Referees picked by the NBA for Game 7 are James Capers, Josh Tiven, Sean Wright

Capers, Tiven and Wright had been introduced by the NBA because the officiating crew for Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the #Oklahoma City Thunder and the #Indiana Pacers. It’s the primary Game 7 of a finals for all three, who are actually the twenty second, twenty third and twenty fourth referees in NBA historical past to land such an task.

“Being chosen to work the NBA Finals is the highest honor as an NBA official,” Byron Spruell, the NBA’s president of league operations, mentioned earlier this month when the 12-person listing of finals referees was revealed.

And Game 7, one would assume, is the highest of the highest honors.

Scott Foster, a two-time Game 7 finals referee and usually thought of top-of-the-line within the sport, was not picked for the crew. Had he been, he would have change into the seventh referee picked to work at the very least three Game 7s within the title collection. The referees in NBA historical past who’ve labored that many are #Mendy Rudolph , #Earl Strom , #Sid Borgia , #Dan Crawford , Joe Crawford and #Richie Powers .

Foster — who’s often criticized on-line by followers — was defended by Indiana coach #Rick Carlisle after Game 4, notable as a result of it was a sport that the Pacers misplaced.

“As far as officiating, I believe it’s terrible a number of the issues I’ve seen in regards to the officiating, and Scott Foster specifically,” Carlisle mentioned earlier than Game 5. “I’ve recognized Scott Foster for 30 years. He is a good official. He has completed an important job in these playoffs. We’ve had him loads of instances. The ridiculous scrutiny that’s being thrown out there’s horrible and unfair and unjust and silly.”

The NBA had 75 full-time officers this season and 36 of these had been chosen to work the primary spherical of the playoffs. The officiating roster is additional trimmed going into every playoff spherical, with the league’s referee operations administration workforce figuring out who ought to advance.

Capers is working his thirteenth finals, Tiven his sixth and Wright is within the finals for under the second time. It’s the second sport of those finals for all three referees — Capers labored Indiana’s win in Game 3, whereas Wright and Tiven had been each on the crew for Oklahoma City’s win in Game 4.

James Williams, who labored Games 2 and 5 of the collection, was picked because the alternate for Game 7. David Guthrie, who officiated Games 1 and 6, was the referee assigned to the replay heart in #Secaucus, New Jersey, for Game 7.

Thunder coach #Mark Daigneault addressed officiating — and the way he and his workforce respect referees — from a basic perspective Saturday, when requested how his workforce has prevented being known as for very many technical fouls this season.

“The consequence of the sport and the context of the sport is exterior of our management,” Daigneault mentioned. “In between the traces is inside our management. The referees in that class, too. We can’t management how they name the sport and what they put a whistle on and what they don’t. We can management loads of different issues within the sport, and that’s what we have to deal with.”

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