NBA's new replay center is an immediate game-changer
SECAUCUS, N.J. — The NBA's new "Man Cave," as some league officials have affectionately dubbed their new instant replay center, will be a game-changer in the 2014-15 season.
Literally.
Gone are the days of replay delays, with officials struggling to get the right camera angle from television truck operators who don't work for the NBA while fans on hand and at home grow restless. Now, with their 20-station, 94-monitor outfit that resembles an Air Traffic Control center already up and running, the never-ending process of trying to improve their officials' accuracy is streamlined like never before.
"I think it's a great tool, because we get right to it," longtime NBA official James Capers said. "The thing that was hurting us before was (that) when we're dealing with the producer (in the television truck), they may be doing an interview or doing something else and I couldn't tell if they were talking to me, talking to someone else, and it took too much time in getting to the replay where now we're right on it."
Rod Thorn, the NBA's president of basketball operations and longtime league executive, estimates that the officials' success rate is "well over 90%." But the goal, Thorn said, was to continue improving on that number with the help of technology while expediting the process that was so cumbersome before.
"You're in a heated game, it's late in the game, and all sorts of stuff is going on around it, so this is going to be so much more efficient," Thorn said. "Plus, they're going to be able to get more calls right."
The complications that came with coordinating with outside parties clearly inspired this change, and the contrast between then and now is stark. On any given night, when any of the 15 triggers that prompt an instant replay occur in any of the 29 arenas that are now directly connected to this hub, officials may be connecting via headset with senior vice president of replay and referee operations Joe Borgia or one of his qualified colleagues. The right shot is delivered — often in a split-screen format that wasn't possible before — and the call is sometimes made in a matter of less than 10 seconds.
As Borgia noted, the previous system, which was in place for the previous 12 years, was inherently flawed.
"Last year in the Finals … we tested (the replay center for) five games (before the arenas were directly connected with video)," he said. "The first one was a little rough. So the next game, we wanted to switch and get a couple of different camera angles, so I said, 'Can we get the overhead (shot) for the next one?' And the (television producer) is probably brilliant — he's working the Finals. (When) he gave us the overhead — he gave us the blimp (shot). Honest to God. And I took the blame. I said, 'My fault. I would like the overhead in the arena.' Like I said, the guy's a genius but we're talking different languages. Now we don't have that issue."
The NBA is certainly proud of it's new facility, and with good reason. The capacity of their new network is 66 times the size of the previous one, with approximately 28 terabytes of data moving through it on a busy night. Thorn estimates that there were approximately 1,800 plays reviewed via replay last season. The final call is still made by the crew chief who is on location.
As Thorn said, though, the evolution of this part of the game is far from over, even if some officials are uneasy with the "Big Brother" component that is clearly coming into play.
"I think anytime that there's something like this changing, there's trepidation on the part of some," he acknowledge when asked if officials have expressed any concerns about the changes. "I think most embrace it (and realize) that it's going to help them. Some are a little more hesitant, but whether you like it or dislike it, it's here, and it's going to stay."