Heat Catch Rough Break Ahead of Crucial Game 6 Against Knicks

Getty Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love, and Max Strus sit on the Miami Heat bench.

Friday night marks a crucial spot for the Miami Heat as they look to send the New York Knicks home in Game 6. Unfortunately, they’ll have one of the all-time greats standing in their way, Scott Foster. Foster was named as the crew chief for the closeout spot in Miami, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman.

While the 29-year veteran has one of the best mixtapes on Twitter, featuring emphatic blocking calls, technical fouls, and more (shown below, you’re welcome), he doesn’t spell the best fortune for the Heat.

According to the Action Network, Miami has lost its last 10 games when Foster is one of the officials.

The Heat have lost their last 10 games straight up when Scott Foster is officiating 👀

Miami is 1-9 against the spread over that span. pic.twitter.com/vfIkm9bjfL

— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) May 12, 2023

The Maryland native is one of the league’s most well-known referees, for multiple reasons. There is, of course, his lengthy career, rendering him one of the most experienced in the game.

In addition to his strong resume of over 1,600 regular-season games and over 220 playoff games, Foster has been nicknamed “The Extender” by fans around the league. According to Sportskeeda, the nickname stems from Foster being known to extend playoff series.

“Foster is known as “The Extender.” This nickname refers to Foster being a referee who will make calls to extend games or playoff series,” wrote Sean Cavanaugh in an article last month. “For instance, if a team is down in a series and facing elimination, theories say that Foster will make calls for the team facing elimination in order to extend the series to more games.”

In reality, Foster is more likely than not assigned to big games because of his significant experience and sharp eyes. But, it’s always a good time when the internet freaks out when he’s calling a key matchup.

Heat Fans In Shambles Over Scott Foster Assignment

With Miami being up 3-2 heading into Friday’s matchup, the appointment of “The Extender” as crew chief has made Heat fans uneasy.

The fanbase took to Twitter to share their reactions to the big assisgnment.

Heat Nation (@HeatvsHates) tweeted out a video of Elmo wearing a Heat flat brimmed hat, staring into space in fear.

Michael Doleac (@3MWD_) shared a gif of Heat guard Gabe Vincent making a face as if he knew some shenanigans were going on.

Even Brady Hawk of 5 Reasons Sports shared a gif of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal looking ready to dominate.

Knicks Fans Excited For Scott Foster in Game 6 vs. Heat

On the other hand, Knicks fans had a completely different reaction to the Foster news. They flooded Twitter with posts and memes celebrating the assignment.

Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) shared a video from last season’s playoffs, when Foster and Ed Malloy tried to figure out who rapper Jack Harlow was, during his courtside appearance at a Boston Celtics playoff game. In response, the league put together a music video featuring Foster and other officials to one of Harlow’s songs.

The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) tweeted out Foster’s mixtape.

Lastly, Barstool New York (@BarstoolNYC) shared a photo of an excited Kevin James from “King of Queens,” wearing a Knicks t-shirt.

Again, there’s no real evidence that Foster officiates any games with an ulterior motive, but it sure is fun when fans lose their mind when they see him scheduled to oversee their team’s game.