Unusual Throw-In Violation (Spurs v. Celetics)
 

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I didn't see an official signal a violation. Did they catch it?

Nope...no one reacted or said a thing. You can even see Greg Popovich (Spurs coach) and he doesn't bat an eye.

So then the next question would be: I wonder if the NBA Observer caught it? :D

How embarrassing! Seems to be a case of tunnel vision. The covering official became so focused on looking for a touch to start the clock that he failed to observe other aspects of the play. This is what happens when people only officiate one thing at a time. There are usually multiple thing going on which need watching and the official must decide how to parse his attention to each. That is what makes officiating challenging.

Been There, Done That ...
 

One of the reasons that basketball is so difficult to officiate is because of the rapid speed of the game. Occasionally, when things really slow down, officials may have a difficult time adjusting. Over the years, I have had "lapses" where, due to a "sudden" change of pace, I can't remember if the player with the ball had selected a pivot foot, or not, or had already "used up" his dribble, or not.

Been there.

Wow, that's funny. I didn't catch it immediately myself. Kinda like the situation when a team goes into a unopposed stall tactic and you forget whether or not the ball-handler has used his dribble yet.

True, but this is also a case of "how many times is the thrower the first person to touch the ball after a throw-in when the ball has rolled more than 50 feet?"

I'm sure even their observer had to watch the DVD a time or two to figure out what went wrong on this play.

Oh is that what happened?? I couldnt figure out what violation you guys were talking about! It was 6am & before my first cup when I watched it though.

I was watching Making the Call last night on NBATV and I think Ronnie Nunn said that they only became aware of the missed call when a fan e-mailed them to ask about the play.

Absolute violation at all levels. Yes, they missed it.

BUT....

That really isn't the kind of play the rule is trying to prevent. There was absolutely no benefit gain, the defense wasn't contesting it, etc.

The kind of play that rule is addressing is when the defense chose not to guard the thrower when the throwin is under the thrower's basket. It prevents the thrower from dropping the ball inbounds and then stepping in for an undefended layup. It might also prevent a backcourt thrower from getting the ball inbounds when the defense is pressing.

Need to be called....yes. But, a glaring miss....nah.

Lets face it, all in all, officials at every level make mistakes. And that is okay, just dont make them gamers :D
When the clock hits triple zeros as long as our call/no call accuracy percentages are better than the teams FG percentage & their assist to turnover ratios... we are the best team on the court.

That's where I saw the play...didn't even notice the first to touch issue at first. I was definitely watching to see if the clock my have started early or not.

If the violation would have been called. Where would the ball be put into play by the opposing team (H.S. Rules)? Base line or mid court?