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Originally Posted by JRutledge
First of all the NBA can come up with any rules and philosophies that they like. It is a league unto itself, no different than any other pro league. I do not see where you are going with that one. NBA players are not as talented as NCAA players and you cannot have the exact same ways to call a game as you do with the NBA.
Secondly, if you do not have coverage areas, you will have people calling all kinds of things that are not in position to call. Forget coverage areas, what about something as simple as an out of bounds call. Do you think a person across the court is in a better position to a toe on the line? There is a reason there are 2 or 3 of you out there.
Peace
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But in the NBA, an official who actually calls by the rules (rather than by the philosophy of making a good game for the fans) would never keep his job for long. That is where I am going - As referees, our job is to keep trying to get better, and improve our calling of the game. This means studying the rules and cases, brushing up on mechanics, etc.
The problem I have with this idea is that some people are so gung-ho for coverage areas that they don't want you calling anything in their area period. Are we, or are we not, out there to get the calls right? Some people i have worked with say "Well, if I miss it, too bad... i missed it, but you still shouldn't have called it". And we do the out of bounds thing all the time - i agree that the closest official would be more likely to judge the toe on the line, but we help each other all the time on tips or deflections which change what would be the direction the ball is going when it hits out of bounds.
No coverage areas would be bad. I believe that 100% (or even close to it) adherance to coverage areas is just as bad. I want my partner to call things I might miss, if they're in my area, and I want to have the same ability with other partners. Top priority should be "get the call right" - not "protect your valuable fishing area".
In an officials meeting recently, I was told, directly when asked, if I was supposed to pass on a foul/violation that I observed from a distance, and my partner missed, and I was certain they missed it, that I should not call it. This was by the rules interpreter. What happened to getting the call right? I was told it is his call to make or miss.