Adam Silver on NBA officiating: 'Human error part of game'

— -- Commissioner Adam Silver says the NBA doesn't have a choice on whether to be as transparent as possible in determining whether key crunch-time plays were officiated correctly "with so many cameras focused on the action, with so many other kinds of services providing that same information to our fans or to the public."

Silver, speaking in an interview with ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth on NBA Tonight, said with the focus of much of this season's playoffs on the officiating and how it has affected the outcome of games, that the refs still get it right a "vast majority of the time."

"Roughly 90 percent -- they get it right," Silver said. "Now, of course, I'd like 90 percent to be 100 percent. And so would they. But what these reports also show, what fans already know is, human error is part of this game, and the best athletes in the world make mistakes. And coaches occasionally make mistakes. Officials do, too."

Game officials have faced compounded controversy as a result of bad calls or non-calls in nearly every series of this season's playoffs as the NBA's " Last Two Minute Report" confirms what has often been made readily apparent not long after a play through TV and internet video, fueling a new round of headlines.

"My goal is for it not to be a storyline. There's no question about that," Silver said. "And even if you ask our officials, their goal is to not be noticed."

The league releases a report on officiating after each game that has a margin of five points or fewer at the two-minute mark.

Among the highlights -- or lowlights -- of this postseason's LTM reports:

• A game-winning shot by James Harden in the Houston Rockets' series against the Golden State Warriors should not have counted; it appeared Harden pushed off Golden State's Andre Iguodala before converting a 10-foot, step-back jumper with 2.7 seconds to play.

• On consecutive plays near the end of Game 7 in the Toronto Raptors- Indiana Pacers series, Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan should have been whistled for a defensive foul for pushing -- and then on the offensive side for traveling with 10 seconds to play, with victorious Toronto holding a three-point lead.

• In Game 2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder- San Antonio Spurs series, five incorrect non-calls were referenced in an LTM report, highlighted by an elbow on a inbounds pass by OKC guard Dion Waiters.

"Transparency is a key goal of mine," Silver said. "And the nature of these LTMs -- these 'Last Two Minute Reports' -- is that it's information we have already been sharing with our teams. They of course want to know if a particular play in the league's view was correctly called.

"And in part, not even necessarily because they accept the league's view over theirs. But they want to understand the basics of why we're making certain calls. And my sense is, the media and the fans want to have that same understanding. And they want to see if we're being consistent.

"Teams that are also playing in the regular season or the playoffs want to know when is it a block, when is it a charge, how are we calling traveling, for example."