A little from L.A., a little from Italy

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know it’s late. But it’s early, too, if you know what I mean.

Lots to digest off last night, some of it even having to do with what happened on the court.

You all saw or heard this story yesterday where Donaghy’s lawyers say he knows of two games or series where the outcome was pre-determined.

I tend to believe this is the desperate cry of a man trying to minimize his jail time for a couple of reasons.

If there was a league-wide conspiracy to “fix” games and series, it’s been kept under wraps for years now and someone would have squawked before now.

Yes, the refereeing in Game 6 of that Lakers-Kings series was atrocious – of that there is no doubt – but if you’re going to go all “conspiracy theory” on us, why not suggest Game 7 was fixed, as well.

I was at that Game 7 in Sacramento and unless someone from the league office paid off Peja Stojakovic and Doug Christie to play like dogs in the overtime, the fix couldn’t have been in.

The Dallas-Houston situation? Yes, it’s called whining, everyone does it every single playoff game, it seems. I’m sure the referees were told to watch illegal screens and I can see a “league official” passing that information on to Jeff Van Gundy in a casual conversation.

But look at it this way, if the fix was in on that one, why wouldn’t the league fix it so Houston won, to further open the Chinese market behind a successful Yao Ming.

Refereeing basketball, as I’ve said a zillion times, is the toughest officiating job in pro sports and sometimes they blow calls. Or make too many of one kind and then over-react going back the other way.

A league-issued edict to favour one team over the other? Don’t see it. Sorry.

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Lots of questions in the mail about the Euro camp in Treviso. Here’s a couple that are representative:

Q: Heard anything from the Euro Camp going on right now? I know Jay Triano is there checking out the talent, and the one prospect I keep hearing good things from is Serge Ibaka from the Congo. A Shawn Kemp or Amare Stoudemire type. Think he'll be there at 17? Think Colangelo would take him?

Roy S, Guelph

A: Raw. Very, very, very raw. Be there at 17? Absolutely.

Would Toronto take him at 17? Can’t see it happening.

Q: I have noticed that Nicolas Batum held a private workout today at the Reebok Eurocamp. Could you please let me know how he fared?
Adrian D, Toronto

A: I haven’t spoken to Jay or Maurizio or Masai and obviously I wasn’t there but the word I’m getting from Treviso is that he’s got a lot of different skills, can drive it, shoot and shoot with range and there’s questions about his toughness.

Looks now, at least from people I’ve talked to, that he’ll be there at 17 and it’ll be up to Toronto to decide whether they want to pull the trigger.

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Talking to a few folks around the final who have their ear to the ground, the thinking is you can take the Denver Nuggets off the list of teams that need a point guard and might make a move on T.J. Ford.

No way George Karl can feel comfortable playing the world’s smallest backcourt of Ford and Allen Iverson.

One down.

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One of the few bright spots for the Celtics last night?

In the first quarter, Kevin Garnett blocks a Pau Gasol dunk and then beats him down the court by 35 feet.

At that point, it looked as if the Celtics might be on their way.

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Here’s some mail:

Q: Hi Doug. I asked this before but perhaps it will be more relevant as 'silly season' gets closer. Do you think that the teams that overachieved in the playoffs (Philadelphia and Atlanta) are going to be more complacent than they ought to be - especially if they hadn't made the playoffs?

Mike K, London

A: We’ve been talking about that a bit out here and the consensus is that, yes, there could easily be a “bounce factor” that sees both those teams taking a step back next season.

Sometimes teams – see the 47-win to 41-win Raptors – either get comfortable thinking they’re better than they are; they do get complacent and they forget the breaks they got and the effort it took to make a huge jump.

I’m not saying either Philly or Atlanta will drop out of the playoffs next year but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it happened.

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They run through all the celebs. Jack and Dustin, Stallone and the dude warbler from the contest show.  Then they show Eddie Murphy and I'm wondering, does he still qualify as a celebrity?

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Pizza lovers, pay attention:

Even in the playoffs, the Lakers have one of those goofy giveaways. With a twist.

If they hold a team under 100 and win, everyone gets two free tacos.

They don’t, unfortunately, have a drop-off box for ticket stubs that the team could then give to a food bank.

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Good Kobe quote from post-game last night that couldn’t get in the paper for time and space concerns.

He’s asked about his 18 trips to the free throw line, and the seven bricks he tossed while he was there:

"It felt like I was in a foreign territory because I haven't been there in so long. It's like somebody took me and just dropped me off in the middle of Shanghai with no translator, you know what I'm saying? And no dictionary; it was crazy.”

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If anyone finds Lamar Odom, can they please return him to the Lakers?

Comments

[bballer]

another reason to love sam mitchell and applaud his leadership abilities, along with michael curry's. this is what makes them great coaches. i would rather play for a leader than a good coach. a gppd coach will enable to execute well enough to win. leaders make you believe that you can overcome any deficiency to win.

A natural born leader

Curry will figure it all out eventually, you trust that. I have known him since he first arrived back in 1995 for his first 10-day contract. When Dumars said he could tell almost immediately that the guy was a natural-born leader, I know exactly what he means.

There's an aura about him, a confidence that comes with surviving for 11 seasons with minimal NBA skills; that comes with his faith, his work ethic and his preparedness.

I saw his leadership skills in action during the lockout of 1999. You might have forgotten, but it was Curry and Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell who essentially saved the league.

Curry wasn't even an officer of the players' association then, and he certainly didn't have a lot of clout as a player. But he and Mitchell organized a sort of grassroots coup against the power brokers like David Falk and then-union president Pat Ewing. They somehow got them to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement just as the league was about to terminate the 1998-99 season.

