The Los Angeles Lakers host the Golden State Warriors on Monday night in what is the most pivotal game of this Western Conference semi-finals series so far. With a 2-1 lead, the Lakers have the ability to put Golden State in a massive hole with a 3-1 deficit.
However, a win for the Warriors would swing home-court advantage back in their favor. The series would essentially turn into a best two out of three with two of the games being played at Golden State. With the Warriors’ awful road record, and the Lakers having the best home-court advantage in the playoffs, that is a big deal.
In the most imperative game of the series thus far the NBA has deployed one of its most controversial referees. Long-time veteran Scott Foster will be calling the shots in Game 4 and it could have huge implications.
Scott Foster is the Crew Chief for tonight’s Lakers-Warriors game pic.twitter.com/CJN8jHKkhv
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 8, 2023
Foster is disliked by NBA fans for how his officiating can oftentimes take over games. He is not shy to whistle in a foul and as Paul Pierce once explained, is one of the quickest referees to get a technical to arguing players. All that being said, this is something that Lakers fans should be embracing.
Lakers benefit far more from Scott Foster refereeing Game 4 than Warriors.
Of course, anything can happen on Monday night and past results do not guarantee that a future result will happen. That being said, the Lakers have done far better when Foster is the referee than the Warriors have this season.
Los Angeles went 4-1 in games that Foster refereed during the regular season while the Warriors went 1-3. It is a small sample size, sure, but this is indicative of the bigger picture (which we have already seen in this series).
All season long the Lakers were one of the best teams in the league in getting to the free-throw line and that is made easier having someone like Foster call the game. Meanwhile, the Warriors are a team that does not get to the line as often, which has caused a big free-throw discrepancy in the Lakers’ wins in this series.
That discrepancy is likely going to grow with Foster. Plus, the Warriors are not a team that takes questionable foul calls very well, especially with Draymond Green. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Green in early foul trouble in this game if Foster is doing his usual schtick.
Los Angeles needs to realize who is officiating this game and needs to attack the Warriors, draw fouls and get the team in early foul trouble. That alone can be enough to win this pivotal Game 4 before heading back to the Bay Area.