BLAZERSIPAD.JPG

Wesley Matthews (from left), LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum gather around an iPad on the bench as the Portland Trail Blazers face the Chicago Bulls at the Moda Center last month.

(Bruce Ely/The Oregonian)

When Terry Stotts played college basketball at the University of Oklahoma, high-definition television didn't exist, laptops and tablet computers were the stuff of science fiction and digital video was in its infancy.

When the Sooners watched film during a scouting session, they’d gather in a room, dim the lights and stare up at a screen as an old-school reel-to-reel projector noisily blasted a grainy image of game footage.

Click, click, click, click. Over and over the reel would spin. Click, click, click, click.

"That was 35, 40 years ago," the Trail Blazers coach said of his college career, which stretched from 1977-80. "Things have changed. Each generation — whether it's going from video tapes to DVDs and now to digital — has evolved."

And the Blazers are at the forefront of this evolution. Projectors are long gone, replaced with sophisticated computer software and tablet apps that have transformed scouting, game preparation and in-game management. Look closely at a Blazers game on television and you might spot LaMarcus Aldridge or Wesley Matthews sitting on the bench staring at an iPad. They're watching video clips of themselves from earlier in the game, hoping to find tendencies or tips that might give them an edge.

But the Blazers’ use of iPads extends well beyond a couple of players scrutinizing video a couple of times during games. This season, the Blazers have started using iPads extensively as a tool, handing out the easy-to-use Apple devices to every player on the roster and loading them with scouting reports, defensive assignments, game clips and more. Before practices, before games — even after games on planes — the Blazers have access to hours of video at their fingertips.

“I think the league is kind of on the cutting edge, on the forefront, of video technology,” Stotts said. “With the sports in-house cameras and all the statistical data that they provide, the use of video replay and the continued use and expansion of video replay; it’s well thought out, it’s trying to make the game better, improve players, coaches, management. I think the NBA has always been on the cutting edge of digital video and this is the next step.”

• • •

It’s Nov. 13, about 90 minutes before the Blazers are scheduled to host the Phoenix Suns at the Moda Center, and the Blazers’ locker room is quiet and focused.

Two HD TVs mounted into the back wall are broadcasting painful video — a replay of their humbling 104-91 loss to the Phoenix Suns on opening night — and a few reporters are milling about. On one side of the locker room, Joel Freeland and Victor Claver are sitting next to each other watching video on Freeland's iPad.

In that opening-night loss to the Suns, the Blazers had been caught off guard by the surprising play of Miles Plumlee. In 2012-13, as a rookie, Plumlee recorded 13 points and 22 rebounds all season, but he torched the Blazers to the tune of 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks on opening night.

Freeland, who defended Plumlee during stretches of that game and would guard him again during the rematch that was 90 minutes away, was eager to avoid a repeat, so he was giving himself a last-second reminder of what he would face. As Freeland stared at his iPad, he had access to preloaded clips of Plumlee’s offensive possessions this season, including the first meeting against the Blazers.

Freeland pushed play and watched clip after clip after clip of Plumlee’s go-to offensive moves, including a smooth right-handed baby hook and a fluid jumper off the glass from the left block. Repeatedly, as Freeland stared at the screen, he watched Plumlee bully himself into the lane and beat the Blazers to the rim, finishing an alley-oop here and a driving layup there.

“I should have reacted faster to that,” Freeland said after one play.

Each of the Blazers has a personalized iPad, complete with a sticker on the back featuring his uniform number. When players walk into the locker room at the practice facility for a workout — or into any locker room in any NBA city before a game — the iPads are usually waiting on their chairs.

They feature a full scouting report of that night’s opponent and a variety of video clips tailored to each player, featuring clips of themselves and their opponents. Before that game against the Suns, Freeland had access to his offensive possessions not only from recent Blazers games, but also from the first meeting versus the Suns, which provided insight into how the Suns might defend him later that night. He also had access to the offensive clips of every player he might guard that night — including Plumlee, Channing Frye and Alex Len — which allowed him to look for tendencies and go-to moves just before tipoff.

