NBA: Reports on late stages of close games going public
Trying to boost transparency regarding officiating, the NBA announced Friday it will start making public play-by-play reports on all calls and non-calls in the key minutes of tight games. The move will begin Monday and continue throughout the NBA playoffs and cover the final two minutes of close games and entire over-time periods, creating a standard protocol for comments on the most scrutinized calls in games. The move followed this season's launch of the NBA replay center and internet postings of replays used by officials to determine calls during reviews. "Our fans are passionate and have an intense interest in understanding how the rules are applied," NBA executive vice president Mike Bantom said. "NBA referees have the most difficult officiating job in sports, with so many split-second decisions in real time. We trust this consistent disclosure will give fans a greater appreciation of the difficulty of the job and a deeper sense of the correct interpretations of the rules." The NBA will release the assessments by a senior referee or operations manager of events in the final two minutes of games that are within five points with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and all over-time periods. They will be posted the following day.
