Sorry conspiracy theorists. The NBA is not fixed. The 2006 Finals were not fixed for Miami. Game 2 of the 2008 Finals wasn't fixed for the Celtics and Game 3 was not fixed for the Lakers. I don't believe the 2002 WCF was fixed either, though that series is certainly more questionable than the others. I wonder how many people actually remember the 2006 NBA Finals. The reality is that Dallas had no one to blame but themselves for losing that series. They were a MUCH better team than Miami and they choked. BIG TIME. With the talent differential between them and Miami, they really should have won in 4 or 5. Yeah, Wade got to the free throw line a lot, but not because the officials bailed him out with phantom fouls. He got there because he was incredibly aggressive driving to the basket and threw his body around. Sure, there were some calls that could have gone the other way, but the vast majority of those calls were the correct ones. The Mavericks/Rockets series from 2005 is also being questioned. Cuban complained that Yao was setting illegal screens and the officials may have taken note of it and reviewed it..so what? There's nothing wrong with that. If the officials reviewed it and decided that Yao was in fact setting illegal screens, it is their responsibility to call them. They may have told JVG before a game that they were going to watch Yao for illegal screens and that is perfectly acceptable. From what I remember, the majority of those were good calls. Some people even think that the NBA's "dream" match up between the Lakers and Celtics is fixed. How completely ridiculous. Guess what? The Lakers and Celtics had the best records and were the best teams in their respective conferences this year! It should be of no surprise that they're playing each other in the Finals. LA absolutely rolled over all of its opponents and the Celtics beat Atlanta, Cleveland, and Detroit fair and square. There is no fix! Let's examine this series now. Do you want to know why the Lakers got to the line a lot more in game 3 than in game 2? It's not because the fix was in. It's because they did what good teams do..they adjusted their game plan and attacked the basket more! I know, I know..what a concept! Anyway, it was fairly obvious that Kobe was infinitely more aggressive driving to the basket that game than he was in the first 2 games. The Lakers did what they needed to to get more free throws and that is why they shot more, not because the officials rigged it for them. It's laughable to assume that the NBA is rigged when there is a big free throw shooting discrepancy in games. Some teams are just more aggressive than others. It happens. In game 2, the Celtics shot more free throws not because it was fixed for them, but because Leon Powe did a tremendous job of throwing his body around and drawing contact, while at the other end of the floor the Lakers rarely took the ball strong to the hole. There was no problem with officiating in that game. As someone said in another thread, most people believe that game 6 of the 2002 WCF was shady, which is the perfect reason for Donaghy to pick it to try and save his ass. And besides, the referees can't control whether or not players make shots.
