The Past 25 Years In The NBA - It's Fantastic For 6 Teams

[TucsonDevil]

Now that it seems the first part of my thread is running its course, here's part two. What goes behind the scenes with the refs and the league. And yes, there is a definite Suns theme to it. I didnt write it.

http://deadspin.com/5392067/excerpts-from-the-book-the-nba-doesnt-want-you-to-read

WOW! Glad to know that my suspicions are not crazy off the wall conspiracy theories. That article describes in many ways, the NBA is basically the WWE.

David Stern is crying on his mahogany desk right now... I wonder why ESPN doesn't talk about the book? Hmmm...

 

[AzStevenCal]

WOW! Glad to know that my suspicions are not crazy off the wall conspiracy theories. That article describes in many ways, the NBA is basically the WWE.

David Stern is crying on his mahogany desk right now... I wonder why ESPN doesn't talk about the book? Hmmm...

Those excerpts have been around for awhile - ever since the NBA threatened a lawsuit to keep the book from coming out. I don't know if any or all of it is true but we shouldn't dismiss that it was written by someone with an obvious anti-NBA agenda. Consider also that the writer is the only one we know involved that definitely violated both the law and his responsibility as a referee.

I've watched enough NBA to know that there is at least a kernel of truth to a few of his stories but I really doubt some of the stuff there.

Steve

 

[AfroSuns]

Those excerpts have been around for awhile - ever since the NBA threatened a lawsuit to keep the book from coming out. I don't know if any or all of it is true but we shouldn't dismiss that it was written by someone with an obvious anti-NBA agenda. Consider also that the writer is the only one we know involved that definitely violated both the law and his responsibility as a referee.

I've watched enough NBA to know that there is at least a kernel of truth to a few of his stories but I really doubt some of the stuff there.

Steve

I don't, but then again it is not telling me what i don't already suspect. I would think it is obvious, the refs are human afterall and prone to making decisions borne out of emotions or their own personal reasoning.
I would like to know which of the claims you particularly think is false. It is one thing for Donaghy to hate the league/Stern but it is another to falsely accuse your former colleagues, if anything, i wont be surprise if he is slightly holding back because of threats.

 

[BirdMan21]

I compare this book to Cansaco's book when it came out. Everyone sat there saying well there is probably a few true things but most of it is probably made up. But then it turned out that he was probably the most truthful person about the entire steroid scandal and everyone ignored him. It will be interesting to see if this book plays out the same way for the NBA, I will for sure have a more open mind to it after seeing Jose be right about just about every player he listed.

 

[TucsonDevil]

I compare this book to Cansaco's book when it came out. Everyone sat there saying well there is probably a few true things but most of it is probably made up. But then it turned out that he was probably the most truthful person about the entire steroid scandal and everyone ignored him. It will be interesting to see if this book plays out the same way for the NBA, I will for sure have a more open mind to it after seeing Jose be right about just about every player he listed.

Ding, Ding, we have a winner. You are exactly right. The only difference is, more people listened to Jose...

Stern and the NBA are pretty powerful - and will turn off the faucet to any organization at the drop of a hat.

 

[95pro]

speaking of refs, man i watched the suns-spurs game 1 from the 2007 playoffs.
i completely forgot about that game, the bloody-nose game, some of the calls in that game... game was showing on nbaTV

 

[nashman]

Anyone who watches the NBA that can't see something strange going on are the ones that are not paying attention. Even the other night when we played the Lakers there was a nice ejection of our coach, non flagrant call, and techinals for the Lakers at least a 6 point swing in a matter of seconds...what was the final in that game? Its totally rigged for certain teams, ask yourself this if the Suns were to play defense as aggressive as the Spurs what would happen? We would get fouled off the court, certain teams are allowed to play MUCH more physical and not get fouls called on them. Jazz, Lakers, Spurs, Detroit come to mind right away. Its a total Joke!

 

[AzStevenCal]

I don't, but then again it is not telling me what i don't already suspect. I would think it is obvious, the refs are human afterall and prone to making decisions borne out of emotions or their own personal reasoning.
I would like to know which of the claims you particularly think is false. It is one thing for Donaghy to hate the league/Stern but it is another to falsely accuse your former colleagues, if anything, i wont be surprise if he is slightly holding back because of threats.

