Just when you thought the news couldn't get any worse. Our old friend, Dick Bavetta, is one of today's officials. This means Kobe will be going to the line 15 times today. Danny Crawford and Michael Smith are the other two officials. I like Crawford, so maybe he'll neutralize Bavetta. http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/nba/matchups/g5_referees_2.html
There are 61 officials, and based on "Homer" ranking, this is what we had last game... #14 - Javie #53 - Garretson #60 - Corbin Average of 42.3 (very bad) As for today, we have... #7 - Dan Crawford #17 - Bavetta #56 - Smith Average of 26.7 (pretty good) So strictly based on statistics, the officiating should be more in our favor this game, but you really never know...