Miami Heat face tough game against Knicks, Scott Foster

Miami hasn't won a game that Foster's worked since January 12, 2022. He got the assignment for Game 2, which Miami also lost. Last season, Foster worked three Heat games, all losses, including their Game 7 loss to the Celtics in the conference finals.

Is Foster biased against the Heat? Perhaps he was supporting lifelong Celtics fan Jack Harlow with some of those calls.

However, plenty of teams think Foster has a bias against them. Chris Paul has complained about Foster for years, only breaking his personal 13-game losing streak in Foster games this year. The Warriors believed Foster had it out for them, as did the Rockets, and countless other teams.

Over a quarter of respondents to an NBA player poll called Foster the league's worst referee, but the NBA insists that he's always one of their most highly-rated officials. He had worked 226 playoff games in his career before this season. Plus, if every team thinks Foster is biased against them, doesn't that mean he's doing his job?

The other unfounded knock on Foster is that he's the "Series Extender" - the referee the NBA assigns to make sure a series goes seven games. That conspiracy theory used to be directed at Dick Bavetta, who Tim Hardaway once called "Knick Bavetta" after New York defeated Miami in 2000.

While the presence of Foster is worrying Heat fans, they can take comfort in knowing the Clairvoyant Corgi picked them to win the series (and the Warriors to come back from 3-1 to win their series). Friday night, we'll see if Foster or the corgi is the more powerful playoff force.