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How Former Ref Tim Donaghy Conspired to Fix NBA Games

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Re: How Former Ref Tim Donaghy Conspired to Fix NBA Games

#11

Post by n8henry »

jds375 wrote: post #2

I would love to get more people's opinions on if this is still happening in the NBA and to what extent. Naturally, I would assume that this rarely happens still if ever. Modern methods of oversight and statistical methods ought to be enough to ensure such things don’t happen. The NBA has a vested interest in maintaining the legitimacy of the league and thus are naturally inclined to root out any kind of cheating or i…

It doesn't seem to be happening as much. Last year's championship was a 4 game sweep by the Warriors. Donaghy used to bet on playoff series knowing that the league wanted the refs to do what they could to extend the series to 7 games. One notable example is the 2002 series between the Lakers and Kings.

Re: How Former Ref Tim Donaghy Conspired to Fix NBA Games

#12

Post by genzoman »

harry8 wrote: post #7

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 o…

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.

Re: How Former Ref Tim Donaghy Conspired to Fix NBA Games

#13

Post by slg »

harry8 wrote: post #7

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 o…

> 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.

Re: How Former Ref Tim Donaghy Conspired to Fix NBA Games

#14

Post by justtopost »

genzoman wrote: post #12
harry8 wrote: post #7

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 o…

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.

Completely true. I challenge a downvoter to reply with any pro sport without confirmed fixing, PED use, and predatory hiring.

Re: How Former Ref Tim Donaghy Conspired to Fix NBA Games

#15

Post by paulcole »

harry8 wrote: post #7

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 o…

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

Re: How Former Ref Tim Donaghy Conspired to Fix NBA Games

#16

Post by yowlingcat »

harry8 wrote: post #7

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 o…

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

Re: How Former Ref Tim Donaghy Conspired to Fix NBA Games

#17

Post by Scoundreller »

slg wrote: post #13
harry8 wrote: post #7

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 o…

> 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…

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?

Re: How Former Ref Tim Donaghy Conspired to Fix NBA Games

#18

Post by paulcole »

jds375 wrote: post #2

I would love to get more people's opinions on if this is still happening in the NBA and to what extent. Naturally, I would assume that this rarely happens still if ever. Modern methods of oversight and statistical methods ought to be enough to ensure such things don’t happen. The NBA has a vested interest in maintaining the legitimacy of the league and thus are naturally inclined to root out any kind of cheating or i…

I'm pretty sure Haralabob Voulgaris made quite a bit of money by finding refs who (presumably subconsciously) called certain games in certain ways that the oddsmakers weren't yet accounting for.

Virtually nobody besides successful gamblers and actual statisticians has any insight into what is actually going on. There's just too much noise and 99.9% of people aren't analyzing enough data to make any sense of it, assuming they're analyzing any at all and not just screaming when a call goes against them.

Re: How Former Ref Tim Donaghy Conspired to Fix NBA Games

#19

Post by itsallrelative »

harry8 wrote: post #7

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 o…

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.

Re: How Former Ref Tim Donaghy Conspired to Fix NBA Games

#20

Post by jds375 »

Spooky23 wrote: post #6
jds375 wrote: post #2

I would love to get more people's opinions on if this is still happening in the NBA and to what extent. Naturally, I would assume that this rarely happens still if ever. Modern methods of oversight and statistical methods ought to be enough to ensure such things don’t happen. The NBA has a vested interest in maintaining the legitimacy of the league and thus are naturally inclined to root out any kind of cheating or i…

There’s so much money in sports betting now, there’s no way that there isn’t a ton of corrupt behavior going on. Allowing widespread legit betting is asking for less than honest behavior. Even a single player throwing a few shots or missing/hitting a metric can make people money. The leagues can also not notice things that encourage behavior that fans like. Baseball players on steroids attracted a lot of buzz in the…

It's true there's a lot of money in sports betting, but there is even more money in the NBA (TV deals, player salaries, team valuations, etc). That larger sum of money would be existentially threatened by continued corruption within the league due to sports betting. Thus, one would think that more money would go towards stopping any corruption.

I suppose that doesn't mean there wouldn't be any corruption, but it seems like there would certainly be less?

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