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I've always thought of it like this:
99% of the time, the outcome of contact is going to be determined not by what the offensive players does, but by what the defensive player does.
Block/charge is the obvious example - the determination of which player is at fault for contact is almost completely based on what the defender does (or does not do). Obviously, this is based on whether he estrablishes and then maintains a legal guarding position. The actions of the offensive player are largely immaterial to this determination. So if you find yourself watching the offensive player, and there is a crash, how will you know who caused the contact?
Another example is contact on a shooter. Whether it is a foul or not is almsot entirely determined by the actions of the defense - did he keep within his vertical space and LGP? If so, the contact is probably created by the offensive player, and we have nothing, but if the defender drops his arms, or slides over, we may have a foul.
Even when there are exceptions, you still will not miss them by officiating the defense. When an offensive player pushes off, for example, you will see that if you are focusing on the defensive player.
Anytime I am transitioning down the court, and especially when the play is a transition play, I am trying to pick out the 1 or 2 defensive players who are going to impact the upcoming play, and focusing the bulk of my attention on them.
This is what I think is meant by "officiating the defense".
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