NBA to Review Replay Policy

In the wake of the controversy over a game-winning, buzzer-beating shot that was waved off in a Charlotte-Orlando playoff game, NBA Commissioner David Stern said the league plans to discuss using instant replay in similar situations.

“I think the whole subject has to be looked at, including just using instant replay,” Stern said.

In Saturday’s Hornet-Magic game, Charlotte’s Baron Davis banked in a shot that clearly beat the buzzer after the Hornets inbounded the ball with 0.7 seconds left and the score tied.

Referee Bernie Fryer waved the shot off while it was in the air, saying the officiating crew had discussed beforehand that no player could catch, turn and shoot in that amount of time.

The Hornets went on to defeat the Magic in overtime, but the episode showed that the league needs to address its policies regarding rulings on last-second shots.

“I think that we’ve got to do two things: We’ve got to satisfy our fans that they can understand what our rules are, and we have to re-evaluate what human beings can do,” Stern said.

“Basically, you wind up having a standard that says it isn’t humanly possible to do something in less than 0.7 seconds, and then someone proves that it is, and those are the kinds of protocols that we use.”

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