Scott Foster Named Crew Chief for NBA Finals Game 5 and Everyone Reacted the Same Way
The NBA announced its officiating crew for Game 5 of the Finals on Saturday morning, and the entire basketball internet had the same reaction within minutes.
Scott Foster was named crew chief. The Knicks are up 3-1. And the running gag online is that the league just told San Antonio to make sure there is a Game 6.
Foster’s nickname in NBA Twitter circles is “The Extender.” The theory is that underdogs in playoff series tend to win the games he officiates, conveniently extending series that the league would prefer to extend for ratings reasons. The actual statistical evidence for this is shaky to nonexistent. The reputation is locked in.
The Online Reaction
The jokes started flying the moment Bleacher Report posted the assignment.
“Adam Silver has made a boss call for the Spurs. Scott Foster aka THE EXTENDER is here.”
“Scott Foster legacy game tonight.”
“Spurs about to make it a series.”
That kind of post was everywhere. It does not matter if it is fair or unfair. The reputation is the story now, and the league knows it. Assigning Foster to a potential closeout game in San Antonio with the Spurs down 3-1 is going to look bad to a percentage of fans no matter what happens.
What the Actual Data Says
The Knicks have not lost any of the three games Foster has worked during this postseason. He did make one notable call against them earlier in the series that drew complaints, but New York has not had a losing record on his crew.
Ironically, the Knicks were among the supposed beneficiaries of Foster’s “Extender” status during last year’s playoff run against the Pacers. The same theory that has Spurs fans grinning today is the one Knicks fans were laughing about a year ago.
That is the nature of these patterns. They get cherry-picked. People remember the games that fit the theory and forget the ones that do not. Foster has worked thousands of NBA games. Some of them have had close calls that went the wrong way for star teams. Some have not. Selection bias does most of the heavy lifting on his reputation.
What It Could Actually Mean for Game 5
The bigger story for the Spurs has nothing to do with the referees. They are down 3-1 in their building. Victor Wembanyama is dealing with off-court noise. The Knicks have controlled every fourth quarter. The Spurs have made the kind of mental mistakes that lose Finals series.
If San Antonio extends the series, Foster will get credit and blame in equal measure depending on which side of the country you are sitting on. If New York closes it out, the conversation will move to the celebration and Foster’s assignment will be a footnote.
One thing is certain. Every whistle that goes against the Knicks tonight is going to set the timeline on fire. Every call that goes against the Spurs is going to get clipped and posted as a counterpoint. NBA officiating is the one part of the sport where every viewer believes they are an expert.
Foster is going to work this game the same way he works every game. The outcome will say more about how New York’s defense holds up against a desperate Spurs team than it will about who is wearing the gray shirt.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