This is a bitter man who is trying to justify his actions. People like that tend to create a world that deserves what it gets. Some of what he is probably true but often times he ascribes motives to his co-workers and then builds upon that interpretation. I agree with you that the refs are merely human and that most of their mistakes come from something other than dishonesty. And while I absolutely believe that they do a piss-poor job of calling the game , I don't believe there is a formalized conspiracy which Donaghy has implied.

IMO, the only game that is called worse (in this country, anyway) is college basketball. I swear, at least 10 percent of those guys must augment their income in the same manner as Donaghy. No proof, but I've been a fan for most of my life and for a recent 15 year stretch I watched more than 40 games a week and I've seen too many unexplainable calls to believe it is just incompetence. And I don't think there's a conspiracy there either, just a few more crooks.

Steve

 

[BC867]

... certain teams are allowed to play MUCH more physical and not get fouls called on them. Jazz, Lakers, Spurs, Detroit come to mind right away. Its a total Joke!

It has been that way for all the years that I have followed the NBA since the early '60's.

There are two ways of looking at it. The team that takes the first shot gets away with it. The team that retaliates, gets caught.

And, the team that plays rough regularly gets away with it. The team that tries it now and then (out of character), gets caught.

It's human nature. In every industry that exists. Those who break the rules get away with a lot. Those who follow the rules get screwed . . . and get punished the rare times they try to get even.

The Suns have a long history of being the good guys . . . and getting screwed.

 

[AzStevenCal]

And, the team that plays rough regularly gets away with it. The team that tries it now and then (out of character), gets caught.

That's always been a little bit true but didn't become TRUTH until Chuck Daly demonstrated that if every player on your team plays physical on every possession the refs will call fewer and fewer of them as time goes by.

The Suns have always had the reputation as either a soft team or a finesse team and as such we rarely get away with physical play. At least with Amare we finally have someone that can consistently draw a foul call, something we've lacked since Barkley. He gets no breaks on defense but he gets pretty good respect on offense.

Steve

 

[mojorizen7]

ask yourself this if the Suns were to play defense as aggressive as the Spurs what would happen? We would get fouled off the court, certain teams are allowed to play MUCH more physical and not get fouls called on them. Jazz, Lakers, Spurs, Detroit come to mind right away. Its a total Joke!

You're absolutely right Nashman. Why? Because certain teams have had a reputation/culture of playing that way over the course of a decade or more in some cases,and therefore get away with more physicality,handchecking etc...like the teams you mentioned,and like the teams on Gee's list of recent past NBA Champions.

....and the teams that DO NOT have the history of playing this style of basketball(like us) get the shaft during the post-season. The game is officiated in a manner that benefits certain teams.....and limits other teams....jumpshooting finesse teams for instance.
Beat it into the dirt all you want,it isn't rocket science.
If you cant beat 'em(and we certainly haven't been able to) i say JOIN 'EM!
BC & AZSTEVE touched on this as well.

I implore the SUNS to begin to change the culture and stay with it for more than a half-season....i truly believe it will pay off.

 

[devilalum]

With the exception of the Heat in 05-06 (that was a Shaq thing), the NBA has consistently crowned the same 6 teams.. And if you take out Jordans retitrement when the Rockets won 2, you get down to the NBA's 5 favorite teams.. Every year, year after year and year.. And is it any surprise that this all started right around the time Stern became comissioner? I can honestly say I am not excited for the NBA in any shape or form.. Then if you read Donaghey's book, he enlightens us even more how things go down behind the scenes.. NBA sucks..


YEAR CHAMPION
2008-09 Los Angeles Lakers
2007-08 Boston Celtics
2006-07 San Antonio Spurs
2005-06 Miami Heat
2004-05 San Antonio Spurs
2003-04 Detroit Pistons
2002-03 San Antonio Spurs
2001-02 Los Angeles Lakers
2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers
1999-00 Los Angeles Lakers
1998-99 San Antonio Spurs
1997-98 Chicago Bulls
1996-97 Chicago Bulls
1995-96 Chicago Bulls
1994-95 Houston Rockets
1993-94 Houston Rockets
1992-93 Chicago Bulls
1991-92 Chicago Bulls
1990-91 Chicago Bulls
1989-90 Detroit Pistons
1988-89 Detroit Pistons
1987-88 Los Angeles Lakers
1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers
1985-86 Boston Celtics
1984-85 Los Angeles Lakers
1983-84 Boston Celtics

Almost all these teams have another thing in common, they hit it big in the lottery. Most had a can't miss #1 or #2 pick they built around. You could argue that Kobe falls into that category since he coerced his way into LA.

