Watch this NBA Finals series with skeptical eye

• Published June 11, 2008

From Steve Powell:

NBA commissioner David Stern should have just swallowed his whistle.

He dismissed allegations that some games have been rigged by referees.

Anyone who has ever watched an NBA game knows that is true.

How many times have we seen players such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant get away with a foul when a lesser player has not? Or they complain and complain about a call and don't get a technical, while other players do?

Makes it pretty easy to change the outcome of a game that often is close by showing such favoritism.

The NBA claims former referee Tim Donaghy was the only one involved in criminal activity. How likely is that? One out of dozens and dozens of refs. Maybe, just maybe, there might be more.

Donaghy has pleaded guilty to felony charges alleging he took payoffs from gamblers and bet on games. Donaghy, 41, faces 33 months in prison.

Donaghy claimed the NBA encouraged refs to call fouls to manipulate results but discouraged them from calling technicals on stars to keep them in games, boosting TV ratings and ticket sales.

I don't know how they do it, actually. I have officiated basketball before, and it's just natural to call something when you see it. How they can think of who is doing what is beyond me. They really must be pros.

It would be much easier to ignore fouls made by one team, and call fouls only on the other.

No surprise -- apparently that's been done, too.

Donaghy claims it happened in a playoff game in 2002. And looking at the Los Angeles Lakers-Sacramento Kings series, he makes a good case. Even at the time, consumer advocate Ralph Nader, a presidential candidate this year, sent a letter to Stern complaining about the officiating. The Lakers won the game after shooting 27 free throws in the fourth quarter.

So, as the Lakers and the Boston Celtics continue the NBA finals this year, watch the officiating extra close. Some picked the Lakers to sweep. It's already 2-1 in favor of Boston. It's East Coast vs. West Coast. It's two of the storied teams in NBA history. It's got six of the top stars in the game today. It would be much better for the league and TV for the series to go to seven games. Let's see if it does.

Refs in basketball can decide a game more than in any other sport. Let's see if they do.

Steve Powell, The Olympian