Is the NBA fixed?

[LarBrd33]

No.  It's not fixed. 

I always get uncomfortable when Celtic fans start crying about refs.  IT goes both way, gentlemen... we've been gifted some calls by poor reffing and we've lost some calls by poor reffing.  I've seen the refs swallow their whistles many-a-time during KG and Perk's day.  It is what it is.  No use crying about it.

[satch]

Welllll......we know of at least one rogue official.

[Celtics4ever]

pretty evenly called apart from 2 techs.

What game were you watching.  They were mugging our guys and we could not do the same thing.  All a fan wants is for them to call it the same both ways.   That did not happen last night.

[Spilling Green Dye]

Fixed or not, the one thing we know is that the league has ZERO transparency for their officiating program.  And it is because of this that every bad call seems like a fix.  

There is empirical data clearly showing that home teams and superstars get more favorable calls.  The cause of this may be simple human bias that is subconsciously rooted, or something more deliberate and sinister.  

My personal belief is that the officiating program has inadequate training, funding at the developmental level, and performance tracking.  In addition, many of the long time referees have personal agendas against particular players and coaches, and there is no accountability to handle this.

The lack of accountability and transparency has led to the league officiating becoming extremely flawed.  And such flawed results are not particularly distinguishable from if the games were fixed.  So is the game fixed?  Probably not, but the results are the same!

[arambone]

I somehow doubt David Stern loves basketball deep down in his heart.

Money? Closer to the heart:

http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/this-just-in/21202491/donaghy-dc-nba-told-refs-crack-down

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy joined Dennis & Callahan on Tuesday morning to discuss the officiating in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Celtics were hit with five technical fouls during Monday night's loss to the Heat -- three individual T's (Ray Allen, Doc Rivers and Rajon Rondo), a delay-of-game team technical (for Kevin Garnett's tap of the ball after a basket) and an illegal defense tech -- and Donaghy said there's "no doubt about it" that someone from the league talked to the officials before the game and told them to clamp down.

"They want to send that message out to control the players so that they're not out of control and acting in a way where it doesn't look good for TV," Donaghy said. "When you talk about Danny Crawford, he's a referee who doesn't like to give out a lot of technical fouls, so when that took place, right away I knew that that came down from the league office. To give Ray Allen a technical foul -- who is probably one of the most professional players in the history of the NBA, was absolutely disgraceful."

[Celtics4ever]

Rondo is ahead of PP in jersey sales.  He is 3rd behind Queen LeBron and Kobe.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/13/lebron-returns-to-top-of-nba-jersey-sales-pile/

[Chelm]

Rondo is ahead of PP in jersey sales.  He is 3rd behind Queen LeBron and Kobe.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/13/lebron-returns-to-top-of-nba-jersey-sales-pile/

I was under the impression that Lin was #1 this year.  This article is from 2011.

EDIT:  I was wrong.  Rose was #1, Lin is #2, Rondo #10.

3 in the top 15 isn't bad!  Only one Laker.

[LooseCannon]

I never understood why having My Hammy in the finals would give you a better rating than having Boston in the finals. The Boston Celtics are the Boston Celtics and appeal to the Old School Fans of the NBA.

Young fans are more valuable than old fans.  Ratings are all about demographics these days.

[Chelm]

I never understood why having My Hammy in the finals would give you a better rating than having Boston in the finals. The Boston Celtics are the Boston Celtics and appeal to the Old School Fans of the NBA.

Young fans are more valuable than old fans.  Ratings are all about demographics these days.

I think the Celtics are more popular than the Heat right now.  I have no source or data for this other than that I have lived in Los Angeles and Brooklyn (Celtic-neutral) for the past 13 years, and that is what I've seen.  The most ridiculous thing is that friends from L.A. (Laker fans) are almost unanimously rooting for us in this series.  And there's a bunch of them.

My demographic (relatively young, unmarried professionals) is the most targeted for ratings.

[greg683x]

I never understood why having My Hammy in the finals would give you a better rating than having Boston in the finals. The Boston Celtics are the Boston Celtics and appeal to the Old School Fans of the NBA.

Young fans are more valuable than old fans.  Ratings are all about demographics these days.

I think the Celtics are more popular than the Heat right now.  I have no source or data for this other than that I have lived in Los Angeles and Brooklyn (Celtic-neutral) for the past 13 years, and that is what I've seen.  The most ridiculous thing is that friends from L.A. (Laker fans) are almost unanimously rooting for us in this series.  And there's a bunch of them.

My demographic (relatively young, unmarried professionals) is the most targeted for ratings.

most popular and what draws the most ratings are two different things.

I think most people would agree that the Heat is the most hated team in the NBA, thus making them not very popular.

However, if you think the Celtics would draw more ratings you are wrong.  Tons and Tons of people are going to tune into the Finals if the Heat make it there because they want to see them lose.

The thing that IS popular about the Heat, and probably the most popular thing in the NBA right now, is getting enjoyment from watching them fail.

Stern doesnt care.  The money isnt any less valuable.

[freshinthehouse]

Is the Tim Donaghy that everyone is referencing as some beacon of truth the same Tim Donaghy that guaranteed on the radio in 2010 that the league wouldn't allow Boston to advance to the ECF?  Dude is a liar.  Plain and simple.

[rondohondo]

Is the same Tim Donaghy that everyone is referencing as some beacon of truth the same Tim Donaghy that guaranteed on the radio in 2010 that the league wouldn't allow Boston to advance to the ECF?  Dude is a liar.  Plain and simple.

like jose canseco was a liar?

[freshinthehouse]

I dunno.  Has Jose publicly guaranteed something that hasn't happened lately?  I haven't followed the Bash Brothers in quite some time.

[ACF]

Is the Tim Donaghy that everyone is referencing as some beacon of truth the same Tim Donaghy that guaranteed on the radio in 2010 that the league wouldn't allow Boston to advance to the ECF?  Dude is a liar.  Plain and simple.

That's right, Tim Donaghy, the only NBA ref to ever be involved in anything illegal 

[greg683x]

Is the Tim Donaghy that everyone is referencing as some beacon of truth the same Tim Donaghy that guaranteed on the radio in 2010 that the league wouldn't allow Boston to advance to the ECF?  Dude is a liar.  Plain and simple.

for the record I do not think the league is fixed, but I do think they influence games.

However, what you said does not clearly make Donaghy a liar.  When he made that statement, he was making it at a time when he was no longer in the inner circle that he describes in his book and in all his claims.  It's more of an educated guess at that point.  Coming out and making those claims does not help his case at all though.  If he really wanted to rally people around him he would stop trying to predict the future, and stick with what he already knows and can prove.