[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by KCRef

In a previous thread, it was concluded that the referee should keep the time on the clock in their head if the scorer did not start the clock properly. For example, 4 seconds on the clock on the in bounds. A couple of seconds go by, and the ref yells to start the clock, but is already counting down in his head. After the clock finally starts late, a player looks at the clock to see 3 seconds are remaining, so instead of shooting, he makes one more pass in order to get a better shot. Then the ref blows the whistle to end the quarter with 2 seconds left on the clock. Should the players not rely on the clock in situations like this?

I don't think they can.

There's no good way out when something goes wrong at the end of the game. All we can do is the best we can do (following the rules).