I don't think God could have fixed that CLE-ORL series. That was a beat down.
Do I think he fixes games? I would say that he has in the past. Like game sevens of certain series. I think he might influence referees to let certain things go by certain players.
You can't just say that because we don't have a Kobe-LBJ finals that he doesn't fix games. There was very little he could have done to fix that series.
What I did notice throughout the 2 conference finals were a ton of bogus calls involving free free throws like technicals and clear path fouls going against ORL and DEN. Alot of mickey mouse calls on D12 and Nene as well. Alot of those calls seemed to come from Bennett Salvatore as well (he's gotta be crooked!)
Another thing... how the hell is Dick Bavetta still employed if he's not under Stern's thumb? He's awful, old, slow, blind and dumb. How is he a ref? He must be Stern's main man.
I've said this before: when the "favorite"-underdog (the underdog that everyone wants to win) gets "questionable" calls against them, they get magnified much more because of who they're playing against (case and point, you point out the fouls on Orlando and Denver, not LA and Cleveland). There were bogus calls on both sides of the ball on both teams. One in particular was when Fisher and Martin tangled up before a jumpball and Martin was called for the technical when Fisher made the first move. They caught Martin's reaction though and called it on him. Later in the game, a similar tangle happened (I can't remember the players at the moment), but the Lakers were assessed the technical and not the Nuggets.
Yes. I don't think he's done it at all recently but there were a few series in the 2000s that I and most people from the outside looking in felt were fixed. I hate when people dropped the fixed thing but in my mind these ones stood out like sore thumbs.
Dallas vs. Miami - 2004 NBA Finals
Kings vs. Lakers - 2002 WCF
Bucks vs. Sixers - 2001 ECF
There was ONE specific incident in Dallas/Miami and that was the "backcourt no-call" on Dwyane Wade that got Dirk and Cuban heated. That's mainly it other than the clock running down about 3-4 seconds during a timeout in, I believe, the same game. But, that Josh Howard timeout is all on the Mavs. Other than that, the Heat won the series.
Kings and Lakers series wasn't rigged. Kings vs. Lakers Game 6 was rigged. I wanted the Kings to win that series because I believed that was the best match-up for the Nets to win and the Kings were just flat out better. I also really liked that Kings team. However, Game 7 wasn't rigged. The Kings just lost that game. But let me tell you this: Horry doesn't hit that three in Game 3 (which was tipped to him by Divac), this isn't a discussion. Stern can't rig that three pointer.
You have no argument for Bucks/Sixers. Ray Allen bitched because he played for a "low-market" team, the refs favored the Sixers, which is bullshit. The Sixers were just better than them. The MVP in AI, defensive player of the year in Mutumbo, and 6th man in Aaron McKie. That team was just clicking. AI tore their asses up in that Game 7. People made a huge deal about the lane violation in Game 1 because the Bucks "should have stole one". Oh, and because Mutumbo shook David Stern's hand after Game 4? There's nothing wrong with that, players do it all the time.
