Budkin
06-18-2013, 04:24 PM
http://deadspin.com/joey-crawford-to-ref-game-6-and-the-nba-knows-exactly-514043830
With the Heat one loss away from elimination, and tonight's Game 6 in Miami, it should come as absolutely zero surprise that Joey Crawford will be working the game.
Joey Crawford! Just the man to swing a series. The official who occasionally sees a shrink for anger management issues, who once broke his finger calling a technical foul, and keeps an extra whistle in his pocket because he has a tendency to bite through them. The official who was suspended an entire postseason after challenging Tim Duncan to a fight, and who was called "the worst thing about the NBA" without anyone crying hyperbole.
We don't actually think Crawford is a bad referee. Which is to say: we think he's self-important, and prone to tantrums, and somehow manages to make games about him when, in a just world, we wouldn't know any referees' names, but we don't think he makes egregiously bad calls or holds grudges or gets especially swayed by home crowds. Take a look at the referee stats; Crawford's home/road splits are solidly middle-of-the-pack.
Read more... (http://deadspin.com/joey-crawford-to-ref-game-6-and-the-nba-knows-exactly-514043830)
With the Heat one loss away from elimination, and tonight's Game 6 in Miami, it should come as absolutely zero surprise that Joey Crawford will be working the game.
Joey Crawford! Just the man to swing a series. The official who occasionally sees a shrink for anger management issues, who once broke his finger calling a technical foul, and keeps an extra whistle in his pocket because he has a tendency to bite through them. The official who was suspended an entire postseason after challenging Tim Duncan to a fight, and who was called "the worst thing about the NBA" without anyone crying hyperbole.
We don't actually think Crawford is a bad referee. Which is to say: we think he's self-important, and prone to tantrums, and somehow manages to make games about him when, in a just world, we wouldn't know any referees' names, but we don't think he makes egregiously bad calls or holds grudges or gets especially swayed by home crowds. Take a look at the referee stats; Crawford's home/road splits are solidly middle-of-the-pack.
Read more... (http://deadspin.com/joey-crawford-to-ref-game-6-and-the-nba-knows-exactly-514043830)