The NBA has been pretty hands off so far in the playoffs in terms of rigging, because the already scripted and pre-determined end game of Cavs-Warriors final with Cavs winning is still in tact and doesn't need much rigging to achieve.
However the NBA has been poll testing a hypothetical Heat-Cavs Eastern finals series and realizes how much more eyeballs and $$$ this would bring in compared to Raptors-Cavs.
While a healthy Cavs-Warriors final would be a golden cow for the NBA, a Heat-Cavs ECF with LeBron facing his old team would be a good warmup act for the NBA Finals. NBA knows this so they very may as well issue a full rig order to make sure the Heat move on and beat the Raptors.
I think they will be hands off in Game 4, but Game 5 we will know if the rig order has been green lighted.
However the NBA has been poll testing a hypothetical Heat-Cavs Eastern finals series and realizes how much more eyeballs and $$$ this would bring in compared to Raptors-Cavs.
While a healthy Cavs-Warriors final would be a golden cow for the NBA, a Heat-Cavs ECF with LeBron facing his old team would be a good warmup act for the NBA Finals. NBA knows this so they very may as well issue a full rig order to make sure the Heat move on and beat the Raptors.
I think they will be hands off in Game 4, but Game 5 we will know if the rig order has been green lighted.