bad information

[jdw3018]

Originally Posted by CMHCoachNRef

OK. So, for the sake of argument (that's why we have discussions, right?), as an official/scorer, they FAILED to notify this coach he had zero timeouts left. While not being part of their prescribed duties, it is EXPECTED that the scorer is keeping track of TOs taken throughout the game, otherwise, they would not know when a team has taken five.

I know what Nevada and some others are going to do here, but, in this case, we are going with the scorer's information that was communicated TO THE COACHES. I am going to grant the time out, NOT assess a technical foul and inform the scorer to more closely keep track of timeout counts in the future.

This error is no different than a scoring error that may change the outcome of a game, or an official's error in putting the ball in play with 6 players on the court. There is a penalty.

Is it fair to the opposing team that the coach gets to use an excessive timeout at, possibly, a very critical point in the game? Perhaps it prevents a turnover that would have given the opposing team a chance to win? Does your point of view change if it is the home team that is given bad information by their own scorer?

I hope you'll re-think your position here. While unfortunate, the excessive timeout needs to be penalized.