Poll: Fans Believe NBA Is Rigged, and Lakers-Celtics Was a Set Up

Without knowing anything else about the methodology, 907 is actually a pretty good sample size, with a margin of error at close to 3%.

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yep the NBA is totally rigged man.. I mean the NBA is so totally fake Of coarse the Championship has been won by large media friendly US cities. Like SAn Antonio, Detroit and Houston.

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That's an incredibly disingenuous headline.

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If it isn't fixed, wht won't your neighborhood bookies take bets during the first 2 or 3 weeks of the season?

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Shows why democracy in this country doesn't have a chance. Too many stupid people.

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Hey Brett how about them Lakers!?

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If the Lakers pull off 3 in a row, then I might think it is rigged.

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TAKE THE DRAFT.... NOT DONE LIKE THE LOTTERY WHERE WE ALL SEE THE PINK PONG BALLS... THIS IS ALL DONE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS... THE BULLS HAD A 1.7 PERCENT CHANCE TO GET THE # 1 PICK AND LOW AND BEHOLD GOT IT...

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For someone who watches alot of basketball it would seem that the league is the puppetmaster, the refs are the puppets and the players are the audience who gets to participate in the show. Mark Cuban is absolutely correct in his assessment on how badly the games are called. Things that would be a foul one day, are not called the next. Things that are flagrant fouls for lesser players are not called for the superstars. Players with a rep for technicals just have to breathe anywhere near the officials and they get called. Tim Duncan actually got T'd up for looking at an official the "wrong way"! Today's NBA is a far cry from the days of Russell, Wilt, and Reed. The players make way too much money and the tickets are priced too high for the real fans. Jack Nicholson is not the typical NBA fan, the people who spill blood on the blacktops all across America are the real fans, too bad they can't afford to see a game in person.

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Basketball is the only sport that I can think of that alters the way calls are made, thus bringing a different more physical type of game during the playoffs.

Does baseball increase or decrease the strike zone or foul lines during the playoffs?

Does football allow players to rough the quarterback a little more during the playoffs?

Does hockey allow two line passes during the playoffs?

It doesn't make sense to me, the same calls that are made at the beginning of the regular season should be called during the playoffs. Superstars should not draw fouls just because they got touched. Point guards should not allow to carry the ball over as much as they do. Highly athletic slasher type players should not be allowed to travel just because they take three steps so gracefully. Follow the rules and the make the calls regardless if it's the first quarter or the closing seconds of the game.

I remember when there used to be only two refs calling NBA games. Then they went to three refs to cover more ground and they still screw it up. Referees influence the outcomes of NBA cames because they are forced to make calls that have a definite impact on who will win the game.

Bottom line, I do beleive that the league officials and referees are dirty. The NBA is so badly rigged that it's right up there with the WWF.

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I'm just going to parrot what other people have already said by saying -

If the league were fixed, why have the boring Spurs won 4 out of the last 9 titles?

Why has the most likable white player since Larry Bird (Nash) failed to reach the nba finals?

Why have the boring Spurs managed to win closely matched series against phoenix?

Why do the Knicks stink?

Why have the Knicks not won the lottery since the 80s?

Why did Yao Ming, a player who draws millions of chinese viewers, get knocked out of the first round TWICE?

If the league were fixed, my guess is that a great many of these things would not be happening.

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I absolutely believe that the games are rigged.

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Michael Jordan, the NBA's most famous name, is a known gambling addict. How about Charles Barkley ? Another gambling addict. The NBA is a joke.

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An unmentioned fuel to this story is the fact (if empirical evidence is your thing) that NBA officiating over the last 2 or 3 decades has been the most unabashedly activist inclined of any major sport in the US. NBA commentators, pundits, blow-hards, et al, will utter without pause that fouls technical or conventional should be liberally issued whether warranted or not to “keep order” amongst players who only “happen to be black” (or maybe the refs and punditocracy never even noticed their race).

Not the slightest bit of irony is expressed by sportscasters during the concurrent hockey and basketball seasons as fists, sticks, pick axes, etc., fly liberally on the ice with maybe 10’s of minutes of penalty time issued, while on the hard-wood, game expulsions and extended suspensions can be issued for “eye-balling” or standing up when arms happen to start swinging on the court.

Okay I’ve woken up. Why would I even think that a problem would be addressed at its root?

As an old-school SNL fan I can only say “never mind.”

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NachoD: Yes the NHL does allow two-line passes in the playoffs; in fact the refs pretty much don't call ANYTHING in the playoffs unless it's blatant. It makes me sick. But that's another rant for another day.

As far as the NBA goes, the officiating is incompetent, no question. Remember when the baseball umps all quit and MLB basically said, "See ya"? NBA officiating has gotten to that level of ridiculousness.

I don't know if games are "fixed" so to speak, but just from watching these Finals, it seems that the home teams are getting much more leeway from the refs than the visitors are. And, I can't tell you how many times I have seen players travel and not get called. The league needs a complete officiating overhaul.

And, given how quickly Stern said Donaghy's claims were "baseless", that probably means there's at least some truth to what Donaghy said.

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Boston had to play 2 game 7,s against Cavs and the atlanta freaking hawks. Go figure. The Lakers on the other hand are more set-up than any other team in the league. Unfortunately for them, the refs couldn't stop the Celtics from staging a comeback in game 4. So to the refs, Lakers and Kobe, you lost!

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With the Tim Donaghy going to jail for gambling on games he refereed and the el stinko game 6 in the 2002 playoff game between the Lakers and the Kings the NBA games looked like they are fixed.

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Is there any activity dominated by blacks that is not corrupt?

Before you call me a racist, think about it.

We must get through to the black man that he has to be responsible to be respected.

My apology and condolences to the majority of black Americans who bear the burden of the irresponsible black man.

If we could be a united and colorblind society, we would be the absolute best nation on Earth.

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OF COURSE THE NBA IS RIGGED BUT, ME BEING FROM SAN ANTONIO GO SPURS GO!!! ALL YOU JACKASSES OUT THERE WHO KEEP CALLING US BORING ARE JUST PISSED OFF BECAUSE WE HAVE ONE SO MANY CHAMPIONSHIPS IN THE LAST 8 YEARS. BUT, MY FRIEND THERE HAVE BEEN MANY, MANY TIMES WHEN WE'VE HAD ALOT ALOT OF BAD CALLS AGAINST US.. SO, QUIT YOUR WHINING AND SUCK IT UP. WE TOO THINK WE HAVE "LOST" MANY GAMES DUE TOO THE REFS BEING PAID OFF. YOUR JUST PISSED CAUSE WE'VE KICK YOUR TEAMS ASS HOW MANY TIMES. REMEMBER WE TOO HAVE HAD BAD TIMES (TIM DUNCAN ANYONE)

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I never knew that the conspiracy theory about the NBA being rigged was this widespread.
Having said that: Absolutely spot on. I have a 14 year old who plays AAU hoops. The refs call "lane violations" on free throws all the time.
Check out the NBA--although the rules might be different, these guys are ALWAYS in the lane before the ball even leaves the free throw shooter's hands. It is almost never called, only when the call benefits the team "designated" to win. It's the same with touch fouls and questionable blocks / charges, where any call can change an outcome.
Face it: Most of these guys are great athletes. But it's only about revenue, just like professional wrestling (an even much bigger act with lesser athletes, if athletes at all) and many other sports. Lance Armstrong cheated his way through 7 Tours de France and is laughing all the way to the bank.

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