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The situation under discussion highlights one of the problems with the 2-man system and is a big reason why 3-man is becoming the norm.
There are three things to watch, but only two officials to observe them.
a. shooter returning safely to the floor
b. flight of the ball
c. players battling for rebounding position
All of these are important and we should strive to cover them all, but in reality we have to sacrifice something, so clearly we have to prioritze. Others are obviously free to disagree, but if I'm going to miss something with one of these it is going to be with the flight of the ball. I know that all the fans are focused on the ball and likely so are the coaches, so if I do miss something there I'm going to take grief, but I can accept that given the trade off.
The ball isn't going to hurt anyone. A defender charging out at a shooter could and I have no desire to explain to a coach that I was busy watching the ball when his player attempting to rebound underneath got an elbow to the chin that knocked his teeth out. If I miss that, then I'm going to have even more trouble than if I miss BI or GT.
Player safety is #1. Violations, points, and the lines on the court are secondary to that concern. Therefore, I choose to check the rebounding action for rough play first, then pick up the flight of the ball. Hence my original comment to reverse what the other poster wrote.
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