Some Orlando Magic fans are sure refs will rig series for Caval...

yeah NBA is rigged...ahehehe..

We will just have to see how things play out. To me it's kind of like boxing in that you shouldn't let it go to the judges(refs). If the Magic so their job the way we know they can the refs can't do anything about it.

I expect frustrating calls and I hope the team does also. Dwight sometimes seems to let it get to him to much.

Fix, NO..........
Bias, YES..........

Anyone who has been an NBA fan for a while knows that there is some truth to this. The way around it is to win big and not let things come down to the wire.

Too many make-up calls. When a ref knows he f0cked up on a call, he would blow the whistle for almost anything on the next opportunity just to get even. Limited instant replay should be allowed for fouls and traveling in the last 90 seconds of any game.

Yes I believe there's something going on. The previous series just shows that the refs are biased in someway. That's why the game reached game 7 because of some questionable calls against the magic.

I'm trying to convince myself that no games are fixed. But with big $$$ involved (betting), this maybe possible.

Usually home teams get favorable calls. I will say that Kings Lakers game 6 was definitely fixed. I mean its like all 3 refs just decided they hated the Kings for a day. They made every single call against them.

Hopefully things like that are something of the past and wont happen again. There are still spurts of every game where it seems home teams get every questionable call. I have seen it in our favor. I have seen it go against us. Its always more frustrating when your team is on the bad end. I just wish theyd call it as fairly as possible on both ends. Let each series have its own precedent and keep it that way. Whats a foul in game 1 should be a foul in game 7. If youre "going to let the teams play" dont do it for a quarter then call a foul the next quarter whenever 2 opposing players happen to touch each other. Like any of this will ever happen... you can always hope.

Its pretty obvious to me who the league would prefer in the championship. Lebron vs Kobe. Look at the recent commercials, vitamin water, the puppets where they live together. Lets hope the Magic can prevent that from happening =)

Fcku the Cavs!

I wouldn't say the games are "fixed" because you would have to have the players involved. But there is NO WAY anyone can convince me that David Stern doesn't have a preference for whom he wants in the Finals. Of course he wants a Lakers-Cavs matchup. Stern is TERRIFIED at the thought of a Denver-Orlando series. All you have to do is watch the fouls called on Lebron, and watch the fouls called....and especially NOT CALLED....on or for Dwight Howard. If you start to see James get every little ticky-tak foul called for him while Dwight is getting pounded on in the paint with few calls, you'll know where the NBA's desires lie.

There's no conspiracy...It's just a fact that NBA referees are the worst officials of all the professional sports. No matter how many years of experience, they are inept at doing a decent job. Prime example: for yeras, the league has been trying to curtail the "flops" and they notify officials about this during off-season, but they still call it. And the excuse that the game is too fast and players too athletic for the refs can be solved easily. Put more refs on the court. Football does it. They are on the sidelines and they gather to discuss penalties and such. NBA refs have bigger egos and the NBA is too stubborn to fix it. But people eventualy will get tired and turn away to other sports. And the NBA will be based on big markets team because medium/small markets will not be able to afford it to compete at the same level..

The NBA is not fixed, but the I'm sure there is an influence by the league. Too many phantom calls that you just don't see in other sports. Yes the NBA is fast but an MLB umpire has a harder job I believe. Judging strike zones and watching to see whether a player is safe or out with a ball flying at them is much more difficult and it seems that umpires get it right more often than not. The bad thing about the NBA is that 1. The refs anticipate way too much, they blow the whistle when they think a foul is going to occur. I'd rather the call be late and correct. 2. They buy the "acting" way too much. Rondo, Pierce, Varejao, Ginobili, Derek Fisher, etc. These guys play like they're getting stabbed on the court and the refs buy it every time. and 3. The NBA does not replace the bad refs, Joe Crawford especially after that whole Tim Duncan and KG fiasco a few years ago should have been banned years ago. That female ref is horrible as well, she can't even keep up with the players as they run down the court and she makes half of her calls from the back court. David Stern really needs to work on this. Get some college refs.

