This orchestration goes beyond a case of “referee/league official ineptitude.” The San Antonio Spurs faced a great deal of that these playoffs, but human error is excusable. We all make mistakes; nobody’s perfect.
What’s truly depressing is when acts initiated by the league appear to have ulterior motives, and fans are essentially held captive, not wanting to turn away from a sport they enjoy.
I don’t walk around my house with a tinfoil hat. I wrote recently that skeptics who believe that the NBA Draft is rigged are off base, and proceeded to go through the facts that make any claim of fixed lottery drawing not plausible.