This play may best sum up the NBA’s announced change in what referees can review on a coach’s challenge for an out-of-bounds play. During the Western Conference Finals, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving reached and fouled Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels, causing McDaniels to lose the ball out of bounds. On the floor, the referees did not call the foul but called the ball from Irving. Dallas challenged, but under the rules the referees could not change their call to give Irving a foul, all they could do was change the call to say the ball came off McDaniels, a successful challenge that gave the mavericks the ball. (Postgame, the officials admitted they missed the call but said they were prevented from doing anything other than saying it was Dallas’ ball.)
No longer, under the expanded use of the coach’s challenge announced by the league, the referees could change their call to a foul on the play.
There are three conditions: 1) The foul must be from a player involved in the out-of-bounds play (not elsewhere on the court); 2) The referees will look at the distance between the foul and the out-of-bounds play; 3) How much time passed between the foul and the out of bounds game?
The league works to keep this very specific, but it came up a few times last season. It will not lead to more reviews, as it can only be during the trainer’s challenge (although those challenges could last longer in these cases).
The rule change was recommended by the NBA’s Competition Commission – made up of players, coaches, owners, team and league basketball executives, and referees – who passed it on to the Board of Governors, which approved it.