Fan since the beginning wrote:

Fcku the Cavs!

love that spelling!

The superstar calls are what give the NBA such a bad name. Expect to see a lot of that in this next series.
I agree that I fully expect that the majority of the calls will be going to Lebron and the Cavs in this series.
I don't agree that the Ref's "fix" the games; however, I think that the refs have more impact in the NBA than any other professional sport.
It's simple really, LET THEM PLAY!!

Roberthenry wrote:

Fix, NO..........
Bias, YES..........

I agree, I don't think it's a fix because a fix would be nearly impossible, but bias without a doubt. If the refs become a factor, it will be in close games. The Magic will have to win by a good margin in order to keep the refs from being a factor. You know David Stern and probably most of America want to see a Lebron-Kobe finals. Let them keep counting out the Magic, I feel we're going to sneak up on some people.

I think the reason we weren´t elimintated by boston is that they were playing really bad in that 7th game, so there were nothing left for the refs to do (they could call all the "invented" faults they want, that wouldn't change the final outcome). We have to play at a great level in order to not be sc**wed by the refs, which is much more than any "favorite team" has to do...

I agree with Dave that the players would have to be involved for it to be completely labeled as "fixed" but I'm sure there is a trickle-down affect starting from David Stern who he would like to see in the Finals.

It's no coincidence that NBA ratings dropped in 2003 from 10.2 (2002) to 6.5. It's because in 2003 the Spurs were playing the Nets in the Finals which equals BORING, and Stern rolls over in his sleep because of that.

It's also no coincidence that in game 5 the refs finally decided to NOT review a 3-pointer by Ray Allen in the 2nd quarter, after reviewing almost all near-questionable 3-pointers in the playoffs. SVG requested for it to be looked at, and turns out that on replay it shows that it was a definite 2-pointer. That 1 point would have saved us from having to foul the Celtics in the last minute, trailing by 1 point.
Also in the 4th, the Celtics shoot while the shot-clock is running down. The ball clearly hits the NET diagonally, indicating a shot-clock violation and the CLOSEST ref makes the correct call. After Kendrick Perkins starts to jump around like a monkey, all THREE refs gather together and change the call, at a very telling point in the game.

I don't believe it's "fixed" but I believe the message has been loud and clear who the NBA wants in the Finals. Let's face it, before the Conference Finals even started we are looking on ESPN at the Kobe-LeBron match-up. Everyone is hyping it up, and the media is putting pressure that anything less would be a disappointment.

No matter what you say to the "experts" and how the fans believe the game is being dictated; the perception won't change unless there is proof. The “experts� are always going to so NO it’s not rigged or whatever they can to dispel such theories. But you can't blame the fans because this perception has been displayed over and over again during this year's playoffs.

The sports writer talked about the Mavs-Nuggets series where the refs blew a call, but what about all those questionable suspensions by the league? Or how about the inconsistencies from game to game with how a foul is called on said person, to what is not called on another. It's hard to get over a perception when every time you turn on a NBA game you see some sort of "home court" advantage or phantom calls. Sure it may be easier for the fan to see it on the TV due to the fact that we have like 5 different camera angles in which to view the foul, but these NBA officials are supposed to be professional right? Maybe they need to have their eyes examined or maybe they need fresh faces from the college level. Either way something has to give and the NBA needs to prove by CONSISTENCY that these games aren't rigged.

If the NBA wanted to make a conscious effort to change the image after the Donahue, they would rotate refs every 1-2 years to eliminate the chances of such. This is a similar practice to what big companies do with its buyers.

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Blueballin wrote:

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I agree, I don't think it's a fix because a fix would be nearly impossible, but bias without a doubt. If the refs become a factor, it will be in close games. The Magic will have to win by a good margin in order to keep the refs from being a factor. You know David Stern and probably most of America want to see a Lebron-Kobe finals. Let them keep counting out the Magic, I feel we're going to sneak up on some people.

You're right. Most of America want to see the Kobe-Lebron show in the finals. Just go read ESPN's (Sportsnation) polls.