The Brooklyn Nets will look to avoid elimination on Monday against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of their first-round matchup.
The Nets will seemingly need a miracle in the series to come back, and they may just get one with the officiating crew being announced earlier today. The referees for Monday’s game will be Scott Foster, Sean Wright, and Brian Forte, according to Spotrac’s Keith Smith.
Officials for Celtics-Nets Game 4:
Scott Foster
Sean Wright
Brian ForteDo with this information what you will.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) April 25, 2022
While many would assume officials are not there to determine the direct outcome of a game, there are some shocking statistics that may raise some eyebrows.
It may be a coincidence, but in the last 21 non-Game One playoff games where Foster has been an official, the team that is behind in the playoff series is 19-2.
This has many around the NBA world believing that the Nets could be in a prime situation to win on Monday night.
Scott Foster coming in to Barclays w a sweep on the line pic.twitter.com/aQSspsKH0w
— PFT Commenter (@PFTCommenter) April 25, 2022
The #Celtics have Scott Foster tonight. You didn't think it'd be easy, did you?
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) April 25, 2022
Hi, I need to kind of stress this: no one benefits from a Foster game. It’s just chaos. Maybe your opponent gets screwed. Maybe it’s you. Maybe it’s Chris Paul.
OK, sorry, it’s always Chris Paul.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT https://t.co/SrNjTZjoWc
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) April 25, 2022
“Yeah, so we are going to need Scott Foster for Game 4” pic.twitter.com/jRqL7CxuUc
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) April 25, 2022
🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️ Scott Foster helped the Raptors win Game 4 & now will try to help the Nets win Game 4 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️ https://t.co/euOQkooTkY
— Drew Hanlen (@DrewHanlen) April 25, 2022
One of Foster’s biggest critics over the years has been Chris Paul, who has an even more shocking statistic going against him in playoff games that Foster has officiated.
Paul has yet to win a playoff game in his career that Foster has been a referee in, with an 0-14 record over his 17-year career.
THE STREAK CONTINUES! 14-0!
Chris Paul has now lost 14 straight playoff games when Scott Foster is officiating 🤯 pic.twitter.com/T153s0Oy0b
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 20, 2022
While this could be a coincidence, it is still quite shocking that so many around the NBA world can easily point out that Foster has such drastic trends against certain teams or individuals.
Paul is also far from the only critic amongst NBA players that Foster has. Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid was fined on Monday for his criticism of the officiating team led by Foster during their Game 4-matchup against the Toronto Raptors.
The Nets will have to take it one game at a time to come back and make this a competitive series, but Foster’s history certainly has to be one of the few positives going in their favor.