The last thing the NBA needs at this stage in the postseason is an officiating scandal. Unfortunately, referee Eric Lewis might be providing that.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the league has opened an official review into the Twitter activity of a random account that continues to mention veteran referee Eric Lewis by name.
Social media sleuths have done a darn good job of unearthing posts form a since-suspended account named Blair Cuttliff that mentions Mr. Lewis in what doesn’t seem to be in random fashion.
The posts seem to be defending Lewis’ officiating during the 2023 NBA Playoffs, especially when it comes to the Boston Celtics.
Lewis, who has been a referee in the NBA for nearly the past two decades, has officiated five games thus far in the 2023 Playoffs.
- May 1: Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets
- May 4: Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors
- May 10: Miami Heat at New York Knicks
- May 14: Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
- May 16: Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets
That May 14 game between Philadelphia and Boston has come into question to an extent. Boston closed out the 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals by the score of 112-88. Though, the foul calls in the matchup were pretty even while Boston won going away.
As for the two Los Angeles Lakers’ games Eric Lewis has officiated, they lost both. That included a 27-point defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
One round later, Los Angeles fell to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals by the score of 132-127. In those two outings, the Lakers were called for 15 less fouls than their counterparts.
These are just the facts provided above. We have absolutely no idea what’s going on behind the scenes and what the NBA investigation into the situation entails.
What we do know is that Lewis officiated his last game on May 16. He’s been assigned to the NBA Finals each of the past four years. That seems unlikely right now.