NBA Finals Won with Luck

[3ball]

.
There have been 3 times in recorded history, where the team with the WORSE offensive rating (ORtg) managed to win the Finals.

They were all 7 game series - and we all remember them as series where the winner got lucky.


1988 Finals - Detroit outplays LA the entire series and gets a 3-2 series lead... But Isiah goes down in the 3rd quarter of Game 6, ruining any chance of winning a Game 7 if the Pistons can't finish the series in Game 6... Unfortunately, LA gets home-cooking with a bad call in the final seconds of Game 6 to tie up the series 3-3... they went on to win the Finals versus a hobbled Isiah in Game 7.... here's the bad call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYPHhY-MGj4


2005 Finals - Detroit abuses San Antonio the entire series... but in an amazing, fluke-like, completely anomalous circumstance, Robert Horry literally turns into Jordan for one quarter and COMPLETELY TAKES OVER THE 4TH QUARTER, to save the Spurs in a critical game 5, and shift momentum... here's Horry being Jordan for a quarter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZdik09RGJI


2013 Finals - Spurs outplay the Heat the entire series, exploiting lebron's game and containing him... but that Ray of sunshine completely reverses momentum for the Heat at the end of Game 6.

[fpliii]

.
There have been 3 times in recorded history, where the team with the WORSE offensive rating (ORtg) managed to win the Finals.
Minor correction. B-R only has ORtg for the Finals going back to 1985.

Since teams are playing at the same pace, we can do a straight comparison of PPG (to check, divide PPG by ORtg for both teams in any Finals series; the ratio is the same for both teams each Finals).

Others that qualify, going back to the beginning of the shot clock era:

1984 - http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1984_finals.html
1982 - http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1982_finals.html
1969 - http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1969_finals.html
1963 - http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1963_finals.html
1958 - http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1958_finals.html
1955 - http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1955_finals.html

So there have been 9 total times where the team with the worse ORtg/PPG won the series.

Not that I disagree with you. I think you're right, in a short series of at most 7 games, there can be freak occurrences. Do you have any thoughts on the above 6 series? Wouldn't be surprised if the winners were lucky in those as well.

[ThatCoolKid]

2014: SA Spurs cut the air conditioning to take down Lebron James. Completely shifts the momentum of the series.

[BuffaloBill]

2014: SA Spurs cut the air conditioning to take down Lebron James. Completely shifts the momentum of the series.


That's not luck, that's cunning.

[Asukal]

Makes you wonder how the all time top 10 ranking would look like if detroit won that 1988 finals. :confusedshrug:

[mehyaM24]

1969 - fluke game 7 that ANY other ALL time great (center) would have capitalized in, against an OLD and depleted celtics team. wilt and his coach beefed and he ended up sitting late in the 4th quarter. :facepalm

1991 - bulls were fortunate enough to play an over hill the laker team, who's 2nd and 3rd options were injured (throughout the postseason) - and the fact kareem had retired a year earlier was huge in itself. an 87-89 kareem with THAT lineup, healthy - and the lakers take care of the bulls in 5 or 6 games.

1993 - bulls once again fortunate enough to play a suns team, who feat an injured kevin johnson, otherwise one of the best pointguards in the game had it not been for his injuries. tough luck i suppose.

1996 - sonics and karl not realizing that putting payton on jordan would have held jordan to a low shooting % (evidenced by his 5/17 and 6/19 games when payton was assigned to jordan). the sonics won 2 of the last 3 games in that series.

2005 - agreed, horry got hot and the rest was history

2013 - agreed as well

funny how 2 of the best franchises in the modern era, the spurs and bulls, have been a part of MULTIPLE "lucky finals"...

[Hey Yo]

OP ruined

[3ball]

1991 - bulls were fortunate enough to play an over hill the laker team, who's 2nd and 3rd options were injured (throughout the postseason) - and the fact kareem had retired a year earlier was huge in itself. an 87-89 kareem with THAT lineup, healthy - and the lakers take care of the bulls in 5 or 6 games.

1993 - bulls once again fortunate enough to play a suns team, who feat an injured kevin johnson, otherwise one of the best pointguards in the game had it not been for his injuries. tough luck i suppose.

1996 - sonics and karl not realizing that putting payton on jordan would have held jordan to a low shooting % (evidenced by his 5/17 and 6/19 games when payton was assigned to jordan). the sonics won 2 of the last 3 games in that series.

