Portland Trail Blazers are using iPads during timeouts

HMMMHMM · Nov 27, 2013

This used to be illegal, if the video material was taken from the game in-progress, but apparently they've changed that rule.

If you think you've seen the Blazers looking at iPads on the bench during games, your eyes are not deceiving you. Multiple members of the team are indeed viewing game tape on the bench, during games, with an eye towards strategic adjustments.

A quick survey of Portland's key players on this subject produced some interesting results. Lillard, Matthews, Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge all said that they are using iPads for help during games. Interestingly, they are pursuing individual approaches when it comes to what footage they want to watch, and they also have personal preferences about when and how they view the on-demand footage.

Matthews and Aldridge were the biggest advocates of the new technology. Matthews told Blazersedge that he uses the tablet to examine plays on both sides of the ball. On his offensive touches, he's concerned with his shooting form, whether he's rushing his shots, and whether there were additional options available to him when the ball swings his way. On defensive plays, Matthews is checking for his stance, his spacing relative to his opponent, and how players are scoring on him.

Aldridge, by contrast, does not look at Portland's defensive possessions, instead reviewing the opposition's defensive coverages when he has the ball in the block or in isolation. Where are the double teams coming from? When do they come? Which of Portland's shooters are opponents choosing to leave open? What are his passing options? He sounded like a football quarterback or an offensive coordinator when describing this instant, in-game "reading the defense" process.

Both players painted the iPad study as a serious competitive advantage.

"It does [help] because you get to see it [again], and in the game everything happens so fast," Matthews, who finished with 17 points (on 6-for-14 shooting) and 6 rebounds, told Blazersedge. "You ask yourself, 'Did I rush it? I felt like I rushed it.' [The video can tell me] when I'm in that same situation -- off a flare screen, when Nic [Batum] passes over the top -- [if] I have more time to get the shot off or [if] I have to shoot it at that speed again. Or, could I have driven it?"

The visual helps with maintaining his confidence too.

"You're not replaying [a possible mistake] in your head, psyching yourself out," Matthews explained to Blazersedge. "You can actually see it."

This video feedback comes almost in real time. Starters are able to watch sequences from their first shift when they check out for the first time, minimizing the delay from action to correction. What might once have been a "halftime adjustment" can now take place before a player checks back in during the second quarter.

"I get double-teamed a lot so I just have them put my double teams on there," Aldridge, who had 18 points (on 7-for-20 shooting) and 14 rebounds, told Blazersedge. "I want to see how they're double-teaming me, where they are coming from. Of course [it helps]. If I'm getting double-teamed and I can see how they're doing it, that helps me and all my teammates."

Lillard and Batum also use the quick-hitting footage, albeit with less regularity. Lillard said he prefers to watch the tape at halftime, while Batum, who finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, said that most of his videotape study comes before and after games. To my amusement, Batum said he enjoys looking over Aldridge's shoulder to watch whatever tape the All-Star forward is watching on the bench; anyone with younger siblings can relate to that phenomenon.

As a point guard, Lillard said there is plenty for him to digest, but he often saves the heavier lifting for next-day sessions or plane rides.

"[At halftime], I look at how they're playing pick-and-rolls, how I read something," Lillard told Blazersedge. "If one of the coaches is telling me, 'You looked here, but the wing was open,' I'll go back and look at those plays where they corrected me. I'll [also] go back and look at plays that I felt like I might have gotten fouled, to see if I was wrong. ... It's basically just watching film. You can watch film right now instead of tomorrow at practice. You can see what mistakes you might have made, you might be able to correct it in the second half. ... [It helps with the] adjustment process for a game."

We often hear that there's a saturation point when it comes to data, that too much information can be distracting or counterproductive. Information overload. Oh, really? These guys don't sound particularly over-saturated, do they? Next thing you know, they will be wearing Google Glass Sport Goggles and watching replays of their highlight dunks as they jog down back down the court.
Click to expand...

http://www.blazersedge.com/2013/11/26/5146394/media-row-report-blazers-102-knicks-91

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gWm6oyUpU9Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

So, why are the Rockets not doing this? Or are they? Does McHale hate technology?

DreaMac · Nov 27, 2013

Damn Morey done distribute all of our Ipads to free agents.

dharocks · Nov 27, 2013

Curious, does a basketball coaching clipboard app exist for tablets?

HMMMHMM · Nov 27, 2013

dharocks said: ↑

Curious, does a basketball coaching clipboard app exist for tablets?
Click to expand...

Yes.

https://itunes.apple.com/app/id664362361?mt=8

Panda23 · Nov 27, 2013

DreaMac said: ↑

Damn Morey done distribute all of our Ipads to free agents.
Click to expand...

Gave all the iPad monies to Hardens honies

SK34 · Nov 27, 2013

dharocks said: ↑

Curious, does a basketball coaching clipboard app exist for tablets?
Click to expand...

Rockets don't need one since our plays are

ISO Harden.
Pick and Roll w/ Lin or Harden.
Throw to post.
Turn it over.
Shoot 3s.

dookiester · Nov 27, 2013

Sounds like a gimmick. The stuff Matthews is looking for are all plays that vary all the time, seems it wouldn't be wise to use past performance as an indicator of future performance. Like, whether his form is off or he's rushing shots BC he has more time to shoot than he initially thought? Shouldn't an NBA player have a good handle on whether he can get a shot off or not based on a defender's proximity, speed and reach? I don't see how helpful that kind of minute analysis would be productive unless the opposing team was making zero adjustments and did everything, down to a players speed and effort in rotating, exactly the same.

That said, hard to argue with their record and if they think this is giving them an edge, then they're probably right.

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