NBA officiating is often a controversial topic. It has been at the forefront of discussions even more than usual this season. There was the controversial finish due to a clock issue in a Raptors-Kings game and an incredibly long real-time ending to the final two minutes of Monday’s Clippers-Blazers game.
One theory of how to improve these issues is adding extra officials on the court. That may become a possibility soon as the NBA D-League is set to experiment with crews consisting of four or five officials.
According to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, there will be ten total games with larger crews giving the NBA a small sampling of data to show how games are affected. The NBA also experimented with four-person crews in the Salt Lake City Summer League in July.
“We are confident in how our three-person system works and are constantly thinking of ways to improve our game,” said Bob Delaney, the NBA’s Vice President for Referee Operations and Director of Officials. “The four- and five-referee initiative is a prime example of that focus and will help the NBA with research and development.”
There’s two lines of thought here. Adding more officials means more angles for referees to see the action and therefore make the correct calls. However, it could lead to more whistles and even longer games. Nevertheless, this is a worthwhile experiment in the NBA D-League.
