An old conspiracy (or wound if you're from Sactown) was revisited this week when Tim Donaghy alleged that the NBA ordered that Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals have the calls largely benefit the L.A. Lakers and force a Game 7 ultimately won by Shaq/Kobe and friends.
Even if you didn't know of said conspiracy or didn't believe in them, you had to at least think something wasn't right as the Lakers went to the line 27 times in the 4th quarter as opposed to the Kings going 9 times. Not to mention, Mike Bibby fouling Kobe Bryant while Kobe re-aligned Bibby's septum.
While it is entirely possible that Donaghy is throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks and throwing Game 6 on that list hoping it may give him some crediblity, there's nothing to make me believe he's making this up. Given that the ratings were low for what ended up being a very forgettable sweep between the Lakers and Nets, the ratings between Sacramento and New Jersey, regardless if the series went longer and probably better to watch, probably would've been worse than the all-time low set the next year.
While fixing any game is an insult to the fans, fixing playoff games is a federal crime. Regular season games are conjecture depsite the ticket prices and everything else that goes with it, but the playoffs are another matter altogether. The playoffs are the reason we all become fans in the first place and the reason we watch sports. To rig what was an epic series that ultimately produced the eventual champ and probably would've anyway had the Kings hung on is just a little disheartening.
It also changed the fortunes of two franchises. The Kings haven't been to the WCF since, being halted by a C-Webb injury in '03 and an epic Game 7 from KG in '04 and the nucleus of that '02 crew has since moved elsewhere or called it a career. The idea of the Maloofs moving to Vegas still reaches the surface every once in awhile, I wonder if that idea even gets on paper had the Kings brought it home. The Lakers meanwhile were able to easily coast to their 3rd straight championship and while that cast would blow up 2 years later, their place in history had already been set in stone. Had the alleged fix not been in and the Lakers fell short, maybe the Shaq-Kobe drama reaches its boiling point earlier and this team would've been viewed a lot differently. Other than Portland outright tanking in Game 7 of the '00 WCF, this had been the Lakers biggest test during their championship run. Had the Lakers fell short, they would've been viewed as a team that had faced relatively easy competition (no disrespect to those Spurs teams) and couldn't get it done against an equally-matched team.
The only way we'll ever know if the fix was in is if Doug Christie and Peja Stojakvic admit to being ordered to fire up air balls like they were going out of style.
And I leave you for the weekend with the 2002 WCF highlight reel, a report from the Florida State League All-Star Game on Monday...
2 comments:
If Donaghy was telling reporters that, it would be one thing. But he's giving this info to Feds. People don't lie to Feds when they're already implicated in a crime, unless they are really aching for time in jail.
I swore that game was fixed when watching it six years ago. I'm sure if I watched it again I'd only feel it more so. Of course, back in '02 I thought it was rigged for the sake of having league darlings Shaq and Kobe in the Finals, and not for lining the pockets of gambling addicted referees.
I still believe it was rigged to get the Lakers in the finals. Nobody outside of diehards, NoCal and the swamps was watching Kings/Nets.
Post a Comment