Why do officials only care about the exact time at the end of the game?

[Beengay fudgepackers]

I have wondered this since the Bull Cavs series a few years ago when the officials practically gave the Cavs a time out to review the exact amount of time left. I’m over that loss, but I continue to wonder why the officials care that much at the end of the game. If it’s that big of a deal they should do one of two things. 1. Review every stoppage of time to get the exact time they should stop the clock, so they are sure of how much time is left. Let’s be honest. They probably run off at least a minute extra on average from the stoppage of play. Or 2. Bring in another official who’s sole job is to keep the time. This may not seem like a big deal, but at the end of a game, the extra time to review the clock becomes an unnecessary unearned advantage for one side. In the aforementioned Bulls Cavs game, the Cavs drew up an inbounds play to win the game.

 

[The Derski]

Because officials are heavily scrutinized in the final minutes of games. Ever heard of the two minute report?

 

[flyerhawk]

The rules for what refs can review change inside of 2 minutes of each half.

 

[michaeljordan_fan]

Because otherwise games would be 48 minutes of gameplay and 3.5 hours of official reviews.

 

[trojanfan12]

They actually do that on every stoppage of play where the amount of time left can be in question, no matter when it occurs.

The reason it seems more prevalent late in games is because, as a couple others pointed out, the rules regarding what can be reviewed change.