LeBron James isn’t shying away from a new NBA rule change this season like the rest of his Cleveland Cavaliers’ teammates.
Instead, the three-time NBA champion is taking advantage of it, one that now allows players and coaches to use hard-wired connections to view real-time video clips from the bench.
“Just seeing how defenses are playing me, playing us,” James told Cleveland.com about using his iPad, which has been allowed on benches since the 2012-13 season.
“Just trying to stay above the curve and see how I can help.”
When James comes off the floor for a few minutes at a time, Cavaliers’ staffers know to have an iPad at the ready with in-game footage for review. So far, James is still the lone Cavalier to embrace the rule, which also allows teams to instantly upload in-game footage to iPads from behind the bench. The Cavaliers still upload clips from the team’s video room at Quicken Loans Arena.
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“I like to watch the game live, too,” James added. “So I’m always watching and looking up so I know what’s going on. It’s beneficial.
“You should, shoot, it’s 2017. We should be trying to find ways to continue to build our game. Bring technology into it. If guys want the ability to watch film during the game while they’re out, they should do it.”
For now, James’ head coach Tyronn Lue isn’t a fan of the technology, citing time restraints as a main deterrent.
“I’ve got to come to the huddle with my coaches. We talk, by the time I get to the huddle I’ve got to draw the play up, the games about to start. So, I don’t have a lot of time to do that.”
According to Cleveland.com, General Manager David Griffin explained that the organization would adopt the new rule further and move video equipment behind the bench if Lue, the coaching staff and more players started using the equipment.