Was Game 4 rigged for OKC?

[MrPainfulTruth]

The Thunder’s “historic” defense is really just trash fouling all game. And they rely on the refs to bail them out time and time again. No one likes a dirty team.

This. It's not rigged in the sense that Adam Silver and the gang of goons are sitting around a table smoking cigars trying to figure out how to screw IND. It's the refs simply letting one team play a certain way, not allowing the other team to match that physicality, and then bailing them out when they need it.

Nesmith and Nembhard simply are not allowed to guard SGA the same way Dort is allowed to guard Haliburton. It's night and day, and in the 4th it becomes so apparent because it lead to easy FT for SGA and stopping the clock, but Hali gets smacked around.

The blatant push off fouls from SGA have been beaten to death. You have to make those calls, he's literally throwing these dudes into the first row at this point. I get not calling that in the end of game situations, but all game allowing a player to do this? To not even call one of those? When he hit a midrange shot in the 4th the announcers literally said he's just taking advantage of the fact that the defender knows they can't get too close to him or it will be a foul

Refs controlled the 4th quarter of this game. That's what rigging a game means to me because refs are inherently bias, and when you slow th game down, force teams to score against set defenses and make tough shots, that usually favors one team, and usually the team with the defense getting the favorable whistle and star getting superstar calls.

It's like having a March Madness game in your home state essentially

This is absolutely not about Indiana. The different officiating went on all season, and all playoffs. At least two different head coaches literally exploded in the post game interview in the regular season, i dont remember something as blatant outside of the special LeBron treatment. It was even more obvious vs. Denver, too. This isnt some subconcious thing some refs to without intention its been obvious right in front of our eyes.

[The Servant]

Definitely rigged, SGA was living at the line the whole game. Apart from the first 44 minutes, where he shot 2 FTs in total, obviously, but who cares about such a tiny portion of the game.

Still a pretty good whistle for a guy whose primary move is a foul.

I always thought his primary move was the drive since he led the league in them.

[durden_tyler]

Thunder covered the spread too (late cover), so you know Vegas knows


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[durden_tyler]

No, it wasn't rigged, many correct calls in Pacers faviur could have easily been overlooked if refs wanted to fix the outcome, but even if people claim it was rigged based on obvious officiating wrong calls, it's not on them to find out the motives.
If the evidence points at something, it's not the viewer job to go find motives for it, but the league to investigate, this asinine notion that you must point out the bias and explain the motive is how Donaghy wasn't investigated by the league but by the FBI because of gambling and his bad calls didn't trigger a league invesigation.

great point. There have been too many red flags regarding NBA; NBA has the reputation of being the most corrupt of the major 4 leagues whether it is drafts, or trades or referees. NBA needs to clean up for fans to start believing in it.

Someone is not following the NFL. (or if you want international, FIFA)


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[Bergmaniac]

The fact that people are alaways talking about OKC and refs when they win has to mean something. We didnt talk about teams and calls they get/get away with ever in last 30 years.

You got to be kidding, there is a lot of whining about the refs helping the top teams every single year.

[robbie84]

People are just scared and upset that if Shai gets a ring it’ll propel him over their guy. Luka stans in particular are mad at that

I think people just dislike Shai's foul baiting like they dislike Embid's foul baiting. It's boring and not as fun to watch. It makes people root against him.... especially when the opponent is a monumental underdog like Indy.
Just human nature.

[vobot]

People are just scared and upset that if Shai gets a ring it’ll propel him over their guy. Luka stans in particular are mad at that

I think people just dislike Shai's foul baiting like they dislike Embid's foul baiting. It's boring and not as fun to watch. It makes people root against him.... especially when the opponent is a monumental underdog like Indy.
Just human nature.

I get what you are saying but man.... Embiid's foul baiting in like levels above SGA and other stars. Nothing looks more ridiculous than a 7 foot 300 pound man falling over every play on the slightest contact from smaller defenders.

[syrus3]

Scooby Doo scoring most of his points while up 20 is “outplaying” Jokic? Suuure. Everyone knows that MPJ was hurt and Denver has no competent bench. Scooby Doo fans are really doing too much this year.

