Tag: Scott Foster

NBA referee Scott Foster trolled LeBron James and the Lakers while reviewing this blocked shot

Scott Foster definitely could have worded this in a different way.

During the first half on Christmas Day between the Lakers and the Celtics, crew chief Scott Foster reviewed a block by LeBron James.

The review happened after a challenge from Lakers head coach Darvin Ham. After the officials reached a conclusion to share with the crowd, Foster read a decision aloud.

At first, it seemed like the home fans in Los Angeles were about to receive good news about Ham’s decision to challenge the call. As he continued his announcement, however, Foster made it clear that this wasn’t the case.

Here is what Foster said when he was on the microphone:

“After review, it was a good block by LeBron James. However … oh, you’re not going to like this. However, just prior to the block by LeBron James, Taurean Prince made contact with the right arm of Tatum causing him to lose the ball. Therefore, it’s a foul on Tatum.”

That means that while James’ chase-down block was clean and the challenge was ruled successful, Tatum was fouled by Prince on the possession.

You can watch the sequence of events unfold right here:

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NBA Twitter reacts to Scott Foster ejecting Warriors’ Chris Paul vs. Suns

The NBA community on Twitter exploded with reactions on Wednesday after Chris Paul was ejected after an exchange with Scott Foster.

Chris Paul has had a long-standing and noted rivalry with veteran NBA official Scott Foster. Wednesday marked the first feud between the two since Paul joined the Golden State Warriors.

Since the first quarter of Wednesday’s game between the Warriors and Phoenix Suns, Paul appeared aggravated by a few calls from Foster. The back and forth between the two escalated after Foster called a foul on Paul while defending Kevin Durant.

Paul began talking with the lead official. However, Foster then issued Paul a technical. Despite receiving a tech, Paul showed no signs of slowing down. Paul continued jawing at Foster and picked up a second technical foul, causing an ejection from the game.

Steve Kerr came to Paul’s defense, but earned a technical foul from Foster of his own.

Following Paul’s ejection, the NBA community on Twitter exploded with a flurry of reactions. Here’s a look at what fans and analysts were saying on Wednesday night on Twitter about Paul and Foster.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

Warriors’ Chris Paul ejected after exchange with official Scott Foster in second quarter vs. Suns

The veteran point guard was ejected on Wednesday against the Suns for the seventh time in his career.

One of the league’s most storied rivalries added another level on Wednesday night when the Golden State Warriors made a trip to the desert for a contest against the Phoenix Suns.

Chris Paul and longtime NBA referee Scott Foster have a history, and tempers flared between the two on Wednesday night in Phoenix. After Paul and Foster traded words throughout the start of the game after a few whistles, things heated up in the second quarter.

After Paul was called for a foul on Kevin Durant, the veteran point guard appeared frustrated with the call. After a back and forth between the official and guard, Foster issued a technical to Paul.

With things getting heated, Paul showed no signs of slowing down in his exchange with Foster. The official then quickly charged Paul with another technical, resulting in an ejection.

Steve Kerr then came to his point guards defense, earning a technical from Foster as well.

Via @NBCSWarriors on Twitter:

Wednesday marked Paul’s seventh career ejection.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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NBA fans think ref David Guthrie encouraged the Nuggets to challenge a late controversial call

The challenge was unsuccessful.

During the fourth quarter of a competitive NBA Finals Game 5 match between the Nuggets and the Heat, something unusual happened.

Miami’s Jimmy Butler kicked his leg out on a 3-point attempt and on the possession, Denver’s Aaron Gordon was called for a foul. This was a bit of a surprising call, but even more shocking was that in the immediate aftermath, ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy noticed something you don’t see very often.

Van Gundy says that he saw NBA referee David Guthrie encourage Nuggets head coach Mike Malone to challenge the call on the field that was made by the officials.

Yet after the replay review, the call was not actually overturned.

The video replay was reviewed by NBA referee Scott Foster.

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NBA fans couldn’t believe ref Scott Foster ignored Dennis Schröder’s blatant carry right in front of him

Why did Foster just completely ignore this???

By now, NBA referee Scott Foster has a built-in (and conspiratorial) reputation for swinging big playoff games. At the very least, even if some of his calls aren’t intentional, he’s well-known to fans for mostly the wrong reasons as an official.

One moment stands out in particular from Foster’s latest work — Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday night. Even while Jamal Murray’s Denver Nuggets eventually prevailed to take a 3-0 series lead, there was an instance with Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schröder that made it seem like Foster was seemingly invested in an L.A. victory.

Late in the first half, Schröder dribbled the ball up the court right next to Foster, who was running down the sideline. Sorry, scratch that, Schröder noticeably carried the ball while having a conversation (!) with Foster.

