Trail Blazers Use State-of-the-Art Shot Tracking to Boost Consistency

Since the early days of Damian Lillard, the Portland Trail Blazers have thrived on the three-point shot. Measuring by volume or percentage yields the same results: Portland likes the long ball. This year, they’re getting an assist during shooting practice from Noah Basketball, whose video feedback technology gives players real-time feedback on shot arc and depth.

Jami Goldberg of The Oregonian explained the system in an article today. It tracks location of shot, arc of the ball, and accuracy, giving coaches and players audio and digital feedback for each shot.

Goldberg quotes Head Coach Terry Stotts:

“Instantaneously, I was able to tell Dame and CJ what they did, what their average arc was, how they shot in different quadrants,” Stotts said. “It just tells you a lot of things. We’ve had some players where 75 percent of their misses are short, so that’s good information. I think it’s a really good tool.”

Advocates include Damian Lillard and Anthony Tolliver, who used the system during his tour with the Detroit Pistons.

“I just used it to track all my shots and just tried to analyze the data to be able to get better,” Tolliver said. “The more information that you can have, especially if you’re analytical like me, the better. You can always get better from it and learn from it and continue to home in on your skills.”

For more information about the technology, including how the Blazers adopted it and which players Coach Stotts expects to benefit most from it, see Goldberg’s article.