Fansided

Portland Trail Blazers using iPad’s on bench to view game tape

By Bryan Rose

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November 23, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers small forward Nicolas Batum (88) leads power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12), shooting guard Wesley Matthews (2), center Joel Freeland (19), and point guard Mo Williams (25) to their bench after an altercation with the Golden State Warriors during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Trail Blazers defeated the Warriors 113-101. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
November 23, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers small forward Nicolas Batum (88) leads power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12), shooting guard Wesley Matthews (2), center Joel Freeland (19), and point guard Mo Williams (25) to their bench after an altercation with the Golden State Warriors during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Trail Blazers defeated the Warriors 113-101. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

If you’ve watched a Portland Trail Blazers game in recent weeks, you’ve probably noticed something strange going on in the huddle during timeouts. No, the team isn’t engaging in a wild game of Angry Birds or Candy Crush, in fact, they’re watching game tape of themselves on an iPad.

Yep – as BlazersEdge recently noted, the Blazers have been using iPad’s during game action to not only check stats but to also watch tape of themselves:

"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."

The video is essentially sent to the tablet in real-time and ready for viewing immediately, which allows the players to discuss a play that literally happened seconds earlier.

It seems to be working too as the Blazers are 13-2 through their first fifteen games of the season.

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