2013 - agreed as well


In 1991, Worthy and Byron Scott's playoff averages for ppg, rebounds and assists are EXACTLY in line with their career playoff averages.

On the other hand, Pippen and Rodman were ACTUALLY injured in the 1998 Finals - Pippen averaged 15ppg on 41% shooting, and Rodman only averaged 8.3 rebounds per game - but no problem because Jordan still wasn't going to lose... He just upped his load and clutch play by scoring a record 38% of his team's points and giving us the greatest clutch plays the game's ever seen.

In 1993, Kevin Johnson was a focal point of the Bulls, and he got shut down... not sure where you are getting that he was injured... he played every game, heavy minutes.

In 1996, the entire Bulls team relaxed after being up 3-0, while the Sonics were in desperation, nothing-to-lose mode - the next couple games were garbage time and didn't matter... Jordan would have adjusted to any defender in games that actually mattered - in the first 3 games, the ones that mattered, he averaged 32ppg on 48% shooting to get his team a 3-0 lead so they could relax and chill the rest of the series.

[Angel Face]

1969 - fluke game 7 that ANY other ALL time great (center) would have capitalized in, against an OLD and depleted celtics team. wilt and his coach beefed and he ended up sitting late in the 4th quarter. :facepalm

1991 - bulls were fortunate enough to play an over hill the laker team, who's 2nd and 3rd options were injured (throughout the postseason) - and the fact kareem had retired a year earlier was huge in itself. an 87-89 kareem with THAT lineup, healthy - and the lakers take care of the bulls in 5 or 6 games.

1993 - bulls once again fortunate enough to play a suns team, who feat an injured kevin johnson, otherwise one of the best pointguards in the game had it not been for his injuries. tough luck i suppose.

1996 - sonics and karl not realizing that putting payton on jordan would have held jordan to a low shooting % (evidenced by his 5/17 and 6/19 games when payton was assigned to jordan). the sonics won 2 of the last 3 games in that series.

2005 - agreed, horry got hot and the rest was history

2013 - agreed as well

funny how 2 of the best franchises in the modern era, the spurs and bulls, have been a part of MULTIPLE "lucky finals"...

http://troll.me/images/grinning-emperor-palpatine/let-the-hate-flow-through-you.jpg

[kennethgriffin]

Didnt 3 of jordans titles end on a game winner or some sh*t

Paxson, kerr then a push off by jordan

Theres 3 that coulda went either way

[Asukal]

1991 - bulls were fortunate enough to play an over hill the laker team, who's 2nd and 3rd options were injured (throughout the postseason) - and the fact kareem had retired a year earlier was huge in itself. an 87-89 kareem with THAT lineup, healthy - and the lakers take care of the bulls in 5 or 6 games.

1993 - bulls once again fortunate enough to play a suns team, who feat an injured kevin johnson, otherwise one of the best pointguards in the game had it not been for his injuries. tough luck i suppose.

1996 - sonics and karl not realizing that putting payton on jordan would have held jordan to a low shooting % (evidenced by his 5/17 and 6/19 games when payton was assigned to jordan). the sonics won 2 of the last 3 games in that series.

1991 - How was that a fluke? It didn't even go 6 games. :facepalm

1993 - arguable, johnson was fit enough to play during the finals albeit coming off injuries during the season. 1998 pippen faced the same problems yet the bulls won. :rolleyes:

1996 - it wasn't payton's defense if you actually watched the series, jordan mostly missed open shots. Payton did prevent him from going to the paint and he missed his jumpers. :no:

You'd say anything to discredit Jordan. Keep working on it son, maybe someday you'll realize just how far the gap is between he and lebum. :oldlol:

[G0ATbe]

Theoretically, MJ was lucky to be on the most stacked team of all time in a weak era. So I'd add all 6 of his to this list as well.

[SouBeachTalents]

The '02 Lakers are as deserving as any other team listed in this thread. In the "real" NBA Finals that year, the WCF, they needed the miraculous Horry 3, a rigged Game 6, and the Kings missing half their free throws in Game 7 to win that series. It's arguably the luckiest series win in NBA history

[SouBeachTalents]

1969 - fluke game 7 that ANY other ALL time great (center) would have capitalized in, against an OLD and depleted celtics team. wilt and his coach beefed and he ended up sitting late in the 4th quarter. :facepalm

1991 - bulls were fortunate enough to play an over hill the laker team, who's 2nd and 3rd options were injured (throughout the postseason) - and the fact kareem had retired a year earlier was huge in itself. an 87-89 kareem with THAT lineup, healthy - and the lakers take care of the bulls in 5 or 6 games.

