The C's are a top teir market. The league would much rather see the C's advance over the Atlantas and Detroits of the world. Which of our playoff series were weighted by the preferencial treatment we received from the refs? If the league is fixed, there's gotta be some examples, right?
I thought game 6 against Atlanta had a number of calls (or non calls) go the Celtics way.
Usually I see more of the wacky officiating in the middle of a series, when the NBA is trying to help stretch the series. To honest if the Heat go up 3-0, I expect some home cooking for Boston in game 4. Even if the Heat go up 2-0, i might expect Boston to get the benefit of some close calls in game 3.
Precisely.
I thought the series against Orlando where they had no answer for us is a strong example. They were going to get swept, but it ended up going 6 games.
But a lot can happen in those extra games (injuries, fatigue) that harm teams and affect the outcomes. In our case, less games is better for us, extending a series hurts us in the next one. We could use a break between series, but those are hard to come by in the modern NBA.
If the league sent word to crack down by using techs, that hurts us more than Miami. If they sent word instead to crack down on travelling, that would hurt Maimi significantly. They can affect a series in subtle ways.
So yes, the table is rigged in favor of the house (league revenue), but I don't think they really care about individual teams that much unless their cash cow is on that team.
