Do people really think the lottery is fixed?

[Moranis]

I get conspiracy theories in sports (not that I believe any of them).  And I certainly can see how someone could at least make a plausible argument with respect to game outcomes (using refs, fouls, suspensions, etc.), but for the life of me cannot find a plausible argument that the lottery is fixed.  I mean the teams and media have representatives in the room when it happens.  Everyone that has been in there has said fixing it would be impossible based on the way it is done.  So I'm really confused as to why people believe the lottery is fixed.  I just don't get it. 

Also, I realize it can be fun to talk about this sort of thing on a forum.  It is entertaining and what not, but I just can't believe that people truly believe the lottery is fixed.  Am I right or wrong? 

[Donoghus]

The only way I could see them getting away with fixing it would be to weight certain ping pongs (I'm not even quite sure how this translates with the actual machine to be honest with you). 

Theoretically, a select few would know about it and the people in the room watching the actual drawing wouldn't even know the difference. 

[csfansince60s]

I just posted this on the Stern thread:

A lot of NBA execs think so, at least according to WoJ:

http://www.businessinsider.com/nba-lottery-rigged-2012-5

Here's the money paragraph from Wojnarowski:

The reaction of several league executives was part disgust, part resignation on Wednesday night. So many had predicted this happening, so many suspected that somehow, someway, the Hornets would walk away with Davis. That's the worst part for the NBA; these aren't the railings from the guy sitting at the corner tavern, but the belief of those working within the machinery that something undue happened here, that they suspect it happens all the time under Stern.

The Hornets only had a 13.7% chance of winning the lottery.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nba-lottery-rigged-2012-5#ixzz1wSc76EXk

[Fafnir]

No, I don't think it is.

[Employee8]

One thing that gets me is, why can't we watch the actual lottery pick live rather than watching them hand out envelopes.  Why can't we see the numbers come up in the box for ourselves?  And why do we even have a lottery in the first place?

Sure teams would tank but it works in the NFL.  Worst team picks first.  Easy peasy, move on with our basketball lives.

[Who]

Nah

[Fafnir]

One thing that gets me is, why can't we watch the actual lottery pick live rather than watching them hand out envelopes.  Why can't we see the numbers come up in the box for ourselves? 

Because its really boring they have to draw number combos for the first pick, then the second, and finally the third. But there can often be repeats which slows things down. Just makes for bad TV, they have lots of media and team reps there. Zach Lowe got to watch it this year apparently.

And why do we even have a lottery in the first place?

Fans and the league got very upset with the blatant tanking for Hakeem and other big time players

[Donoghus]

One thing that gets me is, why can't we watch the actual lottery pick live rather than watching them hand out envelopes.  Why can't we see the numbers come up in the box for ourselves?  And why do we even have a lottery in the first place?

Sure teams would tank but it works in the NFL.  Worst team picks first.  Easy peasy, move on with our basketball lives.

Because watching the actual lottery is boring as heck and I'm sure the tv execs and the league have pondered this before.  There is no suspense since the first pick is drawn first.

The way the show is presently constructed as builds suspense which is what tv is looking for in the first place since it oftens drives ratings.

In contrast to the NFL, with the small rosters and the way in which a single player can certainly change a franchise, tanking becomes much more significant in terms of ramifications.  

Davis will turn around that franchise a heckuva lot more quickly than Andrew Luck will turn around the Colts.  Its the nature of the sport.

[Employee8]

Valid points.  I didn't know about Zach Lowe watching the picks.  The lottery would have a lot more credibility to it if the NBA is a bit more open about how they go about doing the process.  I saw that there are those 4 numbers and the Bobcats had 25% of the possible 4 combinations.  They could invite more people to watch the actual picking and they can report to us whether they think it was shady business or straight up legit.

[Chelm]

The way they do it is infinitely more interesting.  I've heard from many sources that the actual picking of the balls is mind-numbingly boring because they have to show clearly that there is no collusion.  Also, it's not like television cameras would have any better chance to pick up a fixing, what with the commercials etc. than the actual people (both impartial media and representatives from every team).

