5 ms·

The nba clearly wants the refs to be bent, it's a requirement. They actively encourage seeing it the home teams way, favouring the big stars and call it to keep

by harry8 8y ago

The nba clearly wants the refs to be bent, it's a requirement. They actively encourage seeing it the home teams way, favouring the big stars and call it to keep it close as this is all good for marketing. The question is not whether the refs are bent it's merely who is paying them to be so. I doubt anyone thinks the nba refs honestly try to enforce the rules with an even hand. Do any adults think this? NBA is a mix of sport and Pro wrestling, which seems a shame given the immense skill levels and training on display.

genzoman 8y ago
This is true in all professional sport. After all, it's entertainment, a movie which can change its ending. If something is on TV, it's amenable to be gamed.
- justtopost 8y ago
  Completely true. I challenge a downvoter to reply with any pro sport without confirmed fixing, PED use, and predatory hiring.
  - praneshp 8y ago
    > I challenge a downvoter to reply with any pro sport without confirmed fixing, PED use, and predatory hiring. That's not the point your parent comment made. Your statement should be "I challenge a downvoter to reply with any pro sport that wants non-bent refs"
slg 8y ago
> They actively encourage seeing it the home teams way I can't speak to the rest of your comment, but this might not be "actively encouraged" since it is universal in every sport. Every single study that I have seen on sports refs shows an inherent bias in favor of the home team. It is just human nature for your actions to be subconsciously swayed by how you know the 10,000+ people around you will react. This is one of the many things that makes up home field advantage in sports.
- Scoundreller 8y ago
  The Toronto Maple Leafs would like a word with you. I think there can also be a bias in favour of teams that are still in developing regions that the sport is still trying to conquer. When a team can sell out a stadium for decades despite their record, who cares if they win or lose?
  - kevinmchugh 8y ago
    Is it common that teams sell out a stadium with a bad record? I know there's the Cubs and some other "lovable losers", but I wasn't under the impression that it was exceptional. White sox ticket prices/sales seem responsive to their record.
paulcole 8y ago
As much as I love a good conspiracy theory, refs are biased in favor of home teams in EVERY sport: http://thefixisin.net/homefield.html http://thefixisin.net/homefield.html
- rurban 8y ago
  Then you never heard of Scott Foster, who is the usual ref when the road team needs to win an important playoff game.
yowlingcat 8y ago
In a way, one could interpret this as meaning that pro wrestling is the most honest sport. The fakery is in plain sight.
itsallrelative 8y ago
How often do you watch games? I think that instances of this are much closer to an outlier than the usual. By nature of their jobs, refs only get talked about when there’s a controversial call. Superstar calls included(which is something that is as much a skill as it is bias), it’s extremely easy to say “they’re not making even handed decisions” if that’s the perspective you chose to look at it from.
- pnw_hazor 8y ago
  They only throw the games when it is important. 1993 Game 7 WC Finals Suns had 64 free throw attempts. But it was important for the Suns to win because Chicago had won the East the day before and Barkley v. Jordan just had to happen. https://nextimpulsesports.com/2013/06/05/flashback-the-day-phoenix-won-the-western-conference-on-64-free-throw-attempts/ https://nextimpulsesports.com/2013/06/05/flashback-the-day-p...
  - kodablah 8y ago
    There are games, e.g. in the 2006 finals, where one player shoots more free throws than the entire other team.
jds375 8y ago
I don't think it's that simple and I don't see why it's a given that refs are bent. There is far more money at stake in maintaining the legitimacy of the the NBA (player salaries, tv deals, team valuations - all of these easily trump all the money made off of betting). Wouldn't that money fight a lot harder than any bent refs in order to fight corruption and maintain the legitimacy of the NBA? If a bigger story about bent refs got out it would destroy the NBA and a lot of the associated revenue. I'm sure the NBA is aware of this. I'm not arguing that there is no corruption, but I don't see why it's so 'obviously' commonplace as you and others suggest. I'd like a more concrete reason why than 'its good for marketing' since that seems like a weak argument in the bigger picture of money made from the NBA.
- drenvuk 8y ago
  If you've watched any NBA in the past decade you can see a trend of calling fouls against teams that are winning too heavily against favorites. It's not hard.
  - privong 8y ago
    > If you've watched any NBA in the past decade you can see a trend of calling fouls against teams that are winning too heavily against favorites. It's not hard. This should be fairly easy to test with play-by-play data[0]. I don't have time to do it just this moment, but I may give it a stab later. [0] https://eightthirtyfour.com/data https://eightthirtyfour.com/data
    - UweSchmidt 8y ago
      I am sure such a study would be interesting to a wide audience.
      - privong 8y ago
        Thanks. If I manage to work through it, I'll put it online somewhere (and post the link to HN).
- 8y ago
bilbo0s 8y ago
Well, the NBA can't be fixed on a systemic level, or Battista's use of Donaghy would have little game theoretical chance of success. Indeed, mathematically speaking, it's more likely that it was not fixed, or the success rate this pair were racking up would not have been feasible.
porpoisely 8y ago
The refs definitely protect the stars. But the stars are why people pay money and buy tickets. So there is definitely pressure to keep the stars off the bench and on the court. And if one team is extending a lead, they seem to love to call fouls to keep the score close and the game interesting. Whether they do it consciously or unconsciously or at the behest of the nba, who knows. But definitely the NBA, like all major sports, are more entertainment rather than sport.

