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?

Where are all throw-in after a throw-in violation?

Violation by the thrower-in, therefore back to the endline.

The rule exists so that officials don't have to use their judgement, and consistency in administration.

They do say call the obvious. If this play was called, I think it would have made the sports headlines.

Perhaps ^^ that is true, but game film trumps sports headlines... wouldnt you agree?

I had this exact same play happen last summer, except it was 6th grade boys, and the ball didn't quite make it to half court. But it struck me as strange at first, cause there were only two players close to the ball, the defense had gone all the way back, and then I saw the kid who passed it in was the first to touch it, so I blew it.

I gotta admit, I didn't know how to do a proper mechanic on it, so I did this mechanic like an over and back and then gave a quick, coach that player inbounded the ball. He had this look on his face, like "WTF". But let's face it, nobody else was even looking.

The sports headline would only be the point out how weird the violation was. I doubt people would be up in arms if the call was made...that's a rule all basketball fans know. You just usually don't have it happen 60 or so feet down the court.

Same signal you would use for any other throw-in violation.

Game film and media coverage are different.

Many outlets have a "dumb play of the week" or "you wouldn't believe it", etc.

If the NBA didn't know about it until a fan mentioned it, it's easy to see that the media wouldn't know about it either.

Now if it was called, the announcers would have been "what?????" and replay would have shown what happened.

Then other sports outlets, like PTI, SportsCentre, or even other NBA broadcasts would have picked it up.

And guess what they would have shown?..... Game film. ;)

Yeah, even the worst fanboy would have been quiet on this one.

Maybe it's the places I visit, but video is so prevelant nowadays. On social media sites, the old adage "pics or it didn't happen" can be replaced with "video or it didn't happen".

Let's face it now though. APG, you've fashioned yourself as our go-to-guy for video - for video that we care to see - before ESPN or PTI, etc will show it. ;)

Think it would have made the Not Top Ten Plays of the Week on ESPN if it had been called?

I bet it would have ...as in "Look how silly these NBA players are"...

Tom Heinsohn is one of the Boston Celtics announcers...he is the most unprofessional announcer I have ever heard. I guarantee if this call was made, he would yelling (and I'm not kidding about the yelling bit) how horrible the call was...even after replay.

Certainly! I'm still expecting it to show up on Yahoo! Sports. Probably tomorrow though. Many of their stories aren't "breaking".

So in the announcing world, he's "that guy"? :eek:

No Tommy Award For AllPurposeGamer ...
 

And we love him.

Heinsohn has been associated with the Boston Celtics for six decades as a player, coach and broadcaster. He played for the Celtics from 1956 to 1965, and also coached the team from 1969 to 1978. He has been granted Hall of Fame Status for his success as both a player and a coach. He helped form the NBA players union. He is the only person to have the distinction of being involved in an official team capacity in each of the Celtics' 17 championships, as well as each of their 21 NBA Finals appearances.

Yeah. I know that he's a "homer". After six decades, he can say whatever he wants, whenever he wants, wherever he wants. Unprofessional? Certainly. He bleeds Celtic green and has earned the right to be biased, and vocal.

Oh? Did I mention that Celtic fans love him?

I agree. But I knew this was such an unusual play, that I probably needed to tell the story with my mechanic. I don't think I did it very effectively, but the coach didn't argue much, when I gave him a quick verbal explanation.