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[FLCeltsFan]

Today's Referees are:

Joey Crawford
Overall Home Team W/L 41/33
Playoff Home Team Win % 75%
Fouls called per game 49.3
Foul % Called on Home Team 47.3
Road Team Techs/game 1.1
Home Team Techs/game 1.3

Crawford has been officiating games since 1977 and has officiated more play-off games (266+) and NBA Finals Games (38+) than any other active referee. Crawford officiated 3 of the Celtics games so far in the playoffs with mixed results. Game 5 of the Cleveland series was very well officiated and the Celtics won it. However, his second game was game 5 of the Orlando series, which was one of the worst officiated games of the playoffs. Watch game 5 again and you will see a host of missed and blown calls that give Orlando the edge. He also called game 1 of the Finals, which was too tightly called but was called in LA's favor with almost every Celtics player in early foul trouble. He also officiated game 5 of the Finals in Boston, which the Celtics won but in which the Lakers had a 26-13 free throw advantage. Crawford can be a good ref and he can also lose his cool if challenged.

Dan Crawford
Home Team W/L 46-34
Home Team Win % in playoffs 55%
Calls 44 fouls per game
45.4% of fouls are called on the home team
.8 techs called on the road team,
.9 Techs called on the home team

Crawford has officiated 1,600+ regular season games, 190+ play-off games and 18 NBA Finals games. Prior to the NBA, Crawford officiated in high school for 12 years, 8 years at the collegiate level (MVC and CCAC) and 4 years in the CBA (NBA development league). Crawford is a long time Chicago resident and was involved in a bit of controversy when he officiated a game in the Bulls series last year and then was seen exiting the arena with family members all decked out in Bulls gear. This post season, he called game 2 in Cleveland and Game 1 in Orlando, both Celtic wins and game 3 of the Finals, which the Celtics lost but which was evenly called.

Scott Foster
Home Team W/L 47/34
Home Team Playoff Win % 60%
Calls 46 fouls/game
46.4% of fouls called on Home Team
.7 T's called on road Team
1 T called on home team

Foster has officiated over 720+ regular season games and 25+ play-off games. Foster has 2 years officiating experience in the CBA. Prior to becoming an official, Foster modeled for department store mannequin mold makers. He came into the public eye as the best friend of former referee Tim Donaghy. In his book, Donaghy describes Foster as a very honest and good guy who knew nothing of his gambling. However, recently Donaghy described Foster as a company man who will do what is asked of him to keep his seniority among refs. He hasn't given the Celtics any big problems with bad calls that I recall. He officiated Game 5 in Miami and game 4 of the Finals, both of which the Celtics won and game 4 in Orlando, which the Celtics lost.

These are 3 experienced and for the most part good refs. Hopefully they will call the game fair and let them play. It's game 7 and there won't be any talk of trying to extend the series so hopefully the players will be the story in this game and not the refs.

[Chris]

Great job league.  That is a great group, and they will let the players decide the series.  Well done.  Now they have set the table for a great game 7, and it is up to the players to deliver.

[hpantazo]

we dodged a huge bullet in not having Salvatore and Kennedy. Great news!

[jdpapa3]

Wow, Joey Crawford's 3rd game of the Finals. I don't remember that happening before, but I'll take him over Salvatore any day of the week! Great to see no Bill Kennedy as well.

[Drucci]

Still don't like Joey Crawford in such a game... but we avoided Kennedy so that's huge, and also it seems like it's a good crew so we will see. Let's hope they let both teams play.

[Chris]

Still don't like Joey Crawford in such a game... but we avoided Kennedy so that's huge, and also it seems like it's a good crew so we will see. Let's hope they let both teams play.

Crawford can get emotional at times, and it can affect him with calling T's, but other than that, there is no more qualified ref in the league.  In general he calls games very evenly and fairly.  You just can't get in his face.  That is on the players to know that, and keep their heads. 

[Kwhit10]

Hopefully Joey sets a tone of letting them play like he did in Game 5.

[vinnie]

Hmmmm. All the conspiracy theorists were sure that Salvatore was reffing this game. There is no conspiracy.

[Chris]

Hmmmm. All the conspiracy theorists were sure that Salvatore was reffing this game. There is no conspiracy.

I don't buy any conspiracy for game 7.  It doesn't make sense for the league.  While it makes a lot of sense to try to force a game 7, because of the revenue, they cannot afford to even have the slightest hint of favoritism in game 7.  There is way too much of a spotlight on the refs already, and this is their chance to say "our refs are not biased, just look at the clinching game".

[jdpapa3]

Hmmmm. All the conspiracy theorists were sure that Salvatore was reffing this game. There is no conspiracy.

This doesn't add up. You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to think Salvatore or Kennedy would have been on this game. Only a small amount of referees do the Finals and a lot of us just believed that their numbers were due to be called.

If anything, this plays more into the conspiracy, imo, because Donald Sterns is not putting them on these last 2 games. Seems they just want to put their best crew and avoid the drama.

[GranTur]

If it was Bill Kennedy Kobe could have gotten away with murder.

[vinnie]

Hmmmm. All the conspiracy theorists were sure that Salvatore was reffing this game. There is no conspiracy.

This doesn't add up. You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to think Salvatore or Kennedy would have been on this game. Only a small amount of referees do the Finals and a lot of us just believed that their numbers were due to be called.

If anything, this plays more into the conspiracy, imo, because Donald Sterns is not putting them on these last 2 games. Seems they just want to put their best crew and avoid the drama.

TP and +1 for "Donald Sterns"

[Spilling Green Dye]

I can't complain too much about these refs.  I personally feel that Joey Crawford is the one ref who doesn't fall for flops / head bobs too much.  Also, Joey is the anti-Bavetta, in that he thrives negatively off of the home-crowd.  He has no problem p---ing the home crowed off, so hopefully he does that.

I actually felt that game 3 was the worst ref'd game in the series.  Yes, the Celtics blew the game too, but the refereeing was atrocious.  They missed a ton of obvious fouls committed by LA, and stamped out any momentum that the Celtics could have had.

Still, I'm very nervous about this game, and hope that after every shot the Celtics flail their arms and scream murder... it seems to work.  And right now, I'm down with anything that works.

[FallGuy]

Great crew for a game 7. Couldn't be happier with Joey Crawford. The Laker crowd won't trick him into calling fake fouls.

[action781]

I've never remembered this play until random youtube browsing just now.  Note the score, time, and quarter in the game.  Holy...



What do you do in that situation if you're Crawford there? (forgetting for the moment the refs' agenda in 2006).  I don't believe it looked like a foul on Chauncey.  The ref is legally part of the court, so is it just out of bounds on Jones followed by an apology?