Pacers/Knicks

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

I've been outta town the past few days, so I don't know if this topic has
gotten much discussion on the list -- but, did anybody watch the final game of
the Knicks/Pacers series and notice some incredibly bad officiating? E.g., the
Knicks made more than three times as many free throws as the Pacers ATTEMPTED;
Indy's two best players were hampered by fouls throughout the game and could
never get going; and there were numerous phantom calls against Indy that I
just couldn't comprehend. The officiating wasn't the only reason the Pacers
lost -- their inability to put the ball in the hole while being unable to stop
Houston et al. from scoring at will was the main culprit -- but it's got to
take a lot out of a team when the calls are so heavily slanted against it. 

It truly made me wonder whether the league and/or NBC might have instructed
the refs that they really, really wanted the Knicks to win. Ordinarily I would
dismiss such a conspiracy theory out of hand, but having watched the game it
was impossible not to consider. It's no secret a San Antonio/Indianapolis
final would have made for dismal ratings, even if the Spurs go on to sweep New
York. I really hope this is not the case, as it would basically degrade the
league to a WCW-type spectacle.