EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The NBA appears primed to join the NFL in adopting a limited form of instant replay to assist game officials for next season, league officials said yesterday.
Appearing before the media to discuss the state of the game between games of the NBA Finals, commissioner David Stern and his deputy, Russ Granik, said the league likely will set up a replay system that would be used to determine whether shots at the end of quarters, halves and the end of games were launched before time expired.
The league playoffs have been hampered by a few missed and unmade calls, including an official's ruling in the Eastern Conference first round that waved off Charlotte Hornets guard Baron Davis' three-pointer that would have won a game against the Orlando Magic.
During Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, Los Angeles Lakers forward Samaki Walker hit a three-pointer at the end of the first half that replays indicated came after the clock went to zeroes.
"We've finally come to the conclusion that you're not really asking a referee to make that call, good or bad," Granik said. "You're just asking him to guess and hope that he guesses right. So, if instant replay can help in that, then we ought to be using it."
Granik said the league's Competition Committee, which met last week in Chicago, had reached "an overwhelming consensus, perhaps even unanimous," in favor of replay, and will take a formal vote in the next two weeks. The NBA's Board of Governors likely would vote on the proposal in July, and replay would come to the NBA in time for next season.
Granik said a replay would be viewed by game officials, with the crew chief making the final decision. The referees would be limited to deciding whether or not a shot came in time and if a player attempting a three-pointer had a foot on the line. Because the replays would be seen between periods, Granik said he doesn't envision that watching them would delay games, as in the NFL.
In other developments, Stern said that while the league has given a Los Angeles-based group the go-ahead to scout European cities for their potential interest in playing host to All-Star Games or obtaining existing or expansion franchises, the league will forgo playing exhibition games overseas this fall as it did in the current season because of travel concerns.
Granik said there is a "fair" chance that teams will not be hit with a luxury tax for this season for exceeding the salary cap, thanks to rising gate revenues and the return of escrow monies the players gave back after the 1998-99 season.
However, Granik said there is a good chance that the salary cap will stay flat or decrease for next season because the national television money from the league's new six-year deal with ABC, ESPN and Turner will be less than this season's payout from NBC and Turner.
With ABC taking over telecasts next season, Stern said games in the championship series will tip off no later than 8:30, as opposed to the 9:18 start times mandated by NBC. And the games will remain on a Sunday-Wednesday-Friday schedule for at least the next two years.