The Portland Trail Blazers are off to their best start in years, and a new development in courtside technology may have something to do with their newfound success.
Head coach Terry Stotts has been allowing his players to use iPads on the bench this season as a sort of in-game film review. Video software installed on the tablets allows players to review plays just minutes or seconds after they take place — a system that the Blazers say they have certainly benefited from.
“I get double-teamed a lot so I just have them put my double teams on there,” All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge told Blazersedge after Portland defeated the Knicks on Monday for its 11th straight win. “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.”
“You’re not replaying [a possible mistake] in your head, psyching yourself out,” guard Wesley Matthews added. “You can actually see it.”
Monday’s win over New York improved the Blazers’ record to 13-2, good for first place in the Pacific Division just a half game behind San Antonio for the top spot in the Western Conference. For a team that has not won a playoff series since 2000, Stotts’ modern approach to in-game adjustments seems to be working wonders.
