INSTANT REPLAY ON ITS WAY REFEREES WILL GET HELP ON DETERMINING TIMING OF LAST-SECOND SHOTS.

Byline: Michael A. Anastasi Sports Editor 

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Instant replay is coming to an NBA arena near you.

In the wake of several controversies over last-second shots this past season, including two involving the Lakers, the league has all but formally decided to institute the use of instant replay, beginning next year.

However, NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik emphasized it won't be like the NFL, NHL or NCAA basketball. Instant replay would be used only to double-check whether a shot was released from a player's hand before the buzzer at the end of a quarter or game.

``We came to accept, and I think all the basketball people and all our teams that are represented at the competition committee, that when you get down to it really, calls within a couple of tenths-of-a-second, it's not even something that you can really expect human beings to do,'' Granik said Tuesday.

``We've finally come to the conclusion that you're not really asking a referee to make that call good or bad, you're just asking him to guess and hope that he guesses right.''

Samaki Walker hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first half of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against Sacramento - the Robert Horry game - and replays later showed the basket should have been disallowed. In fact, Granik said, the NBA's research showed Walker released the ball 7/100th of a second late.

On Feb. 19 against Boston, Kobe Bryant's 18-footer - which would have given the Lakers a one-point victory - was disallowed by officials on the floor after they conferred, and L.A. lost 109-108.

After viewing the replay, Bryant later admitted it was probably the correct decision - ``I think he guessed a good call,'' Bryant said - but Granik said league officials have viewed the tape a hundred times and still can't tell.

``We have to accept that might happen,'' Granik said. ``But most of them, you can see whether it's :01 or :00 and whether the ball's in (the player's) hand or not.''

The league probably will have its arenas add additional game clocks so that they can be seen from nearly every camera angle. Putting a game clock on the television screen is not an option, Granik said, because it can take a tenth of a second for the data to travel from the official game clock to the screen.

The NBA intends to keep the use of instant relay as narrow as possible - it will be a routine procedure in which the crew chief will review the tape on last-second shots and be aided by the other two referees if necessary. However, Granik said the new rule probably will have enough latitude so that the officials can overrule other calls if an error is spotted in the course of reviewing the clock, such as discovering a player's foot was on the 3-point line.

--International expansion: Following last week's announcement that the Anschutz Entertainment Group is planning to build Staples Center-style arenas in London and Berlin with a vision of eventually bringing the NBA to Europe, NBA Commissioner David Stern addressed the concern that players would be reluctant to endorse the additional travel.

``I think that if we were to expand with franchises overseas, the additional roster spots would be welcomed by our players,'' Stern said. ``And travel, I think, is less of a problem depending upon how many franchises you might have located there. Because the trip from New York to London or Paris, depending upon the mode of transportation, could be quite a bit faster than the trip from New York to L.A. or Seattle or Portland.

``That logistic is not an issue. It's really an economic issue and a popularity issue. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Frankly, seeing the buildings being built and being tested out and the like is a good opportunity for us to watch and learn, particularly with the Anschutz Group.''

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NBA officials may not have to huddle as much on last-second shots next season, with the use of instant replay.

Ric Francis/Associated Press