How Much Do You Trust the NBA?

[BadNewsBarnes]

A zero as well.  I've been suspicious of Stern & his cronies since the Ewing draft.  Donaghy clinched it for me.  Throw in the debacle we just witnessed and it just really p*sses you off.  

[misha]

I trust NBA as much as I trust these guys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmffgIqlAYA

[Junkyard Dawg]

it's a good question, and one that's hard to answer in the end.  Commentators in-game call out refs for "make up" calls, for players who get star treatment, home team calls, and I think it's safe to say even supposedly unbiased national commentators dispute a pretty high number of foul calls and non-calls.  

as far as the league instructing officials on how to call a particular game, I think it probably does happen and that was the most troublesome aspect of Donaghy's accusations for me.  Based on that alone i'd rate the trustworthiness of the nba as a 3.

[Yakmanev]

Sometimes it doesn't have to be orders from above. Sometimes it just has to be what they think the guys up above want.

It's called ass kissing and it happens.

[angryguy77]

You all now where I stand. But to reiterate, I trust this league as much as I trust the results of a third world election.


I always had my suspicions, but this last series was enough for me to conclude this league is not legit. Even if it was a simple case of innocent incompetence, the league has done zero to fix this problem. That alone is enough for me to quit being a fan.   

[Dybdal]

Well cant be as bad as soccer? can it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MbFBy9WtAo&feature=player_embedded

Just wanted to cheer people up.

[BBS]

Well cant be as bad as soccer? can it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MbFBy9WtAo&feature=player_embedded

Just wanted to cheer people up.

 Actually it's worse than soccer. Everyone who has a sports reporting job is talking about the blown call on the U.S. but not a peep out of them in regards to the 21 to 6 freethrow advantage in the 4th quarter for the Lakers in game 7.

[twinbree]

1. After last year's allstar game with the co-MVPs, I haven't trusted them ever since. That was so unbelievably WWEish. If they can mess around with something so meaningless as the allstar game, it makes one truly wonder what else could happen.

A little more transparency about the reffing could bump me up to a 2 or 3. More accountability, less shadiness about the assignments and no more pre-game meetings. Really why are they necessary? The rule book should be the same every game for every team in every arena.

[connerhenry43]

Well cant be as bad as soccer? can it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MbFBy9WtAo&feature=player_embedded

Just wanted to cheer people up.

 Actually it's worse than soccer. Everyone who has a sports reporting job is talking about the blown call on the U.S. but not a peep out of them in regards to the 21 to 6 freethrow advantage in the 4th quarter for the Lakers in game 7.

great point. it is because espn is in bed with the lakers. and the media are such a bunch of mindless sheep, because the celtics did not bring it up, they never do. the celtics are too classy to point the fingers at the refs in  a press conference like phil jackson after every loss of his career, but i am not. i will point the finger right where it belongs for game 7, the crawford brothers and scot foster (donaghys buddy).

[GreenFaith1819]

And Twinbree brings up another point I had forgotten about..

Didn't Joey Crawford or another high-profile Ref have a run-in with Tim Duncan, of all people? Just a few years ago?

I remember some of it - it was during the playoffs, and Tim was questioning the validity of a call, and Joey over-reacted and tossed the poor guy.

[twinbree]

And Twinbree brings up another point I had forgotten about..

Didn't Joey Crawford or another high-profile Ref have a run-in with Tim Duncan, of all people? Just a few years ago?

I remember some of it - it was during the playoffs, and Tim was questioning the validity of a call, and Joey over-reacted and tossed the poor guy.

Yep. He claimed Timmy was showing him up on the bench and ejected him for laughing. And the icing on the cake was he wanted to fight him too. Pretty sad that this is one of the most prominent refs in the league.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu1Wz5JQEz8

[twinbree]

Well cant be as bad as soccer? can it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MbFBy9WtAo&feature=player_embedded

Just wanted to cheer people up.

 Actually it's worse than soccer. Everyone who has a sports reporting job is talking about the blown call on the U.S. but not a peep out of them in regards to the 21 to 6 freethrow advantage in the 4th quarter for the Lakers in game 7.

great point. it is because espn is in bed with the lakers. and the media are such a bunch of mindless sheep, because the celtics did not bring it up, they never do. the celtics are too classy to point the fingers at the refs in  a press conference like phil jackson after every loss of his career, but i am not. i will point the finger right where it belongs for game 7, the crawford brothers and scot foster (donaghys buddy).

All season we've watched the find creative new ways to give away leads and lose games - scoring droughts, D-leaguers grabbing key rebounds, brain farts on defense, random bench players hitting daggers, Doc getting ejected. We've seen it all. This just didn't feel like one of those we brought it on ourselves losses. Even playing a perfect quarter (which was too much to ask at that point) 21! FTA is a lot to withstand. Maybe I'm just being a sore loser since the consensus seems to be we were unequivocally beaten fairly and squarely.

[Eja117]

I'm encouraged that the FBI and NBA came to the conclusion that T Donaghy was telling the truth when he said he refed fairly in games he bet on. I'm not encouraged when the mob came to the same conclusion he did (he could fairly accurately predict winners just by looking at the refs)

I give it a 1.5

[connerhenry43]

Well cant be as bad as soccer? can it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MbFBy9WtAo&feature=player_embedded

Just wanted to cheer people up.

 Actually it's worse than soccer. Everyone who has a sports reporting job is talking about the blown call on the U.S. but not a peep out of them in regards to the 21 to 6 freethrow advantage in the 4th quarter for the Lakers in game 7.

great point. it is because espn is in bed with the lakers. and the media are such a bunch of mindless sheep, because the celtics did not bring it up, they never do. the celtics are too classy to point the fingers at the refs in  a press conference like phil jackson after every loss of his career, but i am not. i will point the finger right where it belongs for game 7, the crawford brothers and scot foster (donaghys buddy).

All season we've watched the find creative new ways to give away leads and lose games - scoring droughts, D-leaguers grabbing key rebounds, brain farts on defense, random bench players hitting daggers, Doc getting ejected. We've seen it all. This just didn't feel like one of those we brought it on ourselves losses. Even playing a perfect quarter (which was too much to ask at that point) 21! FTA is a lot to withstand. Maybe I'm just being a sore loser since the consensus seems to be we were unequivocally beaten fairly and squarely.

so many of the calls were brutal. gasol running over PP at halfcourt. gasol pushing off rondo (for no reason other than he knew it would not be called), passing out to kobe who, instead of using some clock, bowled over pierce, they put him at the line. just to name a few. i do not see how anyone came away from that game saying anything other than the celts were robbed. neither team played perfectly, both teams played their behinds off. the defense was amazing both ways. the home team was carried by three refs to a game 7 win. second laker title where three refs were mvp's (2002 the other).

sad state for the nba, and that rat david stern is the constant. lack of trust is probably why the league, under his direction, lost $400 million this year. what does he need to do to be removed?

[celticinorlando]

not at all