If you’re a betting man, stay away from the Indiana Pacers for Game 6. At least that’s what Bill Simmons would have you do, because he’s adamant the NBA will fix Game 6 in favor of the New York Knicks.<\/p>\n
Simmons, formerly ESPN’s “The Sports Guy” and now owner of The Ringer, left no room for ambiguity while discussing Saturday’s Eastern Conference Finals showdown between the Knicks and Indiana Pacers.<\/p>\n
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He’s adamant the NBA will do everything in its power to keep the Pacers out of the NBA Finals to avoid two mid-level markets competing for the title and avoid a ratings slump. The winner of the Knicks-Pacers series will face the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Simmons says there’s no question the NBA will do what it can to have New York — the nation’s No. 1 market — and not Indiana (No. 25) in the finals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Indiana wins one more game, we\u2019re going to have an Indiana vs Oklahoma City finals,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cBut if the Knicks win the series, we\u2019ll have the Knicks in the finals. And if you\u2019ve noticed from ratings and interest, it\u2019s a little more interesting nationally when there\u2019s a New York team in the finals.\u201d<\/p>\n
To prove his conspiracy theory, Simmons conjured up the controversial 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings. The Kings were one win away from reaching the NBA Finals to face the then-New Jersey Nets. Instead, the two-time defending champion Lakers forced a Game 7 thanks to Robert Horry’s last-second heroics<\/a>, and, in the eyes of many, favorable calls from the refs.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to bring you back to the year 2002,\u201d Simmons argued. \u201cGame 6, Sacramento-Lakers in Sacramento. If Sacramento wins, we\u2019re going to have a Sacramento-New Jersey finals. And [then-NBA Commissioner] David Stern was like, \u2018Not on my watch. This is not happening. We are not letting this happen.\u2019 And we did not get a Sacramento-New Jersey finals. Let\u2019s be careful out there for Game 6 if you\u2019re wagering.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lakers went on to thump the Nets for their third consecutive NBA title.<\/p>\n For what it’s worth, the NBA weathered a scandal years later after disgraced referee Tim Donaghy was accused and later convicted of betting on NBA games and getting paid to make favorable calls in those games.<\/p>\n Then, six years after the Lakers-Kings series, Donaghy claimed two of the three referees involved in Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals made calls favoring the Lakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The NBA vehemently denied the accusations.<\/p>\n