If you're an NBA fan, you've probably heard about the trend of Chris Paul's teams struggling in playoff games officiated by Scott Foster. Foster is set to call the second game of the Clippers vs Suns series after Los Angeles took the first game in a thrilling contest.
Trends are not always the most reliable, and you can craft data to fit certain narratives in all types of ways. However, the extent of losses that Paul's teams have endured in playoff games officiated by Foster is quite remarkable.
Tom Haberstroh, a member of the Basketball Illuminati Pod and Underdogs Pod, noted the depths to which this trend reaches.
👁️ UPDATED: Scott Foster will be officiating Game 2 tonight LAC-PHX.
Chris Paul's teams are 2-17 straight up and 2-17 against the spread (ATS) with Foster officiating in his playoff games.
13-game losing streak with Foster officiating (1-12 ATS) https://t.co/RN54xyiup8
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) April 18, 2023
It goes further than just the record indicates. Across those games, Paul's teams were favored by a collective 16.5 points, but they lost by 115 overall. That is one of the most stunning correlations that you'll ever find between a ref and a player's success, and it goes beyond the numbers.
According to Bet Labs, Paul's teams have lost every game he's played in when Foster has refereed dating back to the 2013-14 NBA Playoffs.
Chris Paul Playoff Record With Scott Foster Refereeing — Past Nine Seasons
21-22 Suns: 0-1
20-21 Suns: 0-3 <<
19-20 Thunder: 0-1
18-19 Rockets: 0-1
17-18 Rockets: 0-2
16-17 Clippers: 0-1
15-16 Clippers: 0-1
14-15 Clippers: 0-2
13-14 Clippers: 0-1
Suns won the only game Paul missed
And here's another data point from our premier data guru Evan Abrams: In games 2 through 4, a team who just lost straight up in the previous game is 51-35-1 ATS the next game with Foster on the whistle. That's the most profitable referee in the NBA.
Paul and Foster may not have an issue with each other, but it sure seems possible. In a 2020 series between the Thunder and the Rockets, Foster made some calls that perturbed Paul, and he noted a very odd remark that Foster made to him before the game.
Thunder guard Chris Paul says referee Scott Foster made a point to tell him before the Game 7 loss to the Thunder tonight that he also reffed his Game 7 loss to the Spurs in 2008 when CP was with the Hornets.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) September 3, 2020
Coming into this game, the Suns are eight-point favorites, and they're -360 to win the game. If they happened to lose this one, the Scott Foster-Chris Paul trend would ascend into one of the highest tiers of stories.