And it’s not just Scooby Doo either.

Caruso and Dort are dirty a** players.

Celtic fans were crowing last year and we see how long that lasted. Thunder fans should take heed but they won’t.

Seriously, what is wrong with you people? If you hate it so much, just don't watch. Don't comment. Go away. There's no reason to be so negative and hateful. Either the Pacers fans or Thunder fans are going to have something to celebrate that has never happened before in their city. Try being happy for them and see how it feels.

You’d make a great comedian. Maybe.

Thunder fans in denial because they refuse to acknowledge what everyone else sees. Considering what’s going on in the world, this isn’t a shocker.

[Mrakar]

The fact that people are alaways talking about OKC and refs when they win has to mean something. We didnt talk about teams and calls they get/get away with ever in last 30 years.

You got to be kidding, there is a lot of whining about the refs helping the top teams every single year.

Didnt phrase it as i wanted, we didnt talk about those teams nearly as much as we are this year. Every year there's chatter about the refs, but in OKC series this year it always seems to dominate the discourse.

[JonFromVA]

No, it wasn't rigged, many correct calls in Pacers faviur could have easily been overlooked if refs wanted to fix the outcome, but even if people claim it was rigged based on obvious officiating wrong calls, it's not on them to find out the motives.
If the evidence points at something, it's not the viewer job to go find motives for it, but the league to investigate, this asinine notion that you must point out the bias and explain the motive is how Donaghy wasn't investigated by the league but by the FBI because of gambling and his bad calls didn't trigger a league invesigation.

The conspiracy theorists always use the motive of commercial gain to explain why the NBA would rig something. Because without motive one can simply say it was just bad calls and there would be no reason not to believe that since without motive there's no reason for them to rig anything anyway. But if they're going to claim the NBA rigged this series for commercial gain and cannot explain why they didn't rig the series just before this one (when the motive was even more powerful and the means also available), their use of commercial gain as a motive for this alleged rigging makes no sense.

I've never seen any evidence the NBA hard rigs games, but historically they have selected referee crews most likely to extend a series; but we (or least Vegas) should be able to see this coming from a mile away when the league announces who will be calling the game. You should see it in the betting line.

And just because they could name a referee who in the past has shown a willingness to give Shai a friendly whistle or let the Thunder hack away on D, or that seems to favor the away team (Did they? No clue.); that doesn't mean Shai will decide to take advantage of it that night, or that Indy will co-operate or even allow it to matter.

[Slimjimzv]

Scooby Doo scoring most of his points while up 20 is “outplaying” Jokic? Suuure. Everyone knows that MPJ was hurt and Denver has no competent bench. Scooby Doo fans are really doing too much this year.

And it’s not just Scooby Doo either.

Caruso and Dort are dirty a** players.

Celtic fans were crowing last year and we see how long that lasted. Thunder fans should take heed but they won’t.

Seriously, what is wrong with you people? If you hate it so much, just don't watch. Don't comment. Go away. There's no reason to be so negative and hateful. Either the Pacers fans or Thunder fans are going to have something to celebrate that has never happened before in their city. Try being happy for them and see how it feels.

You’d make a great comedian. Maybe.

Thunder fans in denial because they refuse to acknowledge what everyone else sees. Considering what’s going on in the world, this isn’t a shocker.

Denial of what? I only said you need to lighten up and enjoy life. Not sure what you've got going on, but this is sports. It's meant to be enjoyable. Relax and enjoy it.

[syrus3]

Seriously, what is wrong with you people? If you hate it so much, just don't watch. Don't comment. Go away. There's no reason to be so negative and hateful. Either the Pacers fans or Thunder fans are going to have something to celebrate that has never happened before in their city. Try being happy for them and see how it feels.

You’d make a great comedian. Maybe.

Thunder fans in denial because they refuse to acknowledge what everyone else sees. Considering what’s going on in the world, this isn’t a shocker.

Denial of what? I only said you need to lighten up and enjoy life. Not sure what you've got going on, but this is sports. It's meant to be enjoyable. Relax and enjoy it.