1993 - bulls once again fortunate enough to play a suns team, who feat an injured kevin johnson, otherwise one of the best pointguards in the game had it not been for his injuries. tough luck i suppose.

1996 - sonics and karl not realizing that putting payton on jordan would have held jordan to a low shooting % (evidenced by his 5/17 and 6/19 games when payton was assigned to jordan). the sonics won 2 of the last 3 games in that series.

2005 - agreed, horry got hot and the rest was history

2013 - agreed as well

funny how 2 of the best franchises in the modern era, the spurs and bulls, have been a part of MULTIPLE "lucky finals"...

One of the worst posts ever written in ISH history, which is REALLY saying something

[3ball]

Theoretically, MJ was lucky to be on the most stacked team of all time in a weak era. So I'd add all 6 of his to this list as well.
obvious, baiting posts like this are such obvious trolls - since i know it's a troll, I know the correct way to interpret the post is to take the opposite of what the post said.

so the troll translates to:




MJ won championships with the LEAST stacked team ever, as evidenced by stats proving he carried the largest load of any player ever, and he played in a tough era.

[outbreak]

2014: SA Spurs cut the air conditioning to take down Lebron James. Completely shifts the momentum of the series.
because everyone else playing that game played in a different arena to Lebron didn't they?

[knicksman]

One of the worst posts ever written in ISH history, which is REALLY saying something

Too bad hes a bran stan like you:lol

[Jyap9675]

I'm a huge spurs fan but in 2013, I would put that blame on the Spurs. As a championship team, they should be able to close out games and make their free throws.

[mehyaM24]

In 1991, Worthy and Byron Scott's playoff averages for ppg, rebounds and assists are EXACTLY in line with their career playoff averages.

In 1993, Kevin Johnson was a focal point of the Bulls, and he got shut down... not sure where you are getting that he was injured... he played every game, heavy minutes.

In 1996, the entire Bulls team relaxed after being up 3-0, while the Sonics were in desperation, nothing-to-lose mode

well each (scott and worthy) missed a game from that series, while scott severely sprained his ankle in the series vs phoenix. he was NEVER the same, despite what the statistics tell you.

in the finals, scott averaged just 4 ppg on 28% shooting. he was CLEARLY hurt - and the bulls were CLEARLY at an advantage beating a depleted, older laker team. ergo, they lucked out.

reported by multiple sources, kj had multiple knee problems as evidenced by ahmad rashad during the half time and post game shows.

^if he is 100% - i truly believe the suns win that series

i also dont believe "relaxing" is a tangible argument regarding the sonics series. you simply dont "relax" in an nba finals. the facts are that AS SOON AS payton was assigned to jordan, he shot miserably for the series and the sonics won 2 of the last 3 games. i think if karl makes that adjustment sooner, the sonics could have pulled out of that series with a title. of course the bulls, as shown earlier, seemingly lucked out again.

[La Frescobaldi]

1969 - fluke game 7 that ANY other ALL time great (center) would have capitalized in, against an OLD and depleted celtics team. wilt and his coach beefed and he ended up sitting late in the 4th quarter. :facepalm

1991 - bulls were fortunate enough to play an over hill the laker team, who's 2nd and 3rd options were injured (throughout the postseason) - and the fact kareem had retired a year earlier was huge in itself. an 87-89 kareem with THAT lineup, healthy - and the lakers take care of the bulls in 5 or 6 games.

1993 - bulls once again fortunate enough to play a suns team, who feat an injured kevin johnson, otherwise one of the best pointguards in the game had it not been for his injuries. tough luck i suppose.

1996 - sonics and karl not realizing that putting payton on jordan would have held jordan to a low shooting % (evidenced by his 5/17 and 6/19 games when payton was assigned to jordan). the sonics won 2 of the last 3 games in that series.

2005 - agreed, horry got hot and the rest was history

2013 - agreed as well

funny how 2 of the best franchises in the modern era, the spurs and bulls, have been a part of MULTIPLE "lucky finals"...

Un-fact is the kindest thing I can tell you... i.e., you don't know what you're talking about.
There's film of Chamberlain's knee blowing out in the 4th quarter of that game, and the Laker's trainer spraying freon on it.
Leave the shaqpopcorn agenda for sites that don't have anybody that knows anything about NBA - like the youtube cesspool that sp34 slithers in - or get called out on the regular.

