If I asked you to guess the one ref you wouldn’t want on a game with a potential Game Seven looming on the horizon in the NBA….who would you say? I’m willing to bet the 70% of you would probably say Joey Crawford. Well guess who’s the lead official for Game Six in Boston tonight! Ding Ding Ding!!!

1. Joey Crawford: Crawford comes in pretty high on the homer scale, but after the whole Tim Duncan scandal and the no call on Fisher against Barry earlier in the Playoffs, the guy is just unpredictable. 32-23-3 ATS (Against the Spread).

Good For: Lakers, You would think his “Homer Ranking” would help out the Celtics, but Boston is just 2-2 in the Playoffs with him as a ref. Want to know what the Lakers record is with him calling their Playoff Games? 6-0!

2. Eddie F. Rush: Comes in at number fourteen on the homerism charts with a record of 42-33-1 ATS for home teams.

Good For: The Celtics, Boston is 4-1 this Playoff season with Rush doing their games.

3. Bennett Salvatore: I don’t know one person on the planet that would be happy if Salvatore was calling their game. He’s one of the worst officials in any Sport, and is so inconsistent it’s a joke. BS was also the official that called a charge on Paul Pierce pump fake three where he leaned into Rodney Stuckey during Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Good For: Coin Flip, The Celtics are 2-2 during Playoff games he reffed this season, and he comes in about the top third of the Homer scale at 42-36-0 ATS. The word your looking for is “unpredictability”.
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Last game the refs called a pretty good game, but the stats pointed to the Lakers winning Game Five and they did. You just know the NBA wants a Game Seven but there doesn’t seem to be any signs pointing to a Lakers advantage in the ref assignment. The only overwhelming statistic is the Lakers record with Crawford calling their games. To go 6-0 with one ref during the Playoffs is virtually impossible. Again, this is not a science, but still interesting to look at.

NBA Referees “Homer” Sorted By ATS (Covers)
Referee assignments for Game 6 (Boston.com)