Imagine getting on a message board and telling someone what to like and not like. I barely even reply back to what folks have to say to me. And like life, there are things that occur in sports that aren’t fair and aren’t right. And people are going to comment on it. Enjoy your day!

[Bergmaniac]

The fact that people are alaways talking about OKC and refs when they win has to mean something. We didnt talk about teams and calls they get/get away with ever in last 30 years.

You got to be kidding, there is a lot of whining about the refs helping the top teams every single year.

Didnt phrase it as i wanted, we didnt talk about those teams nearly as much as we are this year. Every year there's chatter about the refs, but in OKC series this year it always seems to dominate the discourse.

That's not my impression, almost every playoff thread on the General Board devolves into an endless back and forth about the refs at some point, usually sooner rather than later.

[Mrakar]

You got to be kidding, there is a lot of whining about the refs helping the top teams every single year.

Didnt phrase it as i wanted, we didnt talk about those teams nearly as much as we are this year. Every year there's chatter about the refs, but in OKC series this year it always seems to dominate the discourse.

That's not my impression, almost every playoff thread on the General Board devolves into an endless back and forth about the refs at some point, usually sooner rather than later.

That wasnt a case for last 4 champs for sure. Celtics last year and 2023 Nuggets, 2022 Warriors and 2021 Bucks didnt get a lot, if any, heat about whistle during their runs.

[Lunartic]

Interesting how the "it's not rigged ur conspiracy theorist!" posters seemingly are arguing that the vast majority of posters on here must be engaging in a conspiracy themselves to all claim that SGA and the Thunder get unfair whistles.

What's more likely?

The NBA refs are biased towards players that flop/seek contact + there's a push to prop up "stars" by gifting them soft calls even in the playoffs

or


Dozens of Realgm users with wide ranging backgrounds, biases, likes/dislikes, team fandoms, ages and walks of life all decided to conspire suddenly to claim the Thunder are receiving an unfair advantage from the refs? And of course, the only people that can see the "truth" are OKC fans?

Seems like a pretty wild conspiracy.


Two things can be true at once - the Pacers played poorly down the stretch but it's also true that against a team that didn't receive unfair benefits from the refs - they still likely win the game.

How can you rectify the above clip of Dort smashing into a star player Hali to gain possession of the ball and no call? But SGA gets bumped slightly and he's taking freethrows or he's allowed to shove defenders into a different timezone and get space for a jumper? This happens far too frequently for it to just be a matter of randomness.

[Bergmaniac]

Interesting how the "it's not rigged ur conspiracy theorist!" posters seemingly are arguing that the vast majority of posters on here must be engaging in a conspiracy themselves to all claim that SGA and the Thunder get unfair whistles.

What's more likely?

The NBA refs are biased towards players that flop/seek contact + there's a push to prop up "stars" by gifting them soft calls even in the playoffs

or


Tens of thousands of Realgm users with wide ranging backgrounds, biases, likes/dislikes, team fandoms, ages and walks of life all decided to conspire suddenly to claim the Thunder are receiving an unfair advantage from the refs? And of course, the only people that can see the "truth" are OKC fans?

Seems like a pretty wild conspiracy.

Tens of thousands of RealGM users? The active posters here are several hundred at most, the ones who posted on this specific topic a lot fewer. And there has been quite a few non-OKC fans (like myself) who have objected to the claim that OKC are getting help from the refs.

[Slimjimzv]

Interesting how the "it's not rigged ur conspiracy theorist!" posters seemingly are arguing that the vast majority of posters on here must be engaging in a conspiracy themselves to all claim that SGA and the Thunder get unfair whistles.

What's more likely?

The NBA refs are biased towards players that flop/seek contact + there's a push to prop up "stars" by gifting them soft calls even in the playoffs

or


Tens of thousands of Realgm users with wide ranging backgrounds, biases, likes/dislikes, team fandoms, ages and walks of life all decided to conspire suddenly to claim the Thunder are receiving an unfair advantage from the refs? And of course, the only people that can see the "truth" are OKC fans?

Seems like a pretty wild conspiracy.

