The NBA's elected referees for Game 7 between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics were not taken kindly by fans.
The Boston Celtics are a game away from doing the unthinkable and becoming the first-ever NBA team to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs. It would cement them alongside their cross-town counterpart Boston Red Sox, who are the only MLB team to have done it (2004 ALCS).
The Heat, on the other hand, are a game away from making us all forget it ever happened. They were heavy underdogs coming into the series who stormed off to a surprising 3-0 lead, so there have been some who have excused their fall back to earth. But cockiness and empty promises from Jimmy Butler haven't exactly looked great. Butler promised a Game 7 victory, just like he did in Game 6.
As we wait for the game tonight, Monday, we are getting some news about the game. First up, the officials for the contest.
NBA announces referees for Heat/Celtics Game 7 and fans hate it
The NBA has announced the officials for Game 7 are Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, and John Goble.
While this isn't as bad as the league assigning Eric Lewis to the game after his alleged closet Celtics fandom came to light, fans don't like it one bit. Foster and Brothers are universally disliked by fans for the way they call games.
Folks jumped to Twitter to let it be known that they dislike this… a lot.
This is the best of the best that the NBA has to put on one of the most important games of the season. Let's see how it goes!
The game tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET tonight. Whoever wins has short rest before the NBA Finals tip off later this week against the Denver Nuggets.