In 2007, Tim Donaghy, a referee for the NBA, pleaded guilty to two charges of conspiracy. Donaghy used his position to pass on information to bookies about players' statuses and player/referee relations. Although David Stern, the NBA Commissioner at the time, said that Donaghy was a "rogue official", Donaghy later made statements that referees were told by NBA executives to ignore personal foul calls or specifically target certain players in order to extend the life of certain playoff series. Although Donaghy did not specify which series, many have speculated that he may have been referring to the 2005 Rockets vs. Mavericks series (the Mavs went on to win after falling behind 2-0) and the 2002 Lakers vs. Kings series (the Lakers went on to win the series in 7 games).

Given this year's playoff circumstances, David Stern may have been incorrect or pretending to be oblivious; Donaghy may not be a "rogue official", but one of many league officials and executives responsible for tampering with playoff games. Before I present the evidence (only from this year's playoffs), I would like to say that as much as I want to believe my favorite teams and players win by their own skill and effort, it is hard to ignore NBA executives' possible motives for tampering with games.A longer series leads to more ticket sales, a comeback generates higher TV ratings, etc. Isn't it strange that Finals TV ratings seem to go up every year?