Was Game 4 rigged for OKC?

[MrPainfulTruth]

The SGA push-off thing people are mad about...

Tatum got called for push-offs a lot early in his career. He'd actually extend his arm and push off with his hand, which is an offensive foul.

But he adjusted and stopped extending his arm. It became more of a chicken-wing with the elbow or forearm kinda doing to push-off, but his arm is kept tucked and doesn't extend.

And now it's not a foul anymore.

Point here is I'm thinking that chicken wing thing is not actually a foul per the rules. It's not like the refs don't see it and haven't heard people complaining about it. They see it and don't blow the whistle. And guys like JT and SGA are good at taking advantage.

I dont think any other player in this league would consistently get away with it. Same as the move Harden had for two or three seasons.

[NyKnicks1714]

Yes, everything that doesn't go the way you want it to go is rigged. Hopefully this saves everyone from having to ask going forward.

[MrPainfulTruth]

People want to act dumb by pretending rigging can be measured by FTA's when it has been discussed several times here HOW OKC gets the favorable treatment. Whoever pretends not to see it at this point when it went on all season, and lead to several headcoaches breaking character on live TV, wont be convinced by the most obvious of evidence. Everyone else knows already whats going on and who is supposed to win it all this year. Out with the old, in with the new - crown the new face of the NBA and buy his jersey!

Huh. Strange.

Haliburton
1. Is American
2. Has all the crazy late-game heroics, and not afraid to stand out with theatrics (Reggie choke)
3. Has Pops (any non-egregiously bad attention is good attention)
4. At least to me, Haliburton is tiers above SGA in terms of personality and charisma.
5. Is apparently good buds with America’s biggest current “it” athlete in Caitlin Clark

Seems like Hali is MUCH, MUCH more marketable than SGA.

I dont think so. The whole Haliburton drama and antics is not how the league wants to be represented. They want a low profile sellable face. Thats why Ant doesnt qualify either. Too noisy. Also Haliburton is simply not in that tier yet, skill wise. SGA is, and he is humble and quiet. Dont think it matters wether he is american or canadian; he can sell the league to fans, thats all that matters. A casual fan probably doesnt even know he isnt from the US.

[Bergmaniac]

The SGA push-off thing people are mad about...

Tatum got called for push-offs a lot early in his career. He'd actually extend his arm and push off with his hand, which is an offensive foul.

But he adjusted and stopped extending his arm. It became more of a chicken-wing with the elbow or forearm kinda doing to push-off, but his arm is kept tucked and doesn't extend.

And now it's not a foul anymore.

Point here is I'm thinking that chicken wing thing is not actually a foul per the rules. It's not like the refs don't see it and haven't heard people complaining about it. They see it and don't blow the whistle. And guys like JT and SGA are good at taking advantage.

I dont think any other player in this league would consistently get away with it. Same as the move Harden had for two or three seasons.

Paul George, to name one obvious example, has gotten away with a pushoff more blatant than Shai's for most of his career.

[MrPainfulTruth]

The SGA push-off thing people are mad about...

Tatum got called for push-offs a lot early in his career. He'd actually extend his arm and push off with his hand, which is an offensive foul.

But he adjusted and stopped extending his arm. It became more of a chicken-wing with the elbow or forearm kinda doing to push-off, but his arm is kept tucked and doesn't extend.

And now it's not a foul anymore.

Point here is I'm thinking that chicken wing thing is not actually a foul per the rules. It's not like the refs don't see it and haven't heard people complaining about it. They see it and don't blow the whistle. And guys like JT and SGA are good at taking advantage.

I dont think any other player in this league would consistently get away with it. Same as the move Harden had for two or three seasons.

Paul George, to name one obvious example, has gotten away with a pushoff more blatant than Shai's for most of his career.

Yes he did! And other superstars had their signature moves where they got a lot more leash than the rest of the league. Thats exactly what i'm saying, thanks for confirming my point. PG, Chris Paul, KD had his ripthrough that noone else got, LeBron was consistently allowed to run over defenders and rarely got called for a charge (or travel). Harden forced his hands and the ball into defernders and would get freethrows every time. His stepback made up of four steps or more was a travel for everyone else.

I think its cute, but naive to believe that this highly commercial league is above manipulating games (we actually know it happened before). Its literally like the red pill / blue pill decision. I am not mad at anyone who prefers to stay in their nice clean fan bubble. The product is good and if you enjoy consuming it and paying for it, good for you! But allow others to have a different opinion based on obvious evidence.

As of now - name one other player who NOW would get away with a pushoff every time he drives, and NEVER get called for an offensive foul.

