NBA expands video replay role for upcoming season
Referees review a play prior to ejecting Al Horford #15 of the Atlanta Hawks from the game for a flagrant foul in the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2015 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena on May 24, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. Jason Miller/Getty Images/AFP
Video replays will be used to oversee more NBA referee calls in the upcoming season under an expanded plan announced Friday by the league.
The new areas where decisions will be made by referees in the NBA Replay Center will include foul calls coinciding with shot clock violations, end of quarter fouls and fouls when a player has a clear path to the basket.
The 2016-17 NBA campaign starts Tuesday with the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers playing host to the New York Knicks, Utah at Portland and San Antonio at Golden State.
The replay center will determine all video review situations except for flagrant fouls and player altercations, which remain in the hands of on-court referees, who will continue to instigate all replay reviews.
Last season marked the second campaign for the replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey. It ruled on 72 percent of all replays with an average review time of 31.9 seconds, down from 42 seconds in the 2014-15 debut year of the system.
The current standard for overturning a call made by on-court officials remains “clear and convincing evidence.
The NBA Board of Governors approved the expanded replay plan as well as extending the coaching box and player substitution box areas just off the court near the benches.