I'll leave the easy-meat rest of your lousy post to the other guys on this thread that are flat tearing it to shreds and rightly so.

[mehyaM24]

Un-fact is the kindest thing I can tell you... i.e., you don't know what you're talking about.
There's film of Chamberlain's knee blowing out in the 4th quarter of that game, and the Laker's trainer spraying freon on it.
Leave the shaqpopcorn agenda for sites that don't have anybody that knows anything about NBA - like the youtube cesspool that sp34 slithers in - or get called out on the regular.

I'll leave the easy-meat rest of your lousy post to the other guys on this thread that are flat tearing it to shreds and rightly so.

are you suggesting that wilt didn't ASK to be put back in? is that what you're saying?

i can pull up a quote from lazeruss (jlauber) absolutely BLASTING van breda kolff......but go ahead and weep in your own ignorance.

[La Frescobaldi]

are you suggesting that wilt didn't ASK to be put back in? is that what you're saying?

i can pull up a quote from lazeruss (jlauber) absolutely BLASTING van breda kolff......but go ahead and weep in your own ignorance.

He did indeed ask to go back in after he blew his knee out. That's not the point.

Read it again.

[Kvnzhangyay]

Well technically EVERY championship is luck as the championship team was lucky that their key player(s) were not injured

[Glass Ankles]

2013 was partly Pop's fault, he took out Duncan, which enabled Bosh to get that easy rebound and pass to Allen. Ray is the greatest 3 point shooter of all time, and he had a good look, obviously there was a high chance that he makes it. On the other hand Bosh ISN'T one of the greatest rebounders of all time, so if Spurs just had Duncan in there to box out their chances of winning would go up significantly.

So it wasn't just random luck.

[mehyaM24]

He did indeed ask to go back in after he blew his knee out. That's not the point.

Read it again.
read what again? im not saying wilt specifically choked, but that most all time [bigs] would have capitalized in that situation. per jlauber, "the butcher" van kolff sabotaged wilt because they beefed.

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=354674&page=3

also not sure why you follow me into threads and repeatedly claim "i dont know what im talking about". are you intimidated by my presence?

[La Frescobaldi]

read what again? im not saying wilt specifically choked, but that most all time [bigs] would have capitalized in that situation. per jlauber, "the butcher" van kolff sabotaged wilt because they beefed.

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=354674&page=3

also not sure why you follow me into threads and repeatedly claim "i dont know what im talking about". are you intimidated by my presence?

Because this is exactly like I said - you don't know what happened in that game.

The guy injured his knee.
The coach had nothing to do with the injury.
How's he going to capitalize on anything with a jacked knee?
Any player wants to go back in a game - again, had nothing to do with it.
His knee gave out.

[mehyaM24]

Because this is exactly like I said - you don't know what happened in that game.

The guy injured his knee.
The coach had nothing to do with the injury.
How's he going to capitalize on anything with a jacked knee?
Any player wants to go back in a game - again, had nothing to do with it.
His knee gave out.
:lol

i have debated with jlauber on this particular subject for YEARS.

i am well aware of what happened (wilt said he was ready to go and russell himself chastised wilt for NOT finishing that game. i believe jlauber has continuously said wilt should/could have played) - of course this has nothing to do with the point i was getting across....

[La Frescobaldi]

:lol

i have debated with jlauber on this particular subject for YEARS.

i am well aware of what happened (wilt said he was ready to go and russell himself chastised wilt for NOT finishing that game. i believe jlauber has continuously said wilt should/could have played) - of course this has nothing to do with the point i was getting across....


1969 - fluke game 7 that ANY other ALL time great (center) would have capitalized in, against an OLD and depleted celtics team. wilt and his coach beefed and he ended up sitting late in the 4th quarter. :facepalm

Can't read it any other way. You said nothing about the injury.

[Rose'sACL]

parker hit that ridiculous shot in game 1 but i consider it skill even though it was tougher than ray's shot. i also consider it a skill to hit a 3 when you are a 3 point specialist and the only reason ray was in the league was because he could hit 3s.
wtf is wrong with this forum? about 5 secs were left after that shot tied the game followed by an OT.
I have not seen a single finals won by luck.

