For You People That Think The NBA Is Fixed.....

Here is the ref assignments for Game Three Tonight. The last time I posted the refs ahead of the game was the Joey Crawford non-call on Derek Fisher when he fouled (or didn't foul) Brent Barry in Game Six of the Western Conference Finals. Hey, well lookie here! Via Boston.com....

Official 1: Joey Crawford

In April 2007, NBA commissioner David Stern suspended Crawford for his conduct toward the Spurs' Tim Duncan. Crawford ejected Duncan from San Antonio's loss to the Mavericks after calling a second technical foul on the Spurs star while he was laughing on the bench. Duncan contended that Crawford challenged him to a fight.

The Celtics are 2-1 in '08 postseason games in which Crawford was part of the officiating crew.

Official 2: Bennett Salvatore

Salvatore made a controversial call against Celtics captain Paul Pierce late in the third quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, when Pierce pumped faked Rodney Stuckey, leaned in, and hit a long three-pointer. But Salvatore called a charge on Pierce and a potential four-point play turned into a Detroit possession.

The Celtics are 3-2 in '08 postseason games in which Salvatore was part of the officiating crew.

Official 3: Mark Wunderlich

Wonderlich, along with Crawford and Joe Forte, was part of the three-man crew that did not call of foul on Lakers guard Derek Fisher for banging into San Antonio's Brent Barry on the final play of the Spurs' 93-91 loss in Game of Game 4 in the Western Conference finals. The NBA later admitted that it appears a foul should have been called on Fisher.

Obviously since this comes from Boston.com the article is writing in regards to them, but it never ceases to amaze me how David Stern puts the most controversial refs in some of the most important Playoff games. Not only is Joey Crawford involved but if you need a home team to win a game there's no better ref to choose than Bennett Salvatore. From a Bill Simmons column back in June of 2006.....

"I don't think the NBA fixes games, but they have one trick that they use for situations like this -- when they want a home team to win the game, they invariably assign the worst referees possible to that game for two reasons: Bad referees have a tendency to get swayed by the home crowd, and bad referees never have the stones to make a tough call on the road.

Then I went on to list the worst six referees. Here was No. 2 on the list:

"2. Bennett Salvatore -- Always one of the worst, he took it to another level this season. If you see him on the court at the start of the game, get ready for about six technicals, two near-brawls and both coaches having to be restrained by their assistants at various times."

Dunh! Dunh! Dunh!

Referee assignments for tonight (Boston.com)