Curry got the players to understand that the new CBA would spread the wealth more evenly among players, as opposed to the old system where only a small percentage got $100 million deals and the vast majority got what was left over.

Then, for the next six years, he presided over the union as executive vice president (two years) and then president (four years) -- six years in which player salaries climbed to new record levels for rookies, journeymen and stars alike.

A lot of the cachet he carries with players today was earned during those years.

[Tim]

Egads, no commentary yet on Spanish media reports that Toronto has offered a buyout of Jorge Garbajosa? http://www.ultimatenba.com/noticias/basket/NBA/Los_Raptors_le_ofrecen_a_Garbajosa_la_rescision_de_su_contrato-1006.html

Or that the Spanish national team has named him as Power Forward to the Olympic team?

[sonnyb]

2007 Academy Award Nominee - Actor in a Supporting Role - Dreamgirls
2007 Golden Globe Winner - Actor in a Supporting Role - Dreamgirls

I think Eddie is still a celebrity.

[GM]

I wouldn't be so quick to discount Donaghy. But surely there must be some sort of proof other than his word. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. The response from the league, though, reminds me of how the White House responded to both Scott McLellan and Richard Clarke. I think Stern is rightfully scared, despite his forced smile.

[Josh]

My read on Donaghy's claims - not that I believe a word of it - was that he was saying the NBA was fixing games to extend series (to boost TV revenue and ticket sales), rather than to favour one team over the other.

[Paul]

Doug, two things:

1. I hated Michael Curry when he was a Raptor. He was a black hole on offence.

2. I heard a trade rumour that to some might seem crazy, but to others might seem doable: TJ and Bargnani to Miami for the 2nd overall pick (and whatever add-ons required for trade purposes).

Thoughts re: 2?

Blogger's note: Mike Curry certainly wasn't an offensive force for the one year he played in Toronto. He did other things, though, and the most important was to make then-rookie Chris Bosh his pet project, working out with him before and after most practices.
You need to change your listening habits. That's not going to happen.

[Don]

it's just ridiculous how KG gets away with so many moving picks to the point where you have to think the game is fixed.

Blogger's note: Yeah, they sure fixed Game 3

[darwin]

on the ford trade subject. portland looked like a good spot but if the pistons are shopping billups he's a much better fit.

[Jon Tabak]

RE: 2002 WCF Kings vs. Lakers

After reading articles from a variety of different media outlets, I'm under the impression that the fix was for that series to go 7 games. There's no doubt the Kings lost game 7 on their own. As far as game 6 is concerned, the Lakers are down 3-2 in the series and somehow get to the line 27 times in the 4th quarter!?

Had this been an isolated incident I would have completely disregarded Donaghy's allegations. However, the fact that in the past decade, the officiating in the playoffs has had numerous suspicions I wouldn't be surprised if this were all true.

The NBA...where asterisks happen.

[Amanda]

Doug - I haven't been able to watch the last 2 games due to a house full of non-basketball fans who are unwilling to share the remote. Can you tell me the reason(s) why Odom is MIA?

Blogger's note: You've got to hang in different houses, obviously. Easy answer: Game 3 it was foul trouble but, generally, he's not forceful enough to make himself part of the game. He's too willing to sit back and watch Kobe go to work than to force himself on a game played at this level of intensity.

[Graham Smith]

I will be sad to see Garbo go if that is what happens: really wanted him to recover and be that intangible toughness off the bench for the Raptors again -- the team has really missed him.

[Poppa Vlazo]

Eddie Murphy made Delirious and Raw, two amazing live stand-up performances. Even if he never did anything after those he would still be a celebrity to me. And Coming To America still is a classic.

As for the Raptors, very interested to see the story about the Raps potentially buying out Garbo. I hope it doesn't happen becuase I'm looking forward to his return, but I will understand why if it happens.

[Mark]

Eddie Murphy was also one of the main characters in the Shrek movies, which were hugely popular, and he has a movie coming out this summer called Meet Dave. That, combined with his Oscar and Golden Globe Award for Dreamgirls, equates to celebrity in my books.

[tim]

the nba thinks chris paul could beat the lakers, yea

[chris]

Tim Donaghy is telling all this to federal agents. If all what he says is untruthful, he can go to jail for much longer than he is. Why would he try and do this to himself.

These types of accusations have been heard for years. From questionable calls by officials to rigged draft lotteries, there always seems to be something funny going on in NBA. It would seem, IMO, that Donaghy is more credible than David Stern.

[coach rush]

For someone to even mention Dennis Rodman in the same breath as Bill Russell is inane. Bill Russell may have been the most dominant player in the history of the game! Also I am having trouble getting excited about the current Celtics as this team does not have the flair and excitement of the old Celtics and was basically assembled through lopsided trades with the poor cousins of the league. Would a Bob Cousey type not make this series more exciting?

[AK]

Don't be so quick to dismiss these claims Doug. You mention "why not suggest Game 7 was fixed, as well"...well why would you even suggest that? that is not what was claimed. As "Josh" in the comments states...the idea was to extend a series not to decide the victor. We've seen many examples in the past when the truth seems to come out pretty quickly when one is backed into a corner facing jail time. I'm sure his claims will be thorougly investigated and accompanied by a lie detector exam.

I don't think it's wise for David Stern to have a smug look and smirk when answering questions about this. It's no seceret that the NBA will do anything for the dollar- ethics aside. Just take a look at the Seattle Sonics case.

This one person making crazy allegations seems very simular to when Jose Canseco made claims about steriods in MLB. People did the same thing. Laughed and dismissed it.