Tens of thousands of RealGM users? The active posters here are several hundred at most, the ones who posted on this specific topic a lot fewer. And there has been quite a few non-OKC fans (like myself) who have objected to the claim that OKC are getting help from the refs.

I was going to comment the same. Calling a dozen or so posters "Tens of thousands" is pretty gross.

[Lunartic]

Interesting how the "it's not rigged ur conspiracy theorist!" posters seemingly are arguing that the vast majority of posters on here must be engaging in a conspiracy themselves to all claim that SGA and the Thunder get unfair whistles.

What's more likely?

The NBA refs are biased towards players that flop/seek contact + there's a push to prop up "stars" by gifting them soft calls even in the playoffs

or


Tens of thousands of Realgm users with wide ranging backgrounds, biases, likes/dislikes, team fandoms, ages and walks of life all decided to conspire suddenly to claim the Thunder are receiving an unfair advantage from the refs? And of course, the only people that can see the "truth" are OKC fans?

Seems like a pretty wild conspiracy.

Tens of thousands of RealGM users? The active posters here are several hundred at most, the ones who posted on this specific topic a lot fewer. And there has been quite a few non-OKC fans (like myself) who have objected to the claim that OKC are getting help from the refs.

Correction: tens of thousands of basketball fans in general

Reddits NBA page is pretty much in agreement about bias towards OKC.

One team always gets more help from the refs - it's an absolute. If you reject that OKC is -you think the Pacers have received a better whistle thus far?

[Bergmaniac]

Interesting how the "it's not rigged ur conspiracy theorist!" posters seemingly are arguing that the vast majority of posters on here must be engaging in a conspiracy themselves to all claim that SGA and the Thunder get unfair whistles.

What's more likely?

The NBA refs are biased towards players that flop/seek contact + there's a push to prop up "stars" by gifting them soft calls even in the playoffs

or


Tens of thousands of Realgm users with wide ranging backgrounds, biases, likes/dislikes, team fandoms, ages and walks of life all decided to conspire suddenly to claim the Thunder are receiving an unfair advantage from the refs? And of course, the only people that can see the "truth" are OKC fans?

Seems like a pretty wild conspiracy.

Tens of thousands of RealGM users? The active posters here are several hundred at most, the ones who posted on this specific topic a lot fewer. And there has been quite a few non-OKC fans (like myself) who have objected to the claim that OKC are getting help from the refs.

Correction: tens of thousands of basketball fans in general

Reddits NBA page is pretty much in agreement about bias towards OKC.

One team always gets more help from the refs - it's an absolute. If you reject that OKC is -you think the Pacers have received a better whistle thus far?

There is not really much to discuss if you think that one team always gets more help from the refs, for me this is an absurd claim.

And the average poster on r/nba is hilariously clueless and wrong most of the time.

[Lunartic]

Interesting how the "it's not rigged ur conspiracy theorist!" posters seemingly are arguing that the vast majority of posters on here must be engaging in a conspiracy themselves to all claim that SGA and the Thunder get unfair whistles.

What's more likely?

The NBA refs are biased towards players that flop/seek contact + there's a push to prop up "stars" by gifting them soft calls even in the playoffs

or


Tens of thousands of Realgm users with wide ranging backgrounds, biases, likes/dislikes, team fandoms, ages and walks of life all decided to conspire suddenly to claim the Thunder are receiving an unfair advantage from the refs? And of course, the only people that can see the "truth" are OKC fans?

Seems like a pretty wild conspiracy.

Tens of thousands of RealGM users? The active posters here are several hundred at most, the ones who posted on this specific topic a lot fewer. And there has been quite a few non-OKC fans (like myself) who have objected to the claim that OKC are getting help from the refs.

I was going to comment the same. Calling a dozen or so posters "Tens of thousands" is pretty gross.

"Gross" lol


Of course, you were because why address the bias and actual highlights of pushoffs, fouls, hacks, no calls. Let's argue about the number of fans.

NBA subreddit is mostly in agreement, this has been an ongoing issue with OKC all throughout the season.

If one team has gotten an unfair whistle this playoffs, who do you think it is?