NBA referee Scott Foster. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Knicks pull unusual move with referee stats ahead of Game 1

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 4/20/24

The New York Knicks have pulled an unusual move with their game notes before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Saturday.

As part of their notes provided to the media, the Knicks released a referee breakdown that tracks the tendencies of the three officials slated to work Saturday’s Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers. The stats track how often referees call various violations, with Scott Foster ranking quite high in most categories.

The Knicks have added referee tendency statistics to their media notes.

First time they have offered this info publicly is in their game notes they give to media before Game 1: pic.twitter.com/hf7sv3rWt8

— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) April 20, 2024

Presumably, the Knicks track these things internally, but this is the first time they have made the data public. It is not something other teams do, either, and the timing — at the start of the playoffs — might raise some eyebrows as well.

The Knicks have been on the wrong end of some brutal calls this season, but most would argue they are no different from other teams in that regard. In fact, the Knicks have also benefitted from some questionable refereeing late in games.

This almost certainly will not have any impact on the series, but it certainly provides plenty of ammunition for fans who will want to pin any issues on Foster and his crew.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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