ESPN is running this story (again). Okay, I'm sure there are new details, but it's been a long time since I went back and watched this. What are your thoughts on this, now that it's nearly two decades ago? The reffing was (I think) objectively bad, but the mistakes weren't as obviously beneficial to Sacramento as they might seem. Calling the foul on DIvac on Horry on the floor was a bad call, but Horry was fouled earlier in the play. Calls for Shaq to have a flagrant were absurd. He's big and went for the ball. Kobe clearly smashed Bibby, but I'm not sure that's what refs are looking for (even the one who seems to be looking in that general direction), but that foul hurt Sacramento. Story http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25980368/how-former-ref-tim-donaghy-conspired-fix-nba-games 4th Q Refs
I'm unable to watch anything that could take away from one of the greatest paths to the Finals in NBA History. That was a historic run through a massively stacked West for a couple of years. Those were seriously talented teams we beat. If they didn't choke on free throws, they would have won. They have nobody to blame but themselves, and if you leave the game in the hands of the refs, don't expect it to always fall your way. Referees have always sucked, but IMHO it ends up evening out over the course of a game/series/season. It just is what it is.
But Donaghy didn't even work any games in that series tho. Plus let's look at those free throws again... Game1 LA: 16/22 Sac: 16/17 Game2 LA: 15/25 Sac: 23/38 Game3 LA: 8/15 Sac: 21/35 Game4 LA: 18/27 Sac: 18/26 Game5 LA: 17/23 Sac: 22/33 Game6 LA: 34/40 Sac: 18/25 Game7 LA: 27/33 Sac: 16/30 Totals LA: 135/185 Sac: 134/204 So game6 with 40 attempts to take it to game7 in Sac was a problem, but getting gifted 38 attempts in game2 in order to avoid being down 0-2 heading back to LA isn't? Yeah they had homecourt, but we had a f***ing hulk..uh Shaq. They took almost 20 more free throws than we did, yet they think they were the ones conspired against?!? Da f***?!? #InTheirFoilings
i don't get the connection, rodg. all of donaghy's confirmed misdeeds occurred after 2002. unless your suggestion is that his guilt implicates everyone else. i'm as foil-helmeted as just about any basketball fan, and i think the league interferes with officiating to help bring about desired outcomes (like harden and wade being stars, for example, and miami winning the 2006 title). however--and my lakers bias is showing here--that kings series had some seriously questionable officiating in the other direction as well. and if you're a conspiracy theorist, a kings title would have done quite a bit for the nba at that time--they were like, america's favorite team. it's sort of why i laugh at the suns fans claiming the league wanted SA to beat them in 2005 (or whatever year it was)--everybody LOVED the suns! nobody would rig things against them, save for their own d****** coach.
Oh damn, the first thought of this brings me back to this documentary.\ This was back in 2008, I was 18 then and youtube was in the mainstream but networks and the government was still learning and how and what content to block. For some reason I couldn't find the original channel and uploads but I found someone else that uploaded his work. Great vid even though its defending the Queens, there are questionable calls but that's been there ever since I watched ball which was nearly my whole life. Refs are always giving favorable calls for whatever reason. Extending the series and I would even say pushing for a more big market team to advance in the playoffs. So I don't think it was anything particularly new but this Sacramento Queens fan definitely pointed out some questionable calls and I really couldn't go against him WATCH THE WHOLE SERIES! GREAT VID FOR ANY BALL FAN NOTE: This is the original author's new youtube channel. It was stated it was deleted after getting semi-viral (around 2009 or so).
...and sets a moving pick on Fisher to free up Bibby for the eventual game winning shot. Led to Bobby Jackson mugging Bryant on the last play before he can get off the potential Laker game winner to counter.
I still have no idea what the Sacramento argument is here... I see a few questionable calls... maybe some that should've been non calls, but nothing blatant or lopsided. FFS, I hope they never have to play the Rockets in the Playoffs...