[La Frescobaldi]

parker hit that ridiculous shot in game 1 but i consider it skill even though it was tougher than ray's shot. i also consider it a skill to hit a 3 when you are a 3 point specialist and the only reason ray was in the league was because he could hit 3s.
wtf is wrong with this forum? about 5 secs were left after that shot tied the game followed by an OT.
I have not seen a single finals won by luck.

That's it right there man

game changers yeah.... but whole series?

[Fire Colangelo]

There's no such thing as luck in the NBA. Any NBA player can get hot at any given minute and make any shot. These guys don't make the NBA by luck.

[iamgine]

2005 Finals - Detroit abuses San Antonio the entire series... but in an amazing, fluke-like, completely anomalous circumstance, Robert Horry literally turns into Jordan for one quarter and COMPLETELY TAKES OVER THE 4TH QUARTER, to save the Spurs in a critical game 5, and shift momentum... here's Horry being Jordan for a quarter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZdik09RGJI

:facepalm

Oh yeah Detroit abuses San Antonio the entire series, which is why in game 1 & 2 The Spurs won by 15 and 20. I didn't know game 3 and 4 counted as "entire series"

And the quarters in game 5 were neck and neck all the way. Horry did get hot and bury his 3s but that's nothing too unusual for a spot up shooter. Danny Green did it too.

[sportjames23]

Three phaggits (mehya, kenneth, and G0atbe) have contaminated this thread already on the first page. :facepalm

[3ball]

Horry did get hot and bury his 3s but that's nothing too unusual for a spot up shooter. Danny Green did it too.



Ordinary for a spot up shooter eh... and Danny Green did this?... show me where he did... i swear you guys just talk out of your ass when you don't want to agree.


http://gifsforum.com/images_new/gif/other/grand/ed82ab9aecbc3d6506007af2ac49d4b1.gif

[Fire Colangelo]

Ordinary for a spot up shooter eh... and Danny Green did this?... show me where he did... i swear you guys just talk out of your ass just to disagree..


http://gifsforum.com/images_new/gif/other/grand/ed82ab9aecbc3d6506007af2ac49d4b1.gif

How's that luck?

Name one NBA forward that's not capable of doing that. :facepalm

[T_L_P]

One of the clutchest players of all time being clutch, on well-designed/executed plays.

[Spurs5Rings2014]

2005 Finals - Detroit abuses San Antonio the entire series... but in an amazing, fluke-like, completely anomalous circumstance, Robert Horry literally turns into Jordan for one quarter and COMPLETELY TAKES OVER THE 4TH QUARTER, to save the Spurs in a critical game 5, and shift momentum... here's Horry being Jordan for a quarter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZdik09RGJI

7/7 > 6/6

:no:

[oarabbus]

Ordinary for a spot up shooter eh... and Danny Green did this?... show me where he did... i swear you guys just talk out of your ass when you don't want to agree.


http://gifsforum.com/images_new/gif/other/grand/ed82ab9aecbc3d6506007af2ac49d4b1.gif


Yawn. :sleeping




http://gifsection.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Corey-Joseph-dunked-on-Serge-Ibaka-b.gif


http://gifsection.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Corey-Joseph-dunked-on-Serge-Ibaka-a.gif

Not the finals, but much more impressive.

[3ball]

How's that luck?

Name one NBA forward that's not capable of doing that. :facepalm
watch the vid again... he takes off from far as **** and he is using the opposite hand to dunk over someone and making them fall down.. vid below is queued to spot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZdik09RGJI&t=0m54s

tons of guys can't do that, especially in a crucial Finals game in crunch time... for example, lebron's never had a spectacular play like that in crunch time where he dunks over someone with the left hand and makes them fall down... let alone every PF being able to do it like you said.
.

[VengefulAngel]

watch the vid again... he takes off from far as **** and he is using the opposite hand to dunk over someone and making them fall down.. vid below is queued to spot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZdik09RGJI&t=0m54s

tons of guys can't do that, especially in a crucial Finals game in crunch time... for example, lebron's never had a spectacular play like that in crunch time, let alone "every PF" being able to do it like you said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZZasMfEMU

Not spectacular but a very important shot, to seal the chip.

