Snakes In My Pants

The free throw disparity in the 3 games of the NBA Finals, coupled with recent allegations of disgraced ex-NBA referee Tim Donaghy, has the conspiracy-nuts out in force this week, alleging game-fixing and a conspiracy inside the NBA front-office.

“The NBA wants the Celtics and Lakers in the Finals!”

“The NBA wants the series to go 7”

“The NBA wants the Knicks to get Patrick Ewing!”

Just stop.

Take the tin-foil off your head and climb out from your mother’s basement.  There is no conspiracy and recent history proves it:

1.  The New York Knicks – If the NBA had a conspiracy for certain teams to win, the New York Knicks would not be the laughing stock of the league for the better part of a decade.  New York is America’s largest city, biggest media market, and arguably the center of the basketball universe.  If the NBA wanted ANY team to win, it would be the Knicks.  A corollary to this would be the Celtics, who are the “Yankees”, so to speak, of the NBA and have gone past the 2^nd round of the playoffs exactly ONCE in the 18 seasons before this one.

2.  The San Antonio Spurs – Again, if there was any conspiracy, the Spurs would be the last team the NBA would want to win.  San Antonio is one of the smallest markets America, but the Spurs have won 4 of the last 9 NBA Championships:  arguably the first dynasty of the 21^st century.

3.  The myth of the 7 – If the NBA wanted the Finals to go 7 games, why doesn’t it ever happen?  In the last 19 finals, the series has only gone to 7 games TWICE.  As a matter of fact, it has only gone to 6 games EIGHT times over that same span.  Therefore, 11 of the last 19 championships, more than half, were sweeps or 4-1 series wins.

4.  The Draft – If the NBA wanted to fix the draft, why do the big-market teams almost never win the draft lottery?  Examples:  1993- The biggest upset in NBA draft history when the small-market Orlando Magic secured the #1 pick despite only having a 1.5% chance of winning.  They beat out lottery teams like Philadelphia, Detroit, Dallas, Washington, and the Lakers.  1997 – The Celtics, again the NBA’s flagship franchise under high-profile first-year coach Rick Pitino, had a 40% chance of winning the lottery and landing consensus #1 pick Tim Duncan.  Instead, the small-market Spurs won Duncan and 4 subsequent championships.  2007 – The Celtics again had 40% chance of securing one of the top 2 spots, but finished 5^th behind small-market teams Portland, Seattle, Atlanta, and Memphis.  2008- The Knicks finished 6^th behind small-market teams Miami, Minnesota, Seattle, and Memphis.

5.  The Western Conference – If the NBA wanted to fix their sport, why would the majority of the great players and great teams be in the west?  70% of America’s population lives within 400 miles of Philadelphia.  So why, for the past 5 years+, are teams from the major eastern media markets, the Knicks, Celtics, Sixers, and Bulls, struggling?

There is no conspiracy.  Home teams get calls.  Superstars like Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce get calls, especially at home when the crowd groans and the role players have more energy.

Tim Donaghy is doing anything he can to deflect blame and save his skin as he approaches his court date.  There is no way the multi-billion dollar NBA would risk their very existence by fixing games.

The Celtics are going to win Game 4, and take this series in 6 games.  Book it.