Luckily for me the NBA season was not a complete bust as everyone finally decided to play nice and get the season going, albeit not until Christmas day. Despite the late start, it’s been full of ups and downs, game-winning shots and surprisingly Lebron James seems to be a decent person. Well, we still have time, but I digress. For those NBA fans who want more than just a game on the TV, there is the NBA Game Time Courtside (iPad only) app by NBA Digital, which includes some very useful features.
For instance, the app displays live team and player stats, in-progress video highlights from around the league and full game video recaps to name a few. It truly enhances the TV viewing experience. While most games are free to check out there are a few that require a subscription to the League Pass, which can be purchased through the local cable operator or satellite provider.
On initial launch, the app automatically displays the games available and which station they’re on wither it be TNT or blocked behind the League Pass paywall. What’s interesting is that Blackout restrictions still apply. That’s what I like about NFL’s Redzone channel that features all scoring drives, no matter the location. However, NBA is a totally different beast so no biggie.
Now, the user can click on the game they’re interested in such as the one displayed on my iPad screen, which is Los Angeles Lakers versus Portland Trailblazers. I can sees that LAL is 4-3 and POR is 4-1, the game is on TNT and scheduled for 10:30 PM ET. Now it gets fun. Once I click on it, a new screen appears displaying score, hot zones for scoring, time left, statistics and a large court in the middle displaying the home team’s logo.
From any screen, the user can select the clipboard in the upper right of the screen to get a snapshot of all teams and their standings and statistics. Click on the TV icon in the upper right and the user can view videos from around the league, including “Plays of the Night” for an even more in-depth experience. This alone makes NBA Game Time Courtside a must have app. The fact that it’s free is just gravy.
