Yup, and sometimes the rules dictate having what is basically a do-over.

Situation:TO taken after a made basket with 3.0 seconds left. After the TO, thrower A1 passes along the end line to teammate A2 who makes a long throw-in down court. The timer mistakenly started the clock on the pass along the endline and the horn now goes off with the throw-in in the air. What are you going to do?

The scoreboard in the new gym at my alma mater shows tenths and hundredths during the final minute. If the clock stops at 5.82 seconds, the scoreboard shows 5:82 and no one is confused. If it stops at 3.40 seconds, it would show 3:40 and a person could be confused.

Come to think of it, there may be lights in between the MM and the SS that can change from : to . but I'm not sure about that.

With hindsight as 20-20... what do you do?
 

from OP What exactly are you doing/saying both within the team of referees and to the table during this timeout? Say for 2-man and 3-man?

I guess you need to go back and read, because I did not even use the word do-over or suggest that you would do-over the play. I was talking about watching the clock.

Peace

I've gotta say, JR, that this confused me:

What did you mean by this?

Tell A1 to stop throwing passes to himself along the endline...:p

<i>Mea Culpa</i> Thanks, fixed.

If the clock did not start properly, you are doing anything over. You are starting the game when you noticed a mistake. And if you do not have definite knowledge of how much time was should be on the clock, you cannot just make up a number and put the ball at another point. To me going back to the end line would be correcting a mistake, not doing the play over. You cannot do over a situation that technically did not even happen. I would say the same thing if the game clock started while the ball was in the air on a long pass on the throw-in.

And to prevent this from happening, watch the clock and you will at least know if the clock started properly or not.

Peace

How about this approach since there is already a dead-ball timeout?

When you know the game is on the line with a potential last shot, take a moment for an official's timeout or to visit the table during the timout. Go to the table with your partner(s) and remind the clock operator to start the clock "when it first touches any player inbounds"; T assumes the responsiblity to watch clock after handing the ball to the player for the throw-in and making a visible count should the clock not start for some reason; L (2-person crew) assumes responsibility for officiating the action on the throw-in in case B decides to use the strategy of fouling A and taking their chances with A shooting free throws instead of letting A possibly making a 3-point shot. T can continue the count but after confirming the clock has started properly can then officiate with normal T and L responsibilities for court coverage.

I've got no problem with quickly getting together to review responsibilities and someone at the table making a reminder to the clock operator is good.

Wrong message - you should tell the timer to watch the administering official and start the clock on his chop. This helps the timer focus on his job, not on the action.

You can both officiate the throw-in action, and as the pass comes in a quick glance to make sure the clock starts is all you need. Both officials should be responsible for this with the official who doesn't have the ball in his primary being "mostly" responsible, IMO, as long as there is a clock in each official's field of vision.