INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Back from holding their training camp at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, the Cleveland Cavaliers returned to the Cleveland Clinic Courts, where they held practice on Monday. During that practice, Cavs forward Luke Travers was putting shots up wearing a pair of goggles.
Suggested by their research and development team, the dark frames on Travers's face weren't a fashion statement, but instead, a piece of technology the Cavs are utilizing as they develop some of their younger players.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson said that Alex Sarama, the Cavs' director of player development, would be able to explain the glasses but was unavailable for the details, so Atkinson explained as best he could.
"So I guess when you take the shot, it blacks out. So as soon as you release the shot, it goes dark, you can't see anything, and then you want to get feedback...while it is blacked out, you say 'Short,' 'Long,' 'Left,' 'Right.' And then it comes back on like normal," Atkinson said. "I tried it. I thought it was interesting. Luke's obviously bought into it."
It's not just Travers. Jaylon Tyson, another young Cavs player, has used the eyewear as well.
"I did try it. It's a little tricky. It's a little tricky. Like when you're shooting, sometimes it would just go black and you're shooting without even seeing the rim. It's a cool little system, and that's why I credit to this coaching staff. They tried different things to help us become better players," Tyson said.
The eyewear is the Senaptec Strobe Classic glasses. On the company's website, the glasses are described as using a "patented technology that allows each lens to strobe between clear and opaque, removing visual information, forcing the individual to process visual stimuli more efficiently."
The concept is visual occlusion. The wearer of the glasses has their vision blocked during a drill, forcing them to rely on their other sense, which, in the case of a basketball player like Travers, can be a mixture of touch and muscle memory.
Users of the glasses look to them to help improve aspects such as focus, timing, visualization, quickness, peripheral vision, and balance. All of those areas are good for any player to improve upon, but for the Cavs, their hope is that an improvement in those areas culminates in a better shooter on the court.
"We do study this stuff, research and development. This is one of the apparatuses that we thought was worth trying, and the way we like to do it is start with our younger players," Atkinson said. "We'll see. The proof is in [seeing] if we can get him to be a better shooter."
It's likely you won't see guys like Donovan Mitchell wearing the glasses during practice. But for players like Travers, who is on a two-way contract with the Cavs and is developing with both the Cavs and their G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge, the technology is worth trying out in an ever-evolving league.
"You have to be up to date on what the heck is going on in the sports world because things are changing so fast," Atkinson said.
