Okay, here’s my blog post about my experience watching and analyzing the Celtics vs. Timberwolves game:
Man, that Celtics-Timberwolves game was a nail-biter! I decided to really dig in and track some things myself, just for fun, and see what I could pick up. Here’s how it went down.
Getting Started
First, I grabbed a notebook and pen – yeah, old school, I know. I wanted to jot down notes without messing with apps or anything. I also pulled up a basic stats website on my laptop, just to have a reference point.
The First Half Grind
At the start of the first half, I focused on possessions. I simply wanted to watch who the ball went to, and where, how many attempts, and from which position. My hand writing notes were nasty.
- Celtics’ Offense: I noticed right away they were running a lot of pick-and-rolls with Tatum and Brown. I made little tally marks every time they did it, and a star for when it actually worked (you know, led to a basket or a good foul).
- Timberwolves’ Defense: These guys were switching a lot. I drew little arrows to show who was guarding whom, and it looked like a spiderweb by the end of the first quarter. I tried to keep up with who was getting switched onto whom, but man, it was fast!
Halftime Adjustments
At halftime, I looked at my scribbles. It was clear the Celtics were targeting someone specific on defense, so I made a note to watch that closer in the second half. I also wanted to pay more attention to rebounds – who was crashing the boards, and were they getting second-chance points?
Second Half Focus
In the 3rd Quarter, I was locked in on the bigs. I made little boxes in my notebook, to observe the rebound situations.
- Rebound Battle: I was drawing little boxes for offensive and defensive rebounds, and putting the player’s number inside. It was messy, but it helped me see who was really hustling.
- Turnovers: I started tracking turnovers more closely, too. Just a simple “T” with a circle around it when someone coughed up the ball. I wanted to see if my “eye test” matched the actual stats.
Crunch Time!
In the fourth quarter, everything was intense. Instead, I just wanted to keep up with my own tracking, seeing what I learned!
I jotted down notes about the score, the players, and any big plays. Things happened so quickly. After, I reviewed it again with my notes, and checked the stats on my laptop.
Post-Game Reflection
After the final buzzer, I looked back at my notes. It was a mess of scribbles, arrows, and numbers, but it was my mess! I felt like I had a much better understanding of the game than if I had just passively watched it. My crude tracking of certain plays definitely matched up with the official stats, which was cool. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a fun experiment.
I’m definitely going to do this again for another game. Maybe I’ll even try to create a better note-taking system… or maybe I’ll just embrace the chaos again. We’ll see!
