Game Sevens are plenty stressful on their own. But the NBA certainly seems to be doing its part to pour gasoline on the fire leading up to Sunday’s Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 7 between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.

At 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, just two hours before tip-off of the season-deciding matchup, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski passed along the following information via Twitter…

• “An interesting dynamic approaching Celtics-Sixers Game 7, per sources: NBA’s officiating game report shared with teams from Game 6 revealed a significant disparity: 13 officiating errors disadvantaging 76ers to four disadvantaging Boston,” Woj tweeted. “Those can include calls and non calls.”

  The ‘NBA officiating game report’ is essentially a full-game version of the ‘Last two minute’ report the league releases during the regular season, which shows which calls should have been made differently – or not at all – upon further review. In Game 6, the Celtics were called for 14 fouls to the Sixers’ 13 on their way to a 95-86 win.

  During his pre-game press conference, which game just minutes after Woj’s tweet, Sixers coach Doc Rivers was asked about the report. “It was disappointing to see. A 13-4 disparity in a one point, two point game is hard to recover from,” he said, before citing specific calls he was bothered by.

  “Having said that, it’s a human game and you just have to try to play through it,” he continued. “Usually the disparity isn’t that great.” Rivers added “analytically, I think we won the game by 20” in terms of the quality of shots the Sixers got compared to the Celtics.

• "Analytically we won the Game by 20 or whatever. No comment."
  
  Doc Rivers had some things to say about the officiating in Game 6 & how he hopes to defend the Jays in Game 7 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/IxbZ68JBhw

  — Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 14, 2023

• Adding further to the drama is the fact that the lead official for the game is Scott Foster. In his time as an NBA official Foster has become well-known for the lopsided splits involving certain teams, players, and other elements in the games he officiates.

  This is where Celtics fans can exhale though. The Foster splits in this game may favor Boston. Sixers star James Harden is 2-10 in his last 12 playoff games where Foster was the lead official. Foster also worked Game 3 of this series, which the Celtics won 114-102.

  Meanwhile, the Celtics are 20-7 in games officiated by Foster since 2019, according to

  The Celtics are currently 6.5-point favorites for Game 7 pic.twitter.com/J0AuFpMAn9

  — Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) May 14, 2023?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Action Network. They’re also 22-4 in games officiated by Eric Lewis, who is also part of Sunday’s crew.

• The Celtics are currently 6.5-point favorites for Game 7 pic.twitter.com/J0AuFpMAn9

  — Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) May 14, 2023

• Through the first six games of this series, the Sixers have been called for a total of 117 fouls, with the Celtics being called for 101. However, the free throw disparity is nearly nonexistent, with the Sixers attempting 130 to the Celtics’ 129.

  How much of a difference – if at all – will the officiating make on Sunday? Which team will move on to face the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals? Tip-off is at 3:30 p.m. ET on 98.5 The Sports Hub and the Sports Hub BetMGM Celtics Radio Network.

• Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.

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