Of course.
The Houston Rockets made a big stink about the ficiating following their Game 1 loss to the Golden State Warriors, which makes it even more noteworthy that veteran referee, Scott Foster, will be a member the Game 2 ficiating crew. NBA fans will surely remember the Rockets made their opinion Foster quite clear earlier this season.
After a February loss to the Los Angeles Clippers both James Harden and Chris Paul were vocal about how much they dislike Foster, with Harden telling reporters, “I don’t think he should be able to even ficiate our games anymore, honestly.” Harden was ultimately fined $25,000 for his remarks.
It’s worth noting that the league determines referee assignments in the playfs for the first four games every series before the series ever starts, so it’s not like the NBA specifically selected Foster in response to Game 1.
That said, given the narrative heading into Game 2 – Foster’s presence on the court is significant.
The league’s two-minute report from Sunday’s Houston Rockets vs Golden State Warriors Game 1 showed that there were three incorrect calls down the stretch, all which benefitted Golden State. However, the league determined that ficials were correct in not calling a foul against Draymond Green when Harden took the potential game-tying three pointer.
In wake the Game 1 drama, The Athletic’s Sam Amick revealed that the Rockets truly believe ficials have been favoring the Warriors for years, and the team has actually been “making a date-driven case” to support their claims. Houston maintains that refs missed a total 81 calls during Game 7 last year’s Western Conference Finals.
Game 2 at Oracle Arena is scheduled to tipf at 10:30pm ET, airing on TNT.