Earlier today before Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the NBA revealed an interesting change of plans that many onlookers have found quite peculiar.
An official announcement was made by the league on Monday stating that Danny Crawford, Mike Callahan, and Jason Phillips will officiate tonight's game between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The notable absence is Scott Foster.
For casual fans, this probably doesn't hold any significance, but when you take a closer look, it means a lot.
It should've been Foster within the NBA's usual referee cycle, but the league office decided to go against it. So why does it matter?
The Warriors and their fans have made a number of complaints about Foster in the past, and Redditor [Kawakami] found that the Warriors played much worse in games in which Foster was officiating.
Is there a correlation between the Warriors' poor play and the calls Foster is making, or are they complaining more because they're playing poorly? The Warriors faithful would argue for the latter.
Before conspiracy theorists call for the heads of the NBA, claiming that they're trying to give this series to Golden State with the change, it should be noted that a Los Angeles Times poll of players and coaches voted Foster as the worst ref in the league. The most likely reason for the decision is that, in general, Crawford is viewed as a better official than Foster.
That won't stop people from questioning the decision.
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