Challenges of refereeing decisions by NBA coaches will stay.
Following the recommendation of the league’s competition committee, the NBA’s governing board decided Thursday to retain the option of these challenges for future coaches. The measure was introduced last year on a trial basis.
Coaches challenged 700 decisions last season, including the postseason. The arbitration decisions were reversed 308 times, the equivalent of 44%.
“Our coaches were receptive to the pilot version of the challenge from coaches, increasing its use and becoming more comfortable with the concept and strategic issues as the season progressed,” said Bryon Spruell, league president of operations.
A plan was also approved by the governing board to allow teams to expand their roster of active players, from 13 to 15 on the nights they have played this season. The change came in response to the coronavirus pandemic and foresees the possibility of teams running out of some players for a while.
“There will be people who contract the virus. It’s going to happen and we have to adapt, ”Toronto guard Kyle Lowry said Thursday, a few hours before the governing board meeting, when asked about health and safety protocols during the season. “When it happens, nobody will know how, nobody will understand how it happened. But we need to have an adjustment, to understand that things are going to happen. We have to adjust, figure it out ”.
In addition, the transfer deadline was established for this season: it will be March 25, about two weeks after the start of the “second half” of the calendar. So far the calendar is known until March 4 and the rest will be determined in the coming weeks.
The league changed two parts of the challenge rule from last season. Teams will no longer be able to challenge the previous decision if they incur an infraction for delaying the game before asking for it to be reviewed and – in situations where the referees meet to determine what decision to make – the time a team will have to present the Challenge will start until the final decision of the play is made.
Although the rule will remain, this does not mean that it cannot be changed in the future. The league has recognized in the past that it is on the tightrope between wanting to shorten games, not interrupt the rhythm of play and correct as many refereeing errors as possible.
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