Referee Scott "Lil T" Foster is by far the NBA's public enemy No. 1. Yet for James Harden, Foster's inconsistent officiating clashes louder with his unorthodox style of play than it does for others. As a result, the two have a storied on-court beef to which another chapter will be added.
When it was announced the Foster would be officiating Game 2 of the Houston/Golden State series, basketball fans were beside themselves with excitement. Although the series is young, the contest has been headlined by Harden and the Rockets urging the refs to give them a "fair chance" by limiting their missed calls. Yet the gaping gray area that irritates the Rockets only gets bigger when Foster has a whistle. This continual back-and-forth between the Rockets (namely Paul and Harden) and Foster has been highlighted by some very memorable moments.
The last time Foster reffed a Rockets game was Houston's Feb. 21 loss to the Lakers. When asked about fouling out of the game, Harden openly criticized Foster to the media.
"Scott Foster, man. I never really talk about officiating or anything like that, but just rude and arrogant," Harden stated. "I mean, you aren’t able to talk to him throughout the course of the game, and it’s like, how do you build that relationship with officials? And it’s not even that call. It’s just who he is on that floor."
These remarks resulted in the league fining Houston $25,000, but it didn't end the beef. The always spicy CP3 is also at odds with Foster. After a controversial call by Foster, Paul decided to set trip by showing overt objection to the violation. Foster didn't appreciate Paul questioning him in front of mixed company so he gave to point a technical. While this is normal, it was the fact Foster used his fingers instead to assess a little "T" to Paul that really showed his gangster.
When fielding questions regarding the exchange, Paul fired back by sarcastically praising the ref who was voted the NBA’s worst official in a 2016 players poll.
"Yeah, Scott Foster at his finest," Paul said. "You know what I mean? He just never fails."
This mounting tension combined with the Rockets issuing several formal and informal officiating complaints has fans eager to see how this game-within-the-game will play out.
