The NBA & Conspiracy Theories - If They Did It.

[Severian]

O.J. Simpson didn't kill his wife, but if he did he was thoughtful enough to write an account of how it transpired.

The NBA does not have a conspiracy in place assuring the Boston Celtics of this year's NBA title, but if they did...what would be their possible motivation?

Well for one, when the Lakers add a healthy Andrew Bynum to this mix I can't see any team beating them, barring injury, for the next three seasons. Bynum isn't that good, you say?

Well what if I told you the Lakers traded Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard, foregone conclusion that the Lakers cannot be beat. You'd be surprised then when I tell you that based on this season's stats, Andrew Bynum compares favorably to Dwight Howard across the board.

So I went to Pro Basketball reference and compared Andrew Bynum's stats per 36 minutes to Dwight Howard's stats per 36 minutes and here were my findings:

Bynum - .636 FG% .695 FT% 12.7 REB 2.2 AST 0.4 STL 2.6 BLK 1.9 TO
3.5 PF 16.4 PTS

Howard - .599 FG% .590 FT% 13.5 REB 1.3 AST 0.9 STL 2.1 BLK 3.1 TO
3.2 PF 19.8 PTS

Bynum is not quite 21 years old. He has showed remarkable improvement each year in the league. I can say with full confidence it is going to be GG rest of league for a few years, similar to the Chicago Bulls of Jordan/Pippen/Rodman in the 1990s.

So why the imperative for Boston to win this year? Well it will be their only chance to win with this group. I think it is important to the league that a northeastern state wins a title.

There has not been an NBA title out of the 13 Original Colonies since 1986, and if the Lakers expected dominance comes to fruition there won't be until after 2011.

It is important that the region feels viable and relevant considering the recent floundering of the Knicks, 76ers, Wizards, and Nets, and Boston is particular is becoming a football/baseball dominated town and with all of the historic significance of the NBA in Boston no one wants the team to feel like an afterthought.

The NBA also owes a debt to their poster boy Kevin Garnett (32) who jumped straight from high school to the Hall of Fame without a blotch on his resume. No one in the league wants him to go out like Elgin Baylor, Karl Malone or Patrick Ewing, that is one of the best ever that could never win a championship.

The same is somewhat true of Ray Allen (33 in July) and Paul Pierce (31 in October), who have an outside shot at the Hall of Fame, a shot that would be greatly enhanced with a championship ring. The two have also been poster boy citizens during their NBA careers.

It would be such a great story for the NBA if they all retired at the same time and all got inducted to the Hall of Fame on the same day. A great day for the NBA, Boston, and the northeastern U.S. in general.

Since this is theoretically the last year these great players will have a chance to get a ring, I wouldn't doubt the NBA will do all in it's power to allow it to happen.

The people in the league office know that the balance of power in the league has been greatly upset by the Pau Gasol trade. The trade was so bad that it probably should have been vetoed by the commissioner.

Allowing a team as successful as the Lakers to acquire a 27 year old All-Star 7 footer with career averages of 19 points and 9 rebounds for essentially nothing? Absurd. Stacking the deck in Boston's favor for one year doesn't seem all that bad in comparison.

[THE_ROOKIEEE]

smiles .... well said

[GFootsXtreme]

Generally speaking I believe the #1 thing the NBA does is try to have as many playoff games as possible i.e. games 5,6 and 7.

They can't make it happen, but the home court advantage that everyone knows about is the evidence that they want it to happen. By giving home teams a huge advantage with the calls, it guarantees fans want to come to the games, and gives the league the best possible chance for the series to be extended.

It's a fix without having to really fix anything. There's no real explanation for why home court is a 20-40 point swing in most cases....and I believe that explains where they are at.

By "helping" the celtics win the first 2 games, they now have best insured the chances for a game 5,6 and 7, wouldn't you agree? the line on the lakers is -9.5...sounds to me like they are going to win tonight!

[rjb1816]

there's no zero doubt in my mind the league has an agenda here...this series is going 7...kinda sad that its like the wwe

[dhunter]

so why did the spurs sweep the cavs last year? especially when lebron is the NBA poster child. there's no conspiracy

[westcoastO]

lol i guess spurs = ratings

oh wait...

2 of the lowest rated finals in NBA history contained the Spurs.

[GFootsXtreme]

Originally Posted by dhunter

so why did the spurs sweep the cavs last year? especially when lebron is the NBA poster child. there's no conspiracy

i don't think it's a conspiracy. the nba tries to give home teams as much chance as possible to win...but they can't give them a victory. if all the foul calls aren't enough to get the cavs over the hump...they get swept

no conspiracy. just a concerted effort to maximize revenue without completely tarnishing their image

[dhunter]

Originally Posted by GFootsXtreme

i don't think it's a conspiracy. the nba tries to give home teams as much chance as possible to win...but they can't give them a victory. if all the foul calls aren't enough to get the cavs over the hump...they get swept

no conspiracy. just a concerted effort to maximize revenue without completely tarnishing their image

game 1
SA = 16 FTA
Cle = 15 FTA

game 2
SA = 26 FTA
Cle = 29 FTA

game 3
SA = 16 FTA
Cle = 15 FTA

game 4
SA = 34 FTA
Cle = 16 FTA

with the exception of the last game, it was pretty even

[rjb1816]

point exactly with the donaghy shit coming out today...there is an agenda by the league...and that is to make this series go as long as possible. they know the lakers are going to win all their home games, they just didnt want them to close it out

[domafia]

lmfao

[rjb1816]

pretty sure thats exactly what happens...this shit is basically a less scripted wwe