Right about the time Freeland finished watching Plumlee's opening-night exploits, Nicolas Batum sauntered in, plopped down at his stall and powered on his iPad.

Someone asked about his clips and he snickered. Freeland’s list of defensive assignments is pretty straightforward — featuring power forwards and centers exclusively — but Batum’s is far more extensive. His defensive ability is so versatile, Batum could end up defending players at every position except center, depending on the opponent and matchups. Batum’s file of possible defensive assignments was overflowing with options.

“I pretty much have everyone on the team,” he said, smirking.

• • •

Every team in the NBA uses video for scouting in one way or another. For years, organizations have housed video departments and employed video coordinators — Jonathan Yim fills the role for the Blazers — who have been instrumental in helping coaches make in-game adjustments. That used to be relegated to halftime meetings, when coaches would show clips on screens in locker rooms and tweak defensive coverages or offensive sets.

But the NBA altered its rules prior to the 2012-13 season. Now, teams are allowed to review video from any game — including the one they are playing — on the bench as long as it does not feature a live video feed. Aldridge and Matthews are the Blazers players who most often take advantage of the rule change, and they regularly peruse clips in-game on iPads.

During the first half of Wednesday night’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Aldridge was pulled from the game and, about two minutes later, an intern from the video department left the video room with an iPad and delivered it to the bench. Aldridge went on to have a monster game, recording a career-high 38 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, perhaps aided by a tip he picked up from the iPad.

“I use it mostly to see how teams are double-teaming me,” Aldridge said earlier this season. “Because I get double-teamed a lot, so I like to see what guys are open, who I’m going to hit (with a pass) if I get double-teamed, where the defense is double-teaming me from and where my shots are going to come from.”

While Aldridge focuses on his offense, Matthews said he looks at everything. On offense, he checks defensive coverages and scrutinizes his shooting form, where his shots are coming from and whether he’s rushing drives or shots. On defense, he watches for spacing and how he challenges offensive players.

“It’s just instant feedback,” Matthews said last week. “It’s better to see something and watch yourself rather than trying to replay things in your mind and get bits and pieces from what other people are telling you. You can actually see what happened. Video doesn’t lie.”

The Blazers aren’t the only team in the NBA to use iPads or other state-of-the-art technology. Sportstec, a company that creates and distributes basketball scouting software, works with 27 NBA teams — including the Blazers — according to its website. But the Blazers might be the only team to credit the use of technology after a win.

Remember that crucial block Damian Lillard recorded against Jodie Meeks in the closing seconds of Sunday’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers? When Lillard chased Meeks through a wall of screens toward the baseline, then followed him back toward the perimeter to swat an important shot attempt?

Before the game, when he was reviewing clips on his iPad, Lillard happened to come across that exact play. As it unfolded on the fly, Lillard said afterward, he knew exactly what was coming.

And when the Blazers flew back to Portland after the game, Lillard sat in his seat on the team’s charter and watched the highlight all over again on his iPad.

Not only do players have access to the iPads for pregame scouting and in-game adjusting, they also have the ability to watch them when they travel. After every game, Yim instantly loads each player’s iPad with clips from the just-completed game in case they want to watch them as they head to the next city. It’s not mandatory that players watch video during a flight, and some purposely avoid doing so to clear their heads. But others say it helps to watch as soon as they can.

“That’s part of the reason why I don’t sleep,” Matthews said. “I’m playing the game over and over in my head. It’s easier for me to look at it right away. It’s better for me because I can look at it and I can see everything right away, rather than make it more dramatic in my mind.”

Now, more than ever, video is available whenever a player wants it. The days of reel-to-reel projectors are long gone.

“I think video is the best teaching tool there is,” Stotts said. “It’s important that the players know that it’s available to them and if they want to take advantage of it, fine. Every player goes about the game and goes about his job differently. Some want to play with a free mind and not be bogged down by looking at things like that. But some want everything they can get.”

-- Joe Freeman