Conspiracy Theory

NBA Finals won by the Miami Heat.

After Game 5, I was getting ready to believe that Mark Cuban was not as paranoid as I'd given him credit for. Maybe his incessant, egomaniacal ravings had truly ticked off the refs, and they'd take it out on his team.

But after the last foul call, where Dirk Nowitzki flung his midsection into Dwayne Wade's forearm - or something else, reminiscent of Game 5's endgame non-foul - I understood.

The NBA sees the "MJ" potential in Dwayne Wade, and they don't really mind. He's obviously a great player, and Dallas hadn't done themselves too many favors recently. But two consecutive NBA Finals games where one player gets as many free throws as the opposing team? (Game 5: Wade 25, Mavs 25 FTA - Game 6: Wade 21, Mavs 23 FTA) Including dicey calls to seal the deal in both? Really?

From ESPN's Bill Simmons:

[R]efs deciding every big game (like in Game 5) by how they interpret contact when the same guy is recklessly driving to the basket over and over again...

[I]t will come down to which guy made more 20-footers with two guys on him and which guy got the most cheap calls from the most spineless referees.

I can definitely handle Dallas losing the series, although I have been rooting for them, but it does bother me for the officiating to have such a huge, direct impact.

Congrats to the Heat, and The-Next-Michael-Jo... Dwayne Wade.



[Edit: I swear I hadn't seen this article when I wrote this post. Honest.]