As I’m sure you can guess, Foster didn’t make any call on the play with Schröder. And I’m not sure why:

Honestly, I know officials in sports miss calls all the time, and it can be impossible to nail down perfectly. It’s part of the deal with the human element. But, for the life of me, I can’t explain why Foster didn’t call Schröder for a carry, travel, whatever. He was literally looking right at him and talking to him.

I guess Foster just decided the fundamental rules of basketball were OK to break at that specific moment, and it boggles the mind. At least this one missed call didn’t end up costing the Nuggets dearly.

NBA fans crushed ref Scott Foster after he T’d up Jaylen Brown despite Georges Niang grabbing him

The NBA’s worst ref continued to be bad.

You know referees do their job well when fans don’t know their names. Scott Foster is not one of those referees.

When fans saw Foster’s name on the officiating crew for Sunday’s Game 7 between the Sixers and Celtics, controversy seemed inevitable. Foster has a habit of taking over games and missing the simplest of calls in the process. Yet, the NBA continues to give the longtime official marquee assignments.

After all, few officials would handle the incident between Georges Niang and Jaylen Brown worse than Foster.

During the first half, Brown leaped towards the Sixers bench as he successfully saved a long rebound. Brown then turned and had some words for the Sixers, but that was because Niang grabbed Brown’s leg.

Rather than hit Niang with a technical (or a possible ejection) and send the Celtics to the line, Foster called technicals on both Brown and Niang. He essentially punished Brown for being upset about a bench player grabbing his leg. It made no sense. In a close game, the Celtics could have used that point. But with a double technical, neither team gets to shoot free throws.

Fans weren’t pleased with how Foster handled the situation either.

NBA fans celebrated Chris Paul ending the Scott Foster ref curse with all the jokes

THE STREAK IS OVER!!

THE STREAK IS OVER!

We’re talking about one of the weirder streaks in sports: For 13 straight games, Chris Paul lost when NBA referee Scott Foster was officiating. Why? Who knows? Sports are weird!

But there’s history there between the two (and fans are well aware as we saw on Twitter before the game). And on Tuesday night, CP3’s Phoenix Suns took down the Los Angeles Clippers 123-109 in Game 2 of their first-round series.

The funny punchline here: When asked about Foster and the connection there, Paul said he hadn’t noticed. Was he joking? Maybe.

Check out some highlights and the jokes all the NBA fans made:

NBA fans thought it was a hilarious after a checkmarked Scott Foster parody wished Chris Paul good luck

One NBA fan out there had $8 to spend.

Under Twitter’s new ownership led by Elon Musk, any person who is willing to dish out $8 a month gets a blue checkmark on their account without any actual verification. When that new “feature” of Twitter Blue was announced, we saw dozens of verified parody accounts emerge and actually impact markets.

Some of those Twitter Blue-checked parody accounts are still out there, and one in particular saved its best work ahead of Tuesday’s Clippers-Suns Game 2 in Phoenix.

Those familiar with longtime NBA referee Scott Foster’s career know that he’s basically Chris Paul’s arch nemesis. Whether intentional or not, Foster’s assignment in a Chris Paul playoff game almost always means a loss for CP3. Paul’s teams are 2-17 in playoff games that Foster works, and Paul has lost 13 straight such playoff games.

So, ahead of Game 2, we got this message from a Scott Foster parody account (with a blue checkmark).

Looking beyond how asinine it is for parody accounts to have verified badges, that was pretty funny.

Those who realized that the tweet didn’t come from the real Scott Foster thought the tweet was hilarious as well.

The Raptors’ Scottie Barnes was so confused by Scott Foster’s ejection for talking to himself

Yet another controversy from referee Scott Foster!

It’s kind of been a rough season for the Toronto Raptors. At 32-34, Toronto is on the outside looking in on the Eastern Conference Playoff standings. And after a hard-fought lost battle against the Denver Nuggets Monday night, a strange year just got even more frustrating for Scottie Barnes.

As the final seconds wound down in a 114-113 game, a foul was called on the Raptors. Barnes understandably took exception to this call, but not loudly. Enter infamous official Scott Foster. A man, who, in some NBA circles, needs no introduction.

Foster would eject Barnes for his whispering commentary, giving the confused Raptors’ forward the first ejection of his career. Toronto would lose 118-113.

But wait, did what Barnes said really warrant an ejection?

Because even one of the other officials was perplexed by Foster’s decision:

In the post-game, the 2022 Rookie of the Year would explain he was simply quietly talking to himself. Foster apparently heard Barnes’ criticisms under his breath and was still having none of his “questioning of integrity.”

And I mean, c’mon:

It’s one thing to rip the officiating crew to their face directly. Of course, they’ll take exception to such critique. It’s another if, as Barnes professes, to eject players for just talking to themselves under their breath.

The Raptors already had to endure a stinging defeat to the Western Conference-leading Nuggets. Barnes’ controversial ejection for apparently talking to himself is salt in the wound.