L2M

I mentioned in my last post about how I've been an Indiana Pacers fan since childhood.  Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals did not go well for us.  During a very close game, the game officials made a couple of critical and questionable calls during the closing minutes of the game that arguably had a significant impact on the game's outcome.  With the game tied 115-115 in the final minute, the Pacers stole an errant pass and turn-over, but the referees whistled a kicking call on the Pacers (which did not occur, by the way).  Knicks ball.  A few seconds later, the Knicks scored to take a 118-115 lead that they would never relinquish.  Former NBA Coach and television commentator Stan Van Gundy said this about the kicking call, "That is shocking.  You never see that call at this point in the game. I mean, never."  The Pacers challenged the call, but lost it.  After the game, the NBA admitted that they got the call wrong.

I am never one to argue that a game is lost over bad officiating.  However, in this case, the wrong call resulted in a potential five point swing.  The Pacers would have likely scored on a fast break to take a 117-115 lead.  Instead, they fell behind by three points.  And that is a tough pill to swallow.

Sports talk radio was all over this story, both on my afternoon commute yesterday and the morning commute today.  What was news to me, though, was that the NBA recently started analyzing the final two minutes of every game, specifically to review the officiating calls that were made.  It's called a "L2M" or "Last Two Minute" report, and the NBA has been issuing them since March 2015.  Effectively since the 2017-2018 season, the NBA has issued a L2M for any game in which one team’s lead over the other is three points or fewer at any point during the last two minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.  The NBA states that the purpose of the L2M reports is to increase transparency and accountability, as well as to build a greater awareness and understanding of the rules and processes that govern the game of basketball.  As the sports talk radio hosts also emphasize, given the closer ties with professional sports associations and sports gambling, the added layer of transparency provided by these reports is also of significant importance.

My interpretation is that the L2M reports are all about the High Reliability Organization principle of "Preoccupation with Failure".  I don't believe for a second that the NBA is trying to specifically become a High Reliability Organization.  They are just trying to improve how their game officials referee their games!   Remember, High Reliability Organizations (HROs) do not consider failures as things to avoid at all cost.  Rather, HROs believe that failures represent opportunities to learn and improve their systems.  As Thomas Watson, founder of International Business Machines (IBM) once said, "If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate."  Individuals in HROs report their mistakes, even when nobody else is looking!  HROs do not punish individuals who make mistakes.  On the contrary, in many cases, individuals who report their mistakes are often rewarded!

By publicly acknowledging their officiating mistakes, particularly in the most critical portions of a close game, the NBA is stating that they (1) made a mistake, (2) will learn from the mistake, and (3) will take the necessary steps to prevent those same kind of mistakes in the future.  What the NBA chooses to call transparency, accountability, and awareness is really what I would call the HRO principle of "Preoccupation with Failure".  Oh, and incidentally, there were four key errors from the Pacers-Knicks Game 1 the other night listed in the official L2M report.