The major debunking, though, of most conspiracy theories is that there would have to be enough people in on it that we would hear about it eventually.  Human nature dictates that we don't keep secrets, particularly with how lucrative book deals are in 2012.

[CelticG1]

I wouldn't be shocked with anything in the NBA.

Do people just forget about the Lakers-Kings series a few years back? Just sweep that under the rug like its nothing.

Oh the Lakers traded for Chris Paul? No ill just use my magic wand and veto that

[Moranis]

One thing that gets me is, why can't we watch the actual lottery pick live rather than watching them hand out envelopes.  Why can't we see the numbers come up in the box for ourselves?  And why do we even have a lottery in the first place?

Sure teams would tank but it works in the NFL.  Worst team picks first.  Easy peasy, move on with our basketball lives.

Because watching the actual lottery is boring as heck and I'm sure the tv execs and the league have pondered this before.  There is no suspense since the first pick is drawn first.

The way the show is presently constructed as builds suspense which is what tv is looking for in the first place since it oftens drives ratings.

In contrast to the NFL, with the small rosters and the way in which a single player can certainly change a franchise, tanking becomes much more significant in terms of ramifications.  

Davis will turn around that franchise a heckuva lot more quickly than Andrew Luck will turn around the Colts.  Its the nature of the sport.

Yeah, but they could film it and release the film after it is announced on television.  Frankly, it might end all of this nonsense year in and year out so they probably should do that.

[Donoghus]

One thing that gets me is, why can't we watch the actual lottery pick live rather than watching them hand out envelopes.  Why can't we see the numbers come up in the box for ourselves?  And why do we even have a lottery in the first place?

Sure teams would tank but it works in the NFL.  Worst team picks first.  Easy peasy, move on with our basketball lives.

Because watching the actual lottery is boring as heck and I'm sure the tv execs and the league have pondered this before.  There is no suspense since the first pick is drawn first.

The way the show is presently constructed as builds suspense which is what tv is looking for in the first place since it oftens drives ratings.

In contrast to the NFL, with the small rosters and the way in which a single player can certainly change a franchise, tanking becomes much more significant in terms of ramifications.  

Davis will turn around that franchise a heckuva lot more quickly than Andrew Luck will turn around the Colts.  Its the nature of the sport.

Yeah, but they could film it and release the film after it is announced on television.  Frankly, it might end all of this nonsense year in and year out so they probably should do that.

It won't end the nonsense.  The conspiracies will always persist no matter how much is put in front of the public.

[get_banners]

maybe, maybe not. the lottery system is stupid, though. i'm sorry, if you are the worst team, you absolutely should get the top pick. with only 2 rounds, 1 player can make all the difference. would it encourage tanking? maybe. but...some teams are just terrible, period. and some teams tank, anyway. the lottery basically punishes the worst teams for the occasional sins of other bad teams. for us alone, the lottery cost us tim duncan and kevin durant.

[LarBrd33]

I just posted this on the Stern thread:

A lot of NBA execs think so, at least according to WoJ:

http://www.businessinsider.com/nba-lottery-rigged-2012-5

Here's the money paragraph from Wojnarowski:

The reaction of several league executives was part disgust, part resignation on Wednesday night. So many had predicted this happening, so many suspected that somehow, someway, the Hornets would walk away with Davis. That's the worst part for the NBA; these aren't the railings from the guy sitting at the corner tavern, but the belief of those working within the machinery that something undue happened here, that they suspect it happens all the time under Stern.

The Hornets only had a 13.7% chance of winning the lottery.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nba-lottery-rigged-2012-5#ixzz1wSc76EXk

The NBA has said in the past they don't show the actual lotto ball process, because it's incredibly time consuming (I think a lot of the same numbers just keep coming up over and over again) and would make for bad television.  But if they have tape of it, they should make it available online so people can stop crying about it.  People will watch anything online.  I know people who use to watch other people watching TV on "Big Brother" video telecasts.  Someone filmed himself watching the "Nyan Cat" video for 10 hours:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6etnDBV2gY

And then this guy filmed himself watching that guy watching the "Nyan Cat" video for 10 hours:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD0W9qHWSeg

.... Drugs are bad, mmmkay?  But I digress... make the lotto ball thing available online and people will shut up.