Analysis: Total pick and roll points

Through the first 11 rounds of ABA League play, 36.3% of all possessions have been used or created by passes out of the pick and roll—slightly higher than last season. Mega Bemax creates the highest percentage of their offense with ball screen actions at 43% while no team creates under 30%. While a ball handler’s ability to find their own shot is important, passes out of the pick and roll generate more shots—and often more efficient shots—than ball handlers attempt themselves. Passes out of the pick and roll are converted for 0.93 points per possession on average while ball handlers average 0.78 using possessions themselves. The table above lists the 4 most productive passers in the ABA League this season.

Digging Deeper

Žan Mark Šiško has been the season’s most productive pick and roll passer by a significant margin. This is not surprising since he leads all players averaging nearly 10 assists per game. Many of his scoring passes come out of ball screens as the 22-year-old guard displays an excellent feel for finding the open man when the defense gets out of position. Using his size to deliver passes to roll men and shooters with great velocity, he regularly gets the ball to the open man a split second earlier than others guards—a big reason why he is so productive.

Stefan Pot’s pass-first style is a plus on a team that has found several reliable weapons like FMP. Over half of Pot’s pick and roll passing production has come from spot up jump shots. He does a very good job drawing defenders and kicking the ball to the perimeter.

A big part of Budućnost’s success offensively has been the volume of shots they create with passes out the pick and roll. They lead the league generating 36.1 of their 85.3 points per game out of ball screen actions thanks in large part to the way they can rely on not one, but two very prolific ball handlers. Justin Cobbs and Nikola Ivanović keep the pressure on opposing defenses with Scott Bamforth giving the current first place team even another dangerous scoring option in the pick and roll. Creating 1.08 points per possession out of the pick and roll, Budućnost’s efficiency in the two-man game drives their overall league leading offensive efficiency.

Insights and Statistics Provided by Synergy Sports Technology