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It looks like I'm gonna be the lone voice of dissent here, but our job is to get the plays right, and how it looks is totally secondary to getting the play right, particularly if it is a key play. If there's a blatant, game changing play that a partner misses, it is the crew's responsibility to get the play right. Letting a partner live or die with a blatantly bad call, is not only killing your credibility as a crew, but it is also eliminating your control of the game. That line, in a game changing situation is an excuse for not doing what's right for the game, because it looks bad.
Now am I advocating ball watching the whole time and calling out of your area all the time? Of course not. If there's any doubt at all, let your partner take the call, but if there's no doubt, AND your partner is uncertain, as he clearly was in this case, and it's obvious, it's gotta get called. In this case 2 officials both thought that the L goofed bigtime and helped him out, good officiating.
Consider what happens if the call isn't made. Now you've introduced an atmosphere of negative emotion. A1 who got fouled may get frustrated and foul hard on the other end, fueled by the anger in the building. Coach A may become a problem as well for the rest of the game. There are certain calls in every game that define the night, calls that have to be made, if the call is one of those, and it's obvious, go help out. Talk about credibility, but how will all of you feel when you see the tape and see that you screwed up the game because nobody helped out. I was talking the other day to a state final official who told me a story of a buzzer beating shot that determined the state-title. The calling official correctly counted the basket and on the jumbotron as they were leaving the court they saw the play and that they got it right. However, the lead official on that game told me, and I totally agree, that had they seen conclusive proof on the replay that the shot was late, he would've wiped it off if it meant he'd never do another game. Charlie Range did similar and was suspended. Lead officials get the plays right regardless of the consequences.
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