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Let's just talk reality here.
Clock management is important anytime during the game, not just the last few seconds. Yes, it becomes a lot more intense in the waning seconds of any period. The audible buzzer to end the period affects many aspects of the game of which scoring and timing rank high especially when a whistle also occurs near the end of a period.
In the last seconds of a period I officiate the game. I concentrate totally on the players in my primary coverage area (L, C, T) whether on-ball or off-ball.
I do not look at the clock but I listen for the horn.
Only AFTER I have sounded my whistle will I then glance up at the clock to ascertain time remaining if any.
Officiate.
Whistle.
Look at clock.
At this instance the time I SEE is the time I will put on the clock as the case book says lag time is already accounted for in that instance. If I can look up at clock AFTER sounding my whistle and see time remaining, that time I see is the time the comment says is reasonable for the timer to also stop the clock and still include lag time.
If the horn is sounding and 0:00 is on the clock when I see it then the period is over and my whistle is ignored. If the action on the court was such that it needed me to stay focused on the players and I am unable to see the clock and the horn sounds then the game is over. (unless my partner was awake during the pregame when I discussed have the non-calling official look at clock to help with time management in this very situation).
The only way any official can say with certainty that he blew his whistle with exactly .6 seconds is if he was looking at the clock before/while he was blowing his whistle. If he was looking at the clock how could he have seen any type of foul or violation or request for a time-out? He can't. He becomes derelict by not keeping his eyes on the players during the live ball.
Given this, while I do not intend to put words in JRs mouth, my take on his argument is that if the official says he blew his whistle KNOWING there were .6 seconds remaining then first we question why the officials was looking at the clock, and secondly, reality tells us no matter how fast the timer is at his duty to stop the clock it is not unreasonable for time TO HAVE EXPIRED and therefore the game is over. I can accept that.
My argument is that the time I see after blowing my whistle is not the time that my whistle blew. It is the time that we can reasonably expect to be showing given the timer stopped the clock as soon as he heard the whistle.
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