 

[Gee!]

Almost all these teams have another thing in common, they hit it big in the lottery. Most had a can't miss #1 or #2 pick they built around. You could argue that Kobe falls into that category since he coerced his way into LA.

How did the Pistons or Bulls win the lottery?

 

[devilalum]

How did the Pistons or Bulls win the lottery?

"almost all"

 

[ninous26]

I used to only read on before I joined this website and I remember this thread in particular.

OH THE IRONY!!!!!!!!! Looks like 6 teams in 26 years now.. Keep tallying it up!

For the record

NHL last 25 seasons: 11 teams won it/shared it
NFL last 25 seasons: 14 teams won it/ shared it
MLB last 25 seasons: 17 teams won it/shared it

 

[SpokaneCardfan]

I used to only read on before I joined this website and I remember this thread in particular.

OH THE IRONY!!!!!!!!! Looks like 6 teams in 26 years now.. Keep tallying it up!

For the record

NHL last 25 seasons: 11 teams won it/shared it
NFL last 25 seasons: 14 teams won it/ shared it
MLB last 25 seasons: 17 teams won it/shared it

Thanks for posting the other leagues. I was just going to look those up.

what a difference between Basketball and the other sports. The NHL doesn't have that many teams and still has almost twice as many teams winning it all.

 

[elindholm]

What does "/shared it" mean? I'm not aware that any of those leagues have annual co-champions.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Thanks for posting the other leagues. I was just going to look those up.

what a difference between Basketball and the other sports. The NHL doesn't have that many teams and still has almost twice as many teams winning it all.

i think it's kinda obvious as to why this is... in ALL of those sports, there a SO MANY more players on the field than basketball. If you have a great running back, it doesn't matter if he's not surrounded by a great QB, a Great O-line and ultimately a good or great D... same with Baseball... you can be a great Clean-up hitter/golden glover but you only get to the plate 4 times a game and maybe get a handful of defensive plays per game. But in basketball, if you can dominate at scoring, it opens up the entire game for the rest of your team and if you play great D, you can completely shut down important parts of other teams. Bottom line, because there's only 5 guys onthe court, if you surround the best player in the game with even just a modicum of ok talent, he'll be able to dominate games in ways other players in other sports can't and that's what we've seen all those years.

 

[Gee!]

Heres another stat.. Since 1960.. thats a 50 year span.. The lakers and celtics have combined to win it 22 times.. And they have combined for 36 appearances since then.. You cant blame it on one player in that time frame.. Groundhog day.. *sarcastic* this is so fascinating, i cant wait to watch this rerun *sarcastic*

 

[ninous26]

What does "/shared it" mean? I'm not aware that any of those leagues have annual co-champions.

it means they took turns sharing the title over the span of the 25 years.. So over 25 years, 17 different teams shared the world series championship.. Bad way of putting it i guess.

 

[jibikao]

I think it's totally possible that the refs/Stern are controlling the games but the only team I can't figure out why is Spurs. I can see why Lakers/Celtics/Bulls but why Spurs? I hate Spurs and are they a very profitable team to fix the games for them?

 

[Cheesewater]

I think it's totally possible that the refs/Stern are controlling the games but the only team I can't figure out why is Spurs. I can see why Lakers/Celtics/Bulls but why Spurs? I hate Spurs and are they a very profitable team to fix the games for them?

To have a hero, you have to have a villain. If the villain prevails every other year, it cultivates the hero mythology.

 

[jibikao]

To have a hero, you have to have a villain. If the villain prevails every other year, it cultivates the hero mythology.

Oh.....!!!!!!!!

Spurs are the "villains" then and Lakers are the "Heroes"? Got it!

 

[Covert Rain]

I am ready for any change that brings more parity to basketball. I don't know if the answer is a hard cap or changing trade rules (cough Gasol....cough) but I just want to see more parity in the NBA. Until there is the perception and accusation of fixing will NEVER go away.

 

[mojorizen7]

I am ready for any change that brings more parity to basketball. I don't know if the answer is a hard cap or changing trade rules (cough Gasol....cough) but I just want to see more parity in the NBA. Until there is the perception and accusation of fixing will NEVER go away.

Me too.
A good start towards reaching parity would be to find a way to get Stern out of office...er i mean out of power...oops.
I meant replace him.

It would be refreshing to watch a team lke the LAKERS suck for 10 years because they aren't spoonfed success.