Nuggets Player Accuses Lakers of “Buying” Game 5 Win
An unnamed member of the Denver Nuggets has sent shockwaves through the NBA by suggesting the Lakers “bought” their Game 5 victory:
In an accusation that goes straight to the heart of the sport’s integrity, one member of the Nuggets shook his head in disgust after the game, and could not believe how cheap it was for Los Angeles to buy a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals.
“The Lakers paid $50,000 to win that game. They got their money’s worth,” said a Denver player, not wanting to be identified for fear of retribution from the league.
Was the outcome rigged? I refuse to believe it was.
The 16 field-goal attempts the Nuggets missed during the fourth quarter had much more to do with the defeat than any of the 30 personal fouls called against Denver by the referees.
Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson and the Lakers organization were fined $50,000 by the NBA for complaining about the calls in Game 4, won decisively by the upstart Nuggets.
Asked prior to Game 5 if he was playing mind games and planting seeds, Jackson laughed and said: “I’m a gardener. I like planting seeds . . . constantly.”
That’s so funny the league office should strongly consider fining Jackson again, for making light of how coaches can influence the calls made by referees.
Dear unnamed Nuggets player: is it Phil Jackson’s fault the refs can be so easily influenced? Shouldn’t Phil do his utmost to help his team win, including taking advantage of these evidently extremely pliable officials? All’s fair in love and war, right? And NBA players are always calling themselves “warriors,” so, that makes their games war.
Maybe George Karl needs to brush up on his psychology, so he can get some calls too. Or, maybe the Nuggets need to find someone besides Melo who can fill it up with consistency in the postseason. Whining about Phil Jackson giving up $50,000 of the organization’s caysh so he can get in the refs’ heads is sorta silly. A team that focuses on that when they should be trying to fix their issues probably doesn’t have the character to win a title anyway.
