Over the past years the NBA has become extremely controversial. It’s not a secret that things are happening that wouldn’t be happening. For example:
July 21, 2007: Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett traded to the Boston Celtics for virtually nothing.
February 1, 2008: Memphis’s Pau Gasol traded to the LA Lakers for virtually nothing (This had nothing to do with Jerry West, a Hall of Fame ex-laker being the GM of the Memphis Grizzlies)
This "coincidental" sequence of events lead to an NBA finals series between the two teams, reminiscent of the NBA’s golden age from the 70s and 80s when the rivalry was founded.
It just so happens that the NBA Finals hit record lows in TV ratings the previous year. Anyone see the connection?
I’m just getting started here. Anyone heard the name Tim Donaghy in the news recently? The ex-referee used confidential NBA files before the season started to find out which officials were officiating which games. Then, with the information, he bet on games according to who was officiating (some games in which he personally officiated) – and often times, won.
There is obviously some kind of connection when a man can see just by which officials are officiating, and guess correctly who is going to win.
Back to the 2008 Playoffs:
In the 2nd round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs, the LA Lakers played the Utah Jazz. Arguably, the Jazz played the Lakers better than anybody in the playoffs that year (next to the Celtics, obviously). The Lakers would ultimately go on to win in 6 games. In the series, Kobe Bryant shot 90 free throws. That’s a lot of free throws in one series, and I’m not convinced that he earned half of them. This is all part of the conspiracy that led to the Lakers playing the Celtics in the 2009 NBA Finals "reunion".
Is there anything fishy going on in the NBA? From the looks of it, there has got to be some inside dealings going on. I’m just reading the facts and then looking into it. What do you guys think?