Game 5 Referee Assignment is Amazingly Good News for the Raptors

Any NBA fan can tell you that no matter what anybody says, the referees do matter. Some might even tell you that the referees are the difference between winning and losing a game, especially a playoff game between evenly matched teams. So when a squad is trying to clinch an NBA Finals berth, favorable refs are a welcome thing indeed.

And for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals with the series tied 2-2, the Raptors just got nearly an entire officiating crew's worth of good news.

Raptors 14-1 with Tony Brothers in the last 15 games, and 6-0 with Marc Davis. Tonight, they get both.
— Kevin Rashidi (@KevinRashidi) May 23, 2019

Game 5 in Milwaukee will be called by a crew including Marc Davis and Tony Brothers. With Davis on call, the Raptors are undefeated in six tries. With Brothers working their games, they have won 93% of the time.

Bucks v raptors & refs make for a good game ?
— Ross Hafeman (@verbaso15) May 16, 2019

Are the refs going to determine this game? That's unlikely. But if you're a Raptors fan, you may be hyping yourself up to blieve the Bucks have a suddenly slimmer chance of beating your team despite an ostensible home-court advantage.