LFTP: Dead-ball Officiating (HOU v. LAC)

Watch the video above.  It was taken from the 2015 Western Semifinals Game 3 between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers.

This video has can teach us from following two points:

1. The post play from Dwight Howard
2. The dead-ball officiating 

Post Play from Dwight Howard

• There was initial contact between Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan.  Would you have called this a foul?
• Contact was initiated by Howard.  This is a correct no-call.  Notice that Jordan had this arms down and the contact did not result in a disadvantage for Howard.
• The subsequent contact between Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan was correctly ruled a foul.  What did you see?
• Jordan was playing behind Howard (bad position to be as a defender) and reached across to get him on the arm as Howard was going up.

Dead-Ball Officiating

This video is a reminder that just because the whistle has blown, does not mean that officials get to let their guard down.  NBA officials have the benefit of replay.  We do not.  In the video above, Jason Terry ran into Blake Griffin after the whistle has already blown.  This was ruled to be a dead-ball foul and resulted in an ejection of Jason Terry.

The takeaway here is that as officials, if we look away or let our guard down during dead-ball situations, then we will be apt to miss sneaky fouls.  Dead-ball situations are a good opportunity for officials to be proactive.

Practical takeaways:

• After calling a foul, hold for a few extra seconds to make sure that the play has completely ended.  
• For example, A1 goes for a layup, B1 crashes into A1 causing the foul and both players go on the floor.  While on the floor, A1 pushes B1 off with a two-hand shove.  If the referee has bailed on the play after calling the initial contact, then that referee will probably miss the subsequent dead-ball contact from the players.
• If your partner has called a foul and has gone to report the foul, keep an eye on all the players and see if there are any extra-curricular activities going on between the players.
• Players from opposing teams talking to each other in a non-friendly manner.
• Light pushes/slaps ("Get off of me")

The dead-ball period is when players will often relax and catch their breath, but necessarily so for officials!  Officials must remain proactive during this time and maintain control of the game.




The embedded video above is from NBA.com (Original link here).  PVOA does not claim any ownership of the above video.  Posting of this video is used for training/educational purposes only.