Blazers/Celtics 6 on Floor
 

Hey everyone,
I am a first year official working high school games in Utah. Before I get to my post I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all of the useful information that I have read while lurking around in the forums. Much appreciated.

Now on to the title of the post, did anyone else see the highlight of the Blazers having 6 guys on the floor tonight against Boston, and getting away with it? They counted the basket before giving Portland a 'T'. I thought KG was going to have a heart attack trying to figure out why there was a guy so wide open. Hahaha.

Having 6 on the floor doesn't erase a basket or any other activity prior to discovery.

Welcome "a board."

Along with everything else he is very good at, KG is also an "All Star" whiner! :rolleyes: JMO

Here's what some SI writer said about the situation. Apparently the officials in that game "cheated".

Are NBA referees able to interpret right from wrong anymore? - Ian Thomsen - SI.com

Granted, the officials made a mistake, but this article might be one of the stupidest articles I've read in recent memory.


"They said you couldn't correct the play, which I still disagree with,'' said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "But the problem was we called around, we called the league, and they didn't have the answer either.''

I also doubt that the Celtics were unable to get a direct answer from the league. Directly from the NBA Casebook:

300. At 9:19 of the fourth period, Team A inbounds the ball at midcourt following a timeout. Player A1 scores a successful field goal, and it is then discovered that Team B has six players on the court. How is the play administered?

The field goal by Player A1 shall count, and a technical foul is called on Team B for not having five (5) players on the court when play begins. Following the free throw attempt, the ball shall be awarded to Team B on the baseline.

RULE 12A - SECTION III - c

Translation: I am totally ignorant on this subject but my job is to write inflammatory crap, so here it is.

I was watching the game and it was clear that the 6th man was not discovered until after the basket was scored. The Blazer's color commentator, Mike Rice, didn't understand the rule (so what's new) and made fun of the play, saying that teams should do this all the time to get an advantage, since "they won't be penalized and lose the basket".

BTW - it was Greg Oden who was the "extra" man on the court. He was supposed to come out after the timeout. They showed him on the bench after the violation and when he found out the basket would count, he just started grinning.

Ah, the NBA. It's FAN-TASTIC! :rolleyes:

Should of wrote this at the top of the article....
 

"I write this in the early morning hours without knowing exactly how the rule is written regarding this particular infraction. What I do know is that the rule in this case is irrelevant."

Pretty much sums it up doesn't it.

I'm not understanding this???? How do you guys think the refs got this play wrong?

Also, the NBA rulebook states that the onus is on the coach and the team to provide 5 players, no more no less, on the floor at the time the ball becomes alive.

bc7-

Several Uath refs hang around here. Where are you from?

I'm not sure anyone is arguing that they got this play wrong? :confused: Ultimately, in all three codes (NF, NCAA, NBA), the onus is on the coach and team to have 5 players on the court. Should we as officials allow more or less though? Absolutely not.

The only thing the refs did wrong was not catch it in time.

People here are quoting the article that was linked, not accusing the refs of getting this wrong.

Um, by starting play with 11 players on the court? Just a guess, but that's where I think they went wrong. ;)

Grew up in Springville, currently live in Spanish Fork. How about you? I was actually wondering if there was anyone else from Utah around here.

His analogy to the NFL is wrong. The penalty for 12 men in football negates the play. If NBA officials are supposed to disregard this RULE, what else are they supposed to disregard? Pushing? Out of bounds? What a hack.

Yeah the NFL thing made no sense, that is a totally different sport. It is insane how dumb someone can be to quote football rules in regard to basketball. This article just proves the point that the media looks for controversies and anti-official stories generate an audience. The officials handled the play correctly but this guy writes a story about how they did it wrong.

This is the reason why I don't like the idea of a 1 shot T. This would seem to be the perfect situation to give 2 shots back to the team that was taken advantage of.

I have a feeling that this play will be changed for the future in the NBA, that they will go back and replay this.

As far as Doc Rivers, that guy has been in basketball nearly all his life, and the rule has always been that way. The rarity is that the team scored and the Celtics were subject to double jeopardy, a made basket, and only 1 FT to right the wrong.

Officials are always blamed for this, because we are supposed to do the preventative officiating.

I know a former NBA observer of officials and he says it is the officials that will pay the consequences for not using proper game management. The NBA might introduce a mechanic to prevent this from happening again, similar to the NFL coin toss reaction for several years ago.

"Back In The Saddle" and "Kelvin green" are frequent posters from the Utah. I am from Utah (Salt Lake area), but I don't post much- I just lurk a lot!

I agree. I expect they'll amend the rule and allow them to remove the points by allowing them to review the video to see when the player entered the court. At levels without review, however, you can't do that as you don't know when the player entered the court.

If the NBA changes the rule, look for the media to continue to dump on the officials and claim the NBA had to change it to help out the hapless officials.

How Many NFL Officials Does It Take To Toss A Coin ???
 

Are you referring to the overtime coin toss involving an NFL referee, and Pittsburgh Steelers captain Jerome Bettis, about ten years ago? The new procedure calls for the referee to ask the captain to call heads or tails prior to tossing the coin instead of while it’s in the air. It also calls for two other officials to remain for the coin toss after they escort the captains onto the field. I'm not a big football fan, nor do I follow NFL rule changes, but I remember this incident, and found it to be very interesting.

It was a bad attempt to cheat. The player thought it would be smart to yell “hea-tails". The official went with heads as he said that first. Bettis lied publicly for some reason and did not tell the real story which caused the media to really go after the official.

The Bus definitely tried to cheat by lying about his actions. Luckily, the truth came out.

I tried to find a link to the article on the web about this very story. It's from referee.com, and is a sample article from their vaults.

In short, the NFL didn't support Triplette, but I believe they did pay him a playoff's wage anyways. That shows that Triplette was correct.

The NFL, like usual, didn't have the guts to stand up for the truth, which Bettis was afraid of. He lied in public about the situation. Luckily, the truth is out there.

I'm glad Bettis lost that game.

Are you saying the NFL through the ref "under the Bus?" ;)
Shocked I tell ya! Shocked I am!!

slc

Haha. I lurk often myself.