All biases aside, that stretch in the 4th quarter was definitely one of the worst officiated periods I've ever seen, right up there with the Dallas-Miami finals in 2006 (where the refs f***ed up in multiple games, though). Nevertheless, there's one important factor here. If the league wanted to fix it so the Lakers won, they did a TERRIBLE job. 1. We win game 4 on a Horry prayer that only went in because Divac was an idiot, and was only even possible because Divac missed a clutch FT. If we lose that game the series is basically over, and the refs could not ensure those last few seconds ended up in our favor like that. 2. The Kings choked HARD in game 7 at home. I don't need to bring up the stats that @vasashi17 posted already, but it was clear that Webber, Bibby, Divac, etc were simply not ready for that type of pressure. Reminds me of Portland in Game 7 in the 2000 WCF. 3. Even in Game 6, if the refs really wanted us to win, why would they let it go down to the wire like that? Instead of giving us more calls so that it was a blowout. Not only that, but they couldn't force the Kings to play the way they did late in the fourth, fouls aside. It's cool to think a couple of bad calls means the league fixed it so the Lakers were in the finals just because for ratings. But that series was way too close on multiple occasions. If Stern really cared that badly, he'd want more things to be in his control.
Donaghy's claim is that two of the three refs threw that game, and apparently it wasn't Tim Barnhardt. That leaves, I think, d*** Bavetta and Bob Delaney. It's not that all games were or suspect, but some of them were (again, as an admitted cheater says). bfc: I'll respond to two points, but the other one is totally fair. #2: Getting to game 7 was apparently the goal for that game 6. They Kings may not have been ready for game 7, but they were ready for the first six in the series. #3: If all you need is for it to go to game 7, you don't let the Kings destroy the Lakers. Just a few well-time fouls elsewhere could have kept the game close, but if the refs had called any more fouls in that fourth quarter, it would have been painfully obvious if the fix were in. For what it's worth, I don't know what to think. I have no doubt that referees have some conscious and unconscious biases. Included in those biases could be kickbacks.
If the goal was to just extend the series to 7, I'll give that to you. My understanding was it was to put LAL in the finals for $$$ reasons. If that's the case, the league was really close to letting it slip away on several occasions. On a different note, I've been hearing a lot about Scott Foster since this article game out. Apparently he may have had his hand in extending the 2016 finals to 7 games as well? Along with the 2017 game 4 victory for CLE? He's the man Tim Donaghy called the 2nd most after only his bookie. He's also a horrible ref most of the time, lol
I don’t really buy into this. Sometimes refs just flat out blow. I don’t think there was an agenda against us in game 2 of the 2008 Finals in Boston, I think the refs were simply garbage and being human were partially swayed by the hostile Boston atmosphere. I also watched game 4 of the 2002 WCF fairly recently on a Kobe day on NBA TV, and the refs didn’t help us win that, so why would they later on. We could have easily and should have lost that game, but we played incredible defense during our comeback and both teams were so skilled. It’s a beautiful game to re-watch on both sides, two teams at their absolute peak playing amazing basketball and giving everything they have out there, and I didn’t see the refs hand us that one at all (not that it was stated they did, just if we don’t win on a miracle shot there likely isn’t even a game 6). I think anyone who doesn’t like the outcome of a game, or a playoff series or Finals can find stuff to start a conspiracy theory over if they try hard enough, but the reality is a lot of factors go into these series maybe we forget, like key injuries, or the obvious, that one team is just better or the other wasn’t ready yet (again, 2008 Finals). The only legit Finals ref gripe I still have is the 2006 Heat and Wade’s 97 freaking free throws and all those phantom fouls, that was disgusting.
yeah, pretty much all other complaints are silly after you watch the 2006 finals. that was just straight-up officiated with an incredible and obvious bias towards one team and player. that was a mark cuban hit job. and you can dislike cuban and his antics, but that is the height of corruption. i still think game 6 in the 2002 wcf was partial payback for the way the refs botched game 5 in sac's favor. the better team won the series, something you can't say about the 2006 finals.
Game 5 was badly officiated for the Queens Game 6 was badly officiated for the Lakers. Game 7, fairly officiated, in Sacramento. What are they complaining about????
