The Houston Rockets All Stars James Harden and Chris Paul have a serious beef with NBA official Scott Foster.
Following Thursday night's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center, in which Harden was called for four offensive fouls, the reigning NBA MVP described Foster as "rude and arrogant." Furthermore, Harden says Foster shouldn't be allowed to officiates Rockets games any more.
"Scott Foster, man. I never really talk about officiating or anything like that, but just rude and arrogant," said Harden, who finished with 30 points to extend his streak of 30-point performances to 32 games, the second longest in NBA history. "I mean, you aren't able to talk to him throughout the course of the game, and it's like, how do you build that relationship with officials? And it's not even that call [on the sixth foul]. It's just who he is on that floor.
"It's pretty frustrating. And I'm probably going to get hit [with a fine], but honestly, I don't really say anything. I'm a pretty quiet guy, to myself, but it's one of those things where you can't voice your opinion. You can't have a conversation with someone that's officiating the game. You're getting a tech. It's pretty sad."
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Foster issued 18 fouls (personal or technical) in Thursday's game -- 12 against the Rockets and six against the Lakers. Seven of the fouls against the Rockets occurred in the fourth quarter.
"It's lingering, and it's something that has to be looked at for sure," Harden said. "For sure, it's personal. For sure. I don't think he should be able to even officiate our games anymore, honestly."
Chris Paul, who has also been critical of Foster in the past, told reporters (H/T ESPN):
"I don't know what else to do, know what I mean? I met with the league with him before and all this stuff. I don't know what else to do."