Nothing much new this time with Donaghy's accusations
Here's a prediction: Disgraced referee Tim Donaghy's next revelation in court will be that referee Hue Hollins called the phantom foul on Scottie Pippen during the 1994 NBA playoffs because Spike Lee promised a lead role in one of his films if the Knicks won the series.
Donaghy made a few headlines last week with some mundane accusations. No specific teams were mentioned in court filings, but it was obvious he claimed that some "company men" referees helped create a Game 7 in the Lakers-Kings Western Conference finals in 2002.
Another insightful claim was that referees conspired to keep star players out of foul trouble. He also appeared to mention how Dallas was complaining to the league office about screens set by Houston's Yao Ming in the 2005 playoffs, which was widely reported at the time.
What should we take from all this? Probably that Donaghy doesn't have any real proof of corruption among NBA referees, because he's telling stories that were already common knowledge among NBA observers.
Game 6 of the Kings-Lakers series has been infamous since the night it happened, because the Lakers, trailing 3-2 in the series, were given a 27-9 edge in free-throw attempts during the fourth quarter. It will always be suspicious, since the officiating favored the large-market team against the small-market team.
That's not to say referees decided the series. Sacramento had plenty of chances to win Game 4, which was decided on Robert Horry's shot at the buzzer, and also Game 7 at Arco Arena.
I didn't happen to watch the controversial Kings-Lakers Game 6, but have seen other examples where it looked like the officiating may have favored the larger markets. The 2004 Western finals between the Lakers and Minnesota comes to mind, as does the Philadelphia-Milwaukee Eastern finals in 2001. The Derek Fisher no-call against Brent Barry in this year's conference finals is another questionable play.
This issue was already dogging the NBA. Donaghy's claims don't really change anything, because he seems to be throwing whatever he can out there to decrease his jail time.
The league needs to demonstrate consistently that it doesn't care whether the NBA Finals take place in Los Angeles or Memphis.
There is still a long way to go on that end. All season long, we read about how much the league and its television networks craved a Lakers-Celtics Finals. Once that dream came true, press releases have been distributed after every game trumpeting how much ratings have grown compared to last year's San Antonio-Cleveland Finals.
Face it, anything would top the dreadfully dull Spurs-Cavs series. LeBron James will do little to jack up television ratings as long as the Cavaliers walk the ball up the court, then stand around and watch James dribble out the shot clock on the majority of possessions.
The best way to avoid chatter that the league plays favorites is to concentrate on improving the product. Ask why the playoffs are so entertaining in the first round and why the games tend to evolve into physical, defensive-minded bores when the Finals arrive.
Except for a couple of big comebacks, the current Finals haven't been very compelling. It's been odd how the usually superstar-friendly officials have looked the other way while the Lakers' Kobe Bryant gets bumped all over the court by Boston's aggressive defense.
For the past several years, the NBA has tried to promote higher-scoring games during the regular season and succeeded. So stop swallowing the whistles when the playoffs heat up.
If the league could find a way to bring the Warriors-Mavericks series from last season to the Finals, people would tune in. Entertainment will trump location every time.
Workout wonders
During the Orlando predraft camp, Derrick Rose was reportedly timed at 3.05 in the three-quarter court sprint and his maximum vertical leap measured 40 inches. The Web site
DraftExpress.com keeps a database of predraft measurements for the past several years.
Among first-round draft picks since 2003, Rose matched the best sprint time, though it wasn't as good as Eric Gordon's 3.01 this year. Also, the figures aren't quite complete. There are no sprint numbers listed for anyone in 2004 and nothing for LeBron James in 2003.
But it is safe to say Rose is one of the fastest players to come out of college this decade. Note the surprise appearance of a current Bulls player in the list of fastest first-round sprinters:
Best three-quarter court sprint, 2003-07
Joey Graham, 2005 3.05
Rodney Carney, 2006 3.06
Raymond Felton, 2005 3.06
Dwyane Wade, 2003 3.08
Mike Conley, 2007 3.09
Kirk Hinrich, 2003 3.10
Rodney Stuckey, 2007 3.11
Rashad McCants, 2005 3.11
Source: DraftExpress.com
Rookie jump start
Smaller players have been the best predraft camp jumpers recently, led by the 5-foot-9 Nate Robinson. The highest measured verticals of players standing 6-8 or taller since 2003 are Rudy Gay's 40.5, followed by Tyrus Thomas and Josh Smith at 39.5.
Best maximum vertical jump, 2003-07
Nate Robinson, 2004 43.5
Jordan Farmar, 2006 42.0
Al Thornton, 2007 41.0
Ronnie Brewer, 2006 41.0
Troy Bell, 2003 41.0
Source: DraftExpress.com
Beasley measures up
In the interest of full disclosure, Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley, the other top prospect in this year's draft, had a maximum vertical leap of 35 inches and a three-quarter court sprint of 3.24 at the Orlando predraft camp, according to DraftExpress.com.
Two players stood out this year: 6-8 West Virginia forward Joe Alexander, who ran the three-quarter sprint in 2.99 seconds and had a max vertical of 38.5 inches, and 6-6 Arkansas forward Sonny Weems, who ran the sprint in 2.96 seconds.