It’s been quite the weekend for NBA replay reviews. The latest notable one came in the closing moments of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Game 4 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Wolves’ guard Anthony Edwards’ drive led to what was initially ruled a turnover. Still, Minnesota coach Chris Finch challenged it, and that led to a foul called against Lakers forward LeBron James for making contact with Edwards before the ball was released.
The ABC on ESPN broadcast Sunday didn’t think the call would change at first, though. Indeed, analyst Richard Jefferson was particularly convinced there was no foul:
However, the review included a top-down look from the Sony Hawk-Eye camera (incorporated into NBA player tracking as of March 2023 and extensively used in various kinds of tracking elsewhere, including the NFL, soccer, and tennis) that was much more convincing. And analyst Doris Burke correctly called, based on that, that this would indeed turn into a foul on James:
With that foul, Edwards hit two free throws to extend the Minnesota lead to 116-113. And that would be the final score, giving the Timberwolves a 3-1 series lead. But remarkably, this came just a day after that same overhead Hawk-Eye camera proved critical, and also against a Los Angeles team. That was on the extremely close Aaron Gordon buzzer-beating dunk to give the Nuggets a win over the Clippers:
That one was so close that it led to a very protracted replay review and even criticism. It showed “the inanity of NBA replay.” But part of the criticism there was that the angles shown on TNT’s broadcast didn’t seem to really provide a clear yes-or-no answer on if Gordon let go of the ball before the game-ending backboard light went off. The NBA later posted a clip to social media showing the overhead Hawk-Eye feed, with the ball out of Gordon’s hands ahead of the light:
Adding to the remarkable dialogue around NBA replay review this weekend, the New York Knicks-Detroit Pistons Game 4 on Sunday ended with an uncalled foul, and with referee David Guthrie noting that a look at the video convinced his crew that a foul was justified. There’s no word on whether that video included Hawk-Eye angles or not. But that was on a play that wasn’t eligible for in-game review. Still, review in general and Hawk-Eye in particular stole the NBA spotlight this weekend,