans can continue to shout "don't be a sore loser" but if you cannot see that referees like Crawford, Bavetta and Rush for they problem that they are, I suggest waking up.  

[Junkyard Dawg]

I've been pretty happily surprised with how the refs have been so far in these playoffs.  At the start of the playoffs, I thought, God, The C's are gonna have to get through DWade, Lebron, Dwight and Kobe, if I were David Stern looking to rig games it would seem like an easy thing against what at the time looked to be an old, injured and past-their-prime Celtics team.  Especially considering the C's have been winning with mind blowingly out of this world defense, which theoretically would make it easier to make calls go against them.

But this game 5 tonight was an absolute travesty.  Crawford's T on Rondo and the other guy's T on Perk were indisputably sham calls.  THAT is a fact.  What bothers me more than anything is that nothing is going to happen to these refs -- they won't be suspended, they will suffer no repercussions and the average NBA fan will forget about this in a few days.  I'm not saying it's a conspiracy, in fact I believe it's exactly what people have always said about Crawford -- he's trying to be the star of the show.  It doesn't change the fact that these refs disgrace the game when they act like this, and yet David Stern will always have their backs.

[looseball]

What would a day on Celtics Blog be like without another conspiracy theory thread? Tim Donaghy is like those who say they can predict the future. Speak in generalities, so then when something happens that is related to what you said, it looks like you knew exactly what you were talking about. I only wish all of these ridiculous conspiracy theories would go away.

If Tim Donaghy admits to betting on games, he must have been trying to influence the outcome in his favor.  How could he not?

Is it a conspiracy theory then to think there might be others trying to influence the outcome of games, for whatever reasons?
Nobody seems to praise any of the refs for their integrity, and most calls can go either way, so... 

actually the fbi investigated it and donaghy never rigged a game himself. do your research first.

if you watched tonights game and do not think something is crooked with stern and crawford and rush, i feel badly for you. i have seen wwe matches less transparent.

If the fbi says so it must be gospel.

[coco]

Trusting Cohaghy is like trusting the MAFIA.  This guy is dirty and can never be trusted.  I don't care if he gets it right...he is still a scum.  Who's his employer now-a-days, the Cartels or does he still works for the MAFIA?  

I take back most of what I said about Donahey.

I don’t agree with a referee betting on the very same sport/league he officiates, and don’t think Donahey isn’t that clean of a guy….if you know what I am saying, BUT there certainly is some truth to what he says goes on.