Where Theres Smoke Theres... Well, Theres Lots Of Smoke

Following up on snizza's excellent analysis, I wanted to point out what Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post had to say about the same issue in his column this morning, that of NBA officials fixing or throwing games.

Take it away, Wilbon:

Jackson's comments before Game 3, when he learned of the latest from Donaghy, didn't help the image of referees unduly influencing games. Most unaffiliated observers of the now-infamous Kings-Lakers Game 6 here in 2002 thought the Lakers benefited from blatantly one-sided officiating that allowed them to advance to and win a Game 7, then the NBA championship. Asked about this, Jackson said: "Was that after the fifth game after we had the game stolen away from us after a bad call out of bounds and gave the ball back to Sacramento and they made a three-point shot? There's a lot of things going on in these games and they're suspicious, but I don't want to throw it back to there."

Stolen? Suspicious? Even if Jackson meant nothing, it's exactly the kind of talk that is ever-present in NBA circles, even from former coaches and both former and current players. It's nothing for a player to say to a reporter, "You know the league needs a Game 6 in this series, so we never had a chance tonight." It's something I've never heard in 28 years of covering Major League Baseball or the NFL. But it's a constant part of the NBA, to the point that players inquire all the time about which officials are working certain games.

Players and coaches often have strong feelings on which referees are more likely to be influenced by the home crowd and which dare to be booed by making tough calls on the road. Much of it can be supported anecdotally, and it's all been part of the NBA culture for at least the last 40 years.

I have heard people complain about officials making biased calls for the purpose of altering the outcome of NHL games, but Wilbon is correct when he says that allegations of throwing games by the league are unique to the NBA. Kinda makes you wonder. Especially so when you end up with the aberrant results from Game 2, and then Game 3 comes along and the calls just switch on a dime.