by harry8 8y ago

genzoman 8y ago

This is true in all professional sport. After all, it's entertainment, a movie which can change its ending. If something is on TV, it's amenable to be gamed.

justtopost 8y ago
Completely true. I challenge a downvoter to reply with any pro sport without confirmed fixing, PED use, and predatory hiring.
- praneshp 8y ago
  > I challenge a downvoter to reply with any pro sport without confirmed fixing, PED use, and predatory hiring. That's not the point your parent comment made. Your statement should be "I challenge a downvoter to reply with any pro sport that wants non-bent refs"

slg 8y ago

> They actively encourage seeing it the home teams way I can't speak to the rest of your comment, but this might not be "actively encouraged" since it is universal in every sport. Every single study that I have seen on sports refs shows an inherent bias in favor of the home team. It is just human nature for your actions to be subconsciously swayed by how you know the 10,000+ people around you will react. This is one of the many things that makes up home field advantage in sports.

Scoundreller 8y ago
The Toronto Maple Leafs would like a word with you. I think there can also be a bias in favour of teams that are still in developing regions that the sport is still trying to conquer. When a team can sell out a stadium for decades despite their record, who cares if they win or lose?
- kevinmchugh 8y ago
  Is it common that teams sell out a stadium with a bad record? I know there's the Cubs and some other "lovable losers", but I wasn't under the impression that it was exceptional. White sox ticket prices/sales seem responsive to their record.

paulcole 8y ago

As much as I love a good conspiracy theory, refs are biased in favor of home teams in EVERY sport: http://thefixisin.net/homefield.html http://thefixisin.net/homefield.html

rurban 8y ago
Then you never heard of Scott Foster, who is the usual ref when the road team needs to win an important playoff game.

yowlingcat 8y ago

In a way, one could interpret this as meaning that pro wrestling is the most honest sport. The fakery is in plain sight.

itsallrelative 8y ago

How often do you watch games? I think that instances of this are much closer to an outlier than the usual. By nature of their jobs, refs only get talked about when there’s a controversial call. Superstar calls included(which is something that is as much a skill as it is bias), it’s extremely easy to say “they’re not making even handed decisions” if that’s the perspective you chose to look at it from.

pnw_hazor 8y ago
They only throw the games when it is important. 1993 Game 7 WC Finals Suns had 64 free throw attempts. But it was important for the Suns to win because Chicago had won the East the day before and Barkley v. Jordan just had to happen. https://nextimpulsesports.com/2013/06/05/flashback-the-day-phoenix-won-the-western-conference-on-64-free-throw-attempts/ https://nextimpulsesports.com/2013/06/05/flashback-the-day-p...
- kodablah 8y ago
  There are games, e.g. in the 2006 finals, where one player shoots more free throws than the entire other team.

jds375 8y ago

I don't think it's that simple and I don't see why it's a given that refs are bent. There is far more money at stake in maintaining the legitimacy of the the NBA (player salaries, tv deals, team valuations - all of these easily trump all the money made off of betting). Wouldn't that money fight a lot harder than any bent refs in order to fight corruption and maintain the legitimacy of the NBA? If a bigger story about bent refs got out it would destroy the NBA and a lot of the associated revenue. I'm sure the NBA is aware of this. I'm not arguing that there is no corruption, but I don't see why it's so 'obviously' commonplace as you and others suggest. I'd like a more concrete reason why than 'its good for marketing' since that seems like a weak argument in the bigger picture of money made from the NBA.

drenvuk 8y ago
If you've watched any NBA in the past decade you can see a trend of calling fouls against teams that are winning too heavily against favorites. It's not hard.
- privong 8y ago
  > If you've watched any NBA in the past decade you can see a trend of calling fouls against teams that are winning too heavily against favorites. It's not hard. This should be fairly easy to test with play-by-play data[0]. I don't have time to do it just this moment, but I may give it a stab later. [0] https://eightthirtyfour.com/data https://eightthirtyfour.com/data
  - UweSchmidt 8y ago
    I am sure such a study would be interesting to a wide audience.
    - privong 8y ago
      Thanks. If I manage to work through it, I'll put it online somewhere (and post the link to HN).
8y ago

bilbo0s 8y ago

Well, the NBA can't be fixed on a systemic level, or Battista's use of Donaghy would have little game theoretical chance of success. Indeed, mathematically speaking, it's more likely that it was not fixed, or the success rate this pair were racking up would not have been feasible.

porpoisely 8y ago

The refs definitely protect the stars. But the stars are why people pay money and buy tickets. So there is definitely pressure to keep the stars off the bench and on the court. And if one team is extending a lead, they seem to love to call fouls to keep the score close and the game interesting. Whether they do it consciously or unconsciously or at the behest of the nba, who knows. But definitely the NBA, like all major sports, are more entertainment rather than sport.