[RunOKC]

Game 1 and 3 were rigged for Indiana

Game 2 and 4 were rigged for OKC

Simple

[KP Duty]

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.

Lol...yep. Don't let facts get in the way of their narrative. If you watch the last 3 minutes of the game where Pacers were up 4, you'll see how OKC came back and won the game...and the refs weren't involved.

[MrPainfulTruth]

Watch on YouTube

The best part is how Scott Foster is even in the shot and looks directly at it Nothing to see here.

[Wingy]

People want to act dumb by pretending rigging can be measured by FTA's when it has been discussed several times here HOW OKC gets the favorable treatment. Whoever pretends not to see it at this point when it went on all season, and lead to several headcoaches breaking character on live TV, wont be convinced by the most obvious of evidence. Everyone else knows already whats going on and who is supposed to win it all this year. Out with the old, in with the new - crown the new face of the NBA and buy his jersey!

Huh. Strange.

Haliburton
1. Is American
2. Has all the crazy late-game heroics, and not afraid to stand out with theatrics (Reggie choke)
3. Has Pops (any non-egregiously bad attention is good attention)
4. At least to me, Haliburton is tiers above SGA in terms of personality and charisma.
5. Is apparently good buds with America’s biggest current “it” athlete in Caitlin Clark

Seems like Hali is MUCH, MUCH more marketable than SGA.

I dont think so. The whole Haliburton drama and antics is not how the league wants to be represented. They want a low profile sellable face. Thats why Ant doesnt qualify either. Too noisy. Also Haliburton is simply not in that tier yet, skill wise. SGA is, and he is humble and quiet. Dont think it matters wether he is american or canadian; he can sell the league to fans, thats all that matters. A casual fan probably doesnt even know he isnt from the US.

The league absolutely does like drama as long as it’s not of the legal or morally questionable variety. eg - Ja, Zion, Ant and all his baby mamas and eff bombs…yeah, that stuff is unwanted. What Haliburton does is none of that.

SGA should absolutely be promoted by the league as a top player, but it’s a hard sell. His game has virtually no flash for the casual fan. Only the die hards in places like this appreciate SGA, and even then many just call him a foul-baiter.

[jbsays]

I watched only the last five minutes. What I saw:

-Pacers couldn't get a good shot. They took a bunch of contested threes. Halliburton was the only guy who even attempted to drive.
-Crowd was dead silent.
-Mathurin went 1-4 at the line with less than two minutes left.
-SGA is hard to cover. Some of the fouls were ticky-tack, but they were still a foul.
-I thought he got away with a travel on that baseline jumper.
-Both SGA and Williams played better than anyone on Pacers during crunch time.

So now, I don't think it was rigged. Pacers shot 33 FTs, OKC shot 38 FTs. One team is always going to have the advantage and OKC drove far more than the Pacers during the time I watched. You're more likely to get fouled driving than shooting step back 3s.

[Mephariel]

The SGA push-off thing people are mad about...

Tatum got called for push-offs a lot early in his career. He'd actually extend his arm and push off with his hand, which is an offensive foul.

But he adjusted and stopped extending his arm. It became more of a chicken-wing with the elbow or forearm kinda doing to push-off, but his arm is kept tucked and doesn't extend.

And now it's not a foul anymore.

Point here is I'm thinking that chicken wing thing is not actually a foul per the rules. It's not like the refs don't see it and haven't heard people complaining about it. They see it and don't blow the whistle. And guys like JT and SGA are good at taking advantage.

I dont think any other player in this league would consistently get away with it. Same as the move Harden had for two or three seasons.

I am a huge Lebron fan, but Lebron consistently gets away with it.

[FarBeyondDriven]

it's sad when we can predict outcomes of games depending on who refs. The NBA is a laughable and shameless organization. It's entertainment not a sport. Series was brilliant until last night and they ruined it. They use to at least try to hide this b.s. but they don't even bother anymore since apologists lap it up and defend corrupt billionaires like it's their job so no need

[Mephariel]

People want to act dumb by pretending rigging can be measured by FTA's when it has been discussed several times here HOW OKC gets the favorable treatment. Whoever pretends not to see it at this point when it went on all season, and lead to several headcoaches breaking character on live TV, wont be convinced by the most obvious of evidence. Everyone else knows already whats going on and who is supposed to win it all this year. Out with the old, in with the new - crown the new face of the NBA and buy his jersey!

Huh. Strange.

