Has put himself back in the headlines; likely no coincidence this story surfaced right in the middle of NBA Finals fortnight. He is alleging that two referees slanted their officiating in Game 6 of a 2002 playoff series to favor the team trying to force Game 7, and that they did so because league offices had made it clear they desired said series go the distance. The allegedly biased officiating worked and the series was extended. I do not have perfect recall on past NBA Playoffs, but ESPN is reporting the only 2002 playoff series to go 7 games was the Western Conference Finals between the Lakers of Shaq and Kobe vintage and the Sacramento Kings of Chris Webber and Co vintage. Stephen A. Smith was quoted on air this evening as saying he recalls the officiating of that game to have been an “abomination” as the Lakers attempted 27 4th quarter free throws, though it never occurred to him or the other media members at the time that the game was rigged.
Hmmm. Stephen A. went on to say that this is self-serving by Donaghy, trying to, ahem, blow the whistle on corruption in the NBA, prove there was a conspiracy much larger than his gambling on games while reffing games, roughly a month before his sentencing hearing. And this is all certainly true. But it also feeds into the perception that the NBA is not always entirely on the up-and-up. For example, I fully assume the Lakers will win Game 3 tonight and win at least 2 of these 3 at home; the Association does not want this series between flagship franchises to end quickly; its getting back to Boston. What were the odds major market Chicago would win the Draft Lottery this year? Indeed, how often does a team that “should” based on odds win the Lottery, outside the year the Cavaliers won because they basically had to have local product Lebron James to keep the team viable? There is no tangible proof that things are rigged, but there are enough things that make you go “hmmm” that you go hmmmm.
