Official Report
Dan Crawford
Dan Crawford has been a referee in the NBA since the 1984-85 season. Prior to the NBA, Crawford officiated in high school for 12 years, 8 years at the collegiate level (MVC and CCAC) and 4 years in the CBA. He has officiated 1,600+ regular season games, 190+ play-off games and 18 NBA Finals games. After one of the games in Chicago in round 1 in 2008, there was some controversy when he was seen leaving the arena with his family all decked out in Chicago Bulls gear. He's been in the news lately because he has been accused of having a bias against Marc Cuban because the Mavs are 2-16 in games officiated by Crawford. The Celtics are 5-1 this season and are 7-3 over their last 10 game with Crawford officiating. The loss this season was the last Miami game in which the Heat shot 10 more free throws than the Celtics, but then again the Celtics did not play well in that game. The Knicks are 4-3 this season and 5-5 in their last 10 games with Crawford. Crawford is a homer ref with a home team W/L record of 52-20.
Marc Davis
Davis has officiated over 460+ regular season games and 7 playoff games. When not officiating, Davis is a motivational speaker who speaks to sales forces on topics including goal setting, team building, the mechanics of presentation. Davis was investigated for threatening to whoop Allen Iverson's a** when AI complained about a call in a game in 2005, but was not suspended for it. The Celtics are 3-0 this season and are 7-3 in their last 10 games with Davis officiating. The last win was the Hornets game where the officiating was terrible all the way around. They let both teams play but ignored the Hornets trying to intentionally foul two times in a row at the end. The Knicks are 3-1 this season and 5-5 in their last 10 games with Davis on the court. He also tends to go for the home team with a home W/L record of 41-29.
Gary Zielinski
Zielinski has officiated over 285+ regular season games. This is his first season officiating in the playoffs. He worked 6 years in the CBA and 4 seasons in the WNBA before coming to the NBA. He officiated the WNBA finals from 1998-2001. The Celtics are 5-0 in games called by Zielinski this season. In one of those wins, the Clippers had a 20 free throw advantage over the Celtics and the officiating was terrible all the way around. The Celtics are 9-1 in their last 10 games with Zielinski on the court while the Knicks are 3-0 this season and 7-3 in their last 10. He is another ref that favors the home team with a home W/L record of 41-24.
Alternate - David Guthrie
Guthrie began his career as a referee in the NBA in the 2005-2006 season. He has been a college, CBA and NBDL referee and he has also officiated the 2003 and 2004 NCAA Men’s Division I tournament. This is Guthrie's first season on the playoff roster. The Celtics are 4-1 this season with Guthrie calling the game including 2 Bulls games. In the first, an OT win, the Celtics took 25 free throws to 18 for the Bulls. In the final meeting with the Bulls, the Celtics took 10 more FT than the Bulls but did not play well and lost. The Celtics are 6-4 in their last 10 with Guthrie as a ref. The Knicks are 2-3 this season and 6-4 in their last 10 with Guthrie calling the game. His home W/L record is 38-24.
(Just to make you feel a little better, the Lakers and Hornets have the evil duo of Joey Crawford and Bennett Salvatore)