Officiating was already a huge storyline after the Golden State Warriors’ Game 1 win over the Houston Rockets in the second-round series of the NBA Playoffs. And the NBA acknowledged that the referees made three incorrect calls in the final 1:10 of that matchup.
After Houston’s 104-100 loss, James Harden said he just wants “fair chance” from the referees, but getting dealt archenemy official Scott Foster for Game 2 almost definitely isn’t what he was thinking. (However, the league didn’t do this on purpose or in response.)
Foster and the Rockets have history, and following the last game of theirs he officiated in February, Harden called Foster “rude and arrogant” and added, via ESPN: “For sure, it’s personal. For sure. I don’t think he should be able to even officiate our games anymore, honestly.”
Last season, Houston also lost the three Western Conference Finals games Foster officiated.
So needless to say, when it was confirmed that Foster will be on the court for Game 2 of the Rockets-Warriors series at Oracle Arena, NBA fans had jokes. And it turned out to be different versions of the exact same one.
