Analysis: ABA League Pick and Roll Offense
Pick and roll play has driven much of what most teams have done on the offensive end over the last 10 years, but that trend appears to be changing in the ABA League.
The ABA League season has just begun and teams are still adjusting their tactics, but through 2 rounds, there is a large gap between how heavily teams have relied on pick and roll play to create shots within their offense.
Digging Deeper
The table above shows the percentage of total possessions each team has created with pick and rolls since 2010. The color coding shows the rise of pick and roll play over that period. The top marks in the 2010 and 2011 season would have ranked second to last during the 2018-19 season. Most ABA League continue to embrace ball screens as a major part of their offense. Mega Bemax is currently responsible for this season’s high, but is joined by 5 other clubs with between 40% and 45% of their total offensive possessions originating in the pick and roll.
What is unique about this season is the gap between those high-usage clubs and the rest of the league so far. To this point, two teams - Krka and Cedevita Olimpija - have generated less than 25% of their possessions via pick and rolls—the first teams to manage a mark that low since 2015. Currently sitting at the top of the standings, Cedevita Olimpija is an especially interesting case as they are less reliant on pick and roll play than nearly any team since 2012. Moving the ball very crisply through two games Cedevita Olimpija has been able to thrive on drive and kicks like few teams in recent history in any league. Krka in contrast has relied heavily on one-on-one situations to create offense. It will be interesting to see if both teams continue to embrace their current approach offensively or if they regress to the mean when it comes to using ball screens.
Insights and Statistics Provided by Synergy Sports Technology
