Sonics/Lakers game last night at the Key- several things caught my attention:

What is the purpose of the switch(?) the officials wear on the back of their belt? Time maybe? Seemed to turn it on as the chopped in the ball. Did not notice them turning it off on whistles- which would be impracticle...

Some strange mech.- Why toss the ball to the FT shooter, instead of bounce it? Just to be different?

Never closed on fouls, much less bird dogged. I can understand the non point, but how about the occasional close? It is possible I missed one or two, and that they did it, anyone know their mech?

Damm! there was a ref that was taller then me... he looked about 6'9" or so, Black, and fairly built (not skinney) Who is he, and where did he play?

Overall it seemed like they were doing stuff just to be different from HS or college guys. But they did a pretty good job overall, Hugh Hollins was crew chief/Referee.

"The unorginal Tee"

The item you noticed on the back of their belt is a device which picks up the sound of the whistle and immediately stops the clock. It eliminates the 1 second delay which is allowed for normal reaction time.

As for the other questions regarding mechanics of the officials...forget about it. Mechanics in the NBA are far from being standardized. Also remember that any organization can decide on the procedures to be used in the games that they sponsor.

Also remember that the NBA is more about entertainment and money then it is about sport. Keeping that in mind will enable you to figure out almost any question in the future regarding professional b-ball in this country.

NBA mechanics are designed to keep the game moving. They deal with adult scorers, so they don't have to be concerned about stopping in a reporting area to report. Their whistle stops the clock, so there's no need to stop the clock with a signal.

Many of the things we use in NF mechanics have trickled down from the NBA.

I'm curious. What are some of the things that have trickled down? Are there things today that you wish would trickle down or that you wish hadn't?

The one mentioned where the ball is tossed instead of bounce passed seems to be quite common in games I am seeing. This is not in the manual yet. I predict it will be.

Officiating Mechanics

3 man mechanics
The "flex" rotation
Bouncing the ball to an OOB thrower
30 second TO signal
3 point goal mechanics

All good changes IMHO.

Tall referee, Michael Henderson. Second year NBA offical.
Drafted I believe by the Dallas Mavericks, played over-seas.