Trying to See the Game Like Jon Barry
So, I was watching a game the other night, you know, just chilling. Jon Barry was doing the commentary. I remember him playing, mostly as a solid shooter, a role player type. Nothing flashy, but reliable. Anyway, listening to him talk about the game got me thinking.
He’s always pointing out the small stuff, right? Like, not just the big dunks or the buzzer-beaters. He’ll talk about a guy making the right rotation on defense, or a simple pass that sets up something two plays later. Stuff I usually just gloss over.
I decided, okay, let me try and watch the game like he watches it. My little experiment for the evening. Instead of just following the ball, I started trying to see the whole floor. It was harder than I thought.
My process went something like this:
- First, I forced myself to look away from the player with the ball sometimes. Just watch the other four guys on offense. What are they doing? Setting screens? Cutting? Just standing there?
- Then, I tried focusing purely on defense for a few possessions. Who’s helping? Who’s late on a rotation? Barry often calls that stuff out immediately.
- I listened closely when Barry pointed something out, then rewound the playback (thank goodness for DVR) to see exactly what he meant. Sometimes it was obvious once he said it, other times it was super subtle.
Honestly, for the first half of the game, it felt like work. My brain wasn’t used to processing all that extra movement. I kept getting drawn back to just watching the ball handler, like usual. It’s just instinct, I guess.
But I stuck with it. I really wanted to see if I could pick up on those details before he mentioned them. I started noticing little things, like a defender cheating too far off his man, or an offensive player making a lazy cut that clogged up the lane.
Did it make me a better player? Ha, probably not. I haven’t been on a court seriously in years. But it definitely made watching the game more interesting. It added layers to it. Instead of just seeing points scored, I started seeing the little battles, the reads, the decisions that lead up to the points.
So yeah, that was my little Jon Barry experiment. It was kinda cool. Made me appreciate the smarts involved, not just the athletic plays. It’s like seeing the gears turning behind the clock face. Definitely gonna try watching games like this more often.
