jalengreen wrote:parsnips33 wrote:Between the winked-at-but-unacknowledged change in how refs have been calling games since all star break and the rise of the Sports Gambling Behemoth (not just the Jontay Porter scandal, but also recent comments by players like Haliburton and Tatum speaking to how it's affected the fanbase), it seems like the "integrity of the game" is in a very shaky/existential place right now
And this only has a little to do with the Warriors being bad now how dare you accuse me of that
Not sure what the implied connection between the change in officiating and gambling is. Seems unrelated to me but I may be missing some perspective
Don't think they are necessarily related (yet?) and it's not like changes in rules/officiating are novel to the NBA.
I do think both speak to an actual or perceived precarity when it comes to the solvency of the league - midseason wink-wink rule changes arguably overreacting to media chatter about scoring, additions of the in-season and play-in tournaments, the increasing reliance on gambling as a financial bellwether
There are broad social and economic winds blowing, and given the recent posture of the league it feels more likely that a seemingly desperate NBA will bend to that wind than stand resolute, for better of worse