[3ball]

guys can't do that, especially in a crucial Finals game in crunch time... for example, lebron's never had a spectacular play like that in crunch time where he dunks over someone with the left hand and makes them fall down... let alone every PF being able to do it like you said.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZZasMfEMU

Not spectacular but a very important shot, to seal the chip.
let me get this straight - i ask for someone to point me to a lebron left-handed dunk over someone in crunch time of a Finals game, and you post a jumpshot?

honestly, that's hilarious... typical bran stan.. :cheers:

[sportjames23]

7/7 > 6/6

:no:


HOFer >>>>>>> coattail rider on three squads. :no:

[StephHamann]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkcQnwynqOc

The Heat had a 15 point lead with 6 minutes left and Lebron sabotaged the Heat so that Wade would not win FMVP.

If the Heat are up 2-0 they win the series easily.

[riseagainst]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkcQnwynqOc

The Heat had a 15 point lead with 6 minutes left and Lebron sabotaged the Heat so that Wade would not win FMVP.

If the Heat are up 2-0 they win the series easily.

:lol

[ArbitraryWater]

Injuries happen, for **** sake, SHOTS, happen...

Generally the only "lucky" thing for me is when referee's blatantly alter the outcome of a series... asterisk alert.

Therefore: '88 finals, '06 finals


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkcQnwynqOc

The Heat had a 15 point lead with 6 minutes left and Lebron sabotaged the Heat so that Wade would not win FMVP.

If the Heat are up 2-0 they win the series easily.


You're a "Mavs fan" and think their 2011 title was luck?

foh

[Ne 1]

The '02 Lakers are as deserving as any other team listed in this thread. In the "real" NBA Finals that year, the WCF, they needed the miraculous Horry 3, a rigged Game 6, and the Kings missing half their free throws in Game 7 to win that series. It's arguably the luckiest series win in NBA history
Funny how Game 6 gets all the attention, when game 5 was arguably worse favoring the Kings.

[Ne 1]

Funny how Game 6 gets all the attention, when game 5 was arguably worse favoring the Kings.
People complain about free throws, but who on Sacramento played anywhere near as physical as Shaq or got to the line nearly as much? Who attacked the basket as much as Kobe on the Kings? Nobody. Webber settled for a lot jump shots for a power forward and Bibby and Peja both did a lot of their damage on jumpers while Divac was a finesse player.

In the series, Shaq averaged 9.9 FTA per game and played 41.1 mpg. Kobe averaged 7 FTA per game in the series and played 43.9 mpg. During the season, Shaq averaged 10.7 FTA in 36.1 mpg and Kobe averaged 7.4 FTA in 38.3 mpg.

Hm, so the series was rigged yet Shaq and Kobe attempted less free throws than usual despite a significant increase in minutes?

The Lakers averaged 26.1 FTA during the regular season, and that would be higher with Shaq playing 82 games instead of 67. The Kings averaged 26.3, but usually played at a much faster pace than the Lakers, and of course that becomes equal with both teams playing each other.

The Lakers averaged 26.4 FTA, which is right around their average(and probably lower than their average when Shaq played). The Kings averaged 29.1 FTA, easily topping their season average, and the biggest free throw disparity was not in game 6, but actually in game 3 when the Kings attempted 20 more free throws than the Lakers.

Alright, so the series was rigged in the Lakers favor, yet there was a game on the Lakers homecourt when the Kings had 20 more free attempts than they did? And the Kings attempted significantly more free throws than the Lakers in the series?

The only evidence people even have that the game was somehow "fixed" is that the Lakers took 40 free throws to 25 for the Kings.

That's true, but let's extract the six that came from intentional fouls so it's now 34 to 25. And having watched this game all the way through twice with many plays reviewed over and over, there was a clear difference in aggressiveness between the two teams. The Lakers were incessantly taking the ball into the paint and to the basket, while the Kings took more outside shots. That's not to say there weren't some bad calls but the free throw discrepancy doesn't surprise me.

[SouBeachTalents]

Funny how Game 6 gets all the attention, when game 5 was arguably worse favoring the Kings.

4th quarter of Game 6, tied at 75 after the 3rd

Free throw attempts

Lakers: 27
Kings: 9

[Ne 1]

4th quarter of Game 6, tied at 75 after the 3rd

Free throw attempts

Lakers: 27
Kings: 9
This isn't proof of the game being "rigged." http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=233197

[guy]

There's no such thing as luck in the NBA. Any NBA player can get hot at any given minute and make any shot. These guys don't make the NBA by luck.

This. Even the Ray Allen shot wasn't luck. What it does mean is that the 2013 Heat are probably the closest team to losing a championship without actually losing it.