Mods - put this wherever it belongs. I find it different to watch a game on TV than in person. On TV it is hard to do much more than follow the ball because that is what the camera does. One thing I try to do when live is watch only their best player for a quarter. That is really focus on how they move without the ball, see the picks and screens, etc. Usually I pick the second quarter so I usually spend about 5-6 minutes on this as starters are often on the bench then. I used to watch the shot and try to predict if it would go in. Then I started watching the shooter and the location for the prediction. For example Battier from the corner is good. On the other hand Battier from the FT line is not. But that is a good shot for Scola. Of course any Hays FT is bad. Another example is dumping the ball off to Hays very late in the shot clock. You know a bad shot is coming before he even moves. PS I love Hays, Battier and Scola - all heart and hustle to overcome limited athleticsm. Now I watch the pass in to the shooter. If it a crisp pass to the hands and in motion it has a very high percentage chance of going in. If the shooter has to move any part of his body, he usually misses. I have really enjoyed this part of the game and encourage you to try it. This you can do even on TV. I spoke to a guy who reffed Big Ten sports and he said refs are trained to watch the defensive player and look for the foul rather than watch the offensive player. He sais that is why they miss traveling calls when the entire stadium sees it and why it is more often blocking than a charge. Off topic, but I asked him about the phantom double play call in baseball. He said they use the 'who ****ed-up rule'. That is if it is a routine play you don't have to prove you can touch the bag (and that leads to overall safety for those involved in the play). But if there was a bad throw, fast runner or a difficult play, you had to prove you could make it. I think I see that philosophy in almost all sports officiating. Once you establish it, you own it. I'd like to be better at watching defense. If any of you have suggestions, I'd like to hear them. I can recognize a pick and roll, but I normally don't come away knowing how it was defended. I guess that is just lazy on my part. I see the high PNR pretty easily, but not always in traffic. I have trouble recognizing man to man defense in the pros. College is pretty easy. I can watch the help defense, but I am not clear on the rotations to the help. I can see that better live than on TV. I can tell things are plays, but I don't know any of the Rockets plays. For example I recognize that Landry keeps geting the ball at the post late in the game, but I am not clear on how they get it to him or if they have done any thing to enhcnce his position. I saw an opponents play where the pass went to the short corner for the three, and as Battier tried to run at the shooter there was a defender between Bat and the shooter. I see that sort of thing, but I don't see how they set it up. I'm curious. What do you watch. Any of you have any viewing tips that that you want to pass on?