Haliburton
1. Is American
2. Has all the crazy late-game heroics, and not afraid to stand out with theatrics (Reggie choke)
3. Has Pops (any non-egregiously bad attention is good attention)
4. At least to me, Haliburton is tiers above SGA in terms of personality and charisma.
5. Is apparently good buds with America’s biggest current “it” athlete in Caitlin Clark

Seems like Hali is MUCH, MUCH more marketable than SGA.

I dont think so. The whole Haliburton drama and antics is not how the league wants to be represented. They want a low profile sellable face. Thats why Ant doesnt qualify either. Too noisy. Also Haliburton is simply not in that tier yet, skill wise. SGA is, and he is humble and quiet. Dont think it matters wether he is american or canadian; he can sell the league to fans, thats all that matters. A casual fan probably doesnt even know he isnt from the US.

Yeah cause Jordan was low profile. Kobe was low profile. Lebron was low profile. Yeah right.

In what world do low profile and sellable go together? Ask the NHL how the hockey stars are doing and why no one knows who they are.

[sp6r=underrated]

There is an overlap between the people who think Game Four was rigged for the Thunder and people who think the NBA forced the Mavericks to trade Luka to Los Angeles. Sadly, a lot of NBA fans embrace a conspiratorial worldview. It would be a combination of pathetic and funny if this mindset was confined to basketball but it isn't.

[Slimjimzv]

Scott Foster no called SGA traveling but the Pacers need to do better. The three ball didn't fall for OKC so they worked the Pacers in the paint.

Points in the paint
OKC 50
Indy 36

Rebounds
OKC 43
Indy 33

By the NBA’s cheesy af rules, that wasn’t a travel.

Do I think it was a travel? Heck yes. But with the whole NBA “gather step” non-sense…it was fine by that standard.

Now push-off? Yes. SGA gets away with too many. Then again the defenses all playoffs are allowed a ton of contact, and I like it. But with that in mind, I don’t need to hear conspirators literally cry foul every time the offense gets away with one.

Re: the rebounding edge you noted, that’s even with the refs calling a number of fouls on OKC during rebound battle situations.

Actually, it was a foul since SGA's stumble was the product of his foot being kicked. So, a travel call would likely have resulted in a challenge, followed by two made free throws. So, same result.

[Slimjimzv]

Watch on YouTube

The best part is how Scott Foster is even in the shot and looks directly at it Nothing to see here.

You're going to act like you don't see that kick at the 1 second mark?

[Shock Defeat]

It's simple. Adam silver needs game 7 in order to save the ratings this season. I believe it's also on a Sunday so that's the only way to salvage the finals for him

[cupcakesnake]

No, it's not rigged.

People saying so are just salty. Probably mad OKC eliminated their team.

Over on Wolves reddit, there are hundreds of fan still bitching about OKC calls. It's embarrassing.

Shai is averaging 9.1 FTA per game in these playoffs. All-time, that's the 222nd highest FTA average in the playoffs. If you go off vibes tho, or fan opinions, he's averaging the most free throws since prime Shaq.

[DrModesty]

The SGA push-off thing people are mad about...

Tatum got called for push-offs a lot early in his career. He'd actually extend his arm and push off with his hand, which is an offensive foul.

But he adjusted and stopped extending his arm. It became more of a chicken-wing with the elbow or forearm kinda doing to push-off, but his arm is kept tucked and doesn't extend.

And now it's not a foul anymore.

Point here is I'm thinking that chicken wing thing is not actually a foul per the rules. It's not like the refs don't see it and haven't heard people complaining about it. They see it and don't blow the whistle. And guys like JT and SGA are good at taking advantage.

I dont think any other player in this league would consistently get away with it. Same as the move Harden had for two or three seasons.

Paul George, to name one obvious example, has gotten away with a pushoff more blatant than Shai's for most of his career.

Kawhi too. Once people have something in their head, every instance is confirmation bias but because it isn't in there head with other players they don't even pick it up for them.

[DrModesty]

Watch on YouTube

The best part is how Scott Foster is even in the shot and looks directly at it Nothing to see here.

You're going to act like you don't see that kick at the 1 second mark?

https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=683&GameID=0042400404&Season=2024-25&flag=1&title=Gilgeous-Alexander%2015%27%20Step%20Back%20Jump%20Shot%20(29%20PTS)

We can see that Shai has his arm in Nesmiths chest, but there is no extension. We can see that Nesmith has his hands on Shai as he is trying to make forward progress to the basket. We can see that Nesmith trips himself over Shai's foot and that contact is what actually causes the players to lose balance.

If anything there is a foul here it is Nesmith putting both hands on Shai on his drive. If anything else is a foul here is it Nesmith making foot to foot contact though he clearly didn't mean to.