Analysis: Points per possession allowed in half-court
Round 20 of the ABA League is over and the league’s top half court defenses sit atop the standings in order.
(Photo: Synergy Sports Technology)
The rankings above display this season’s top teams in points per possession allowed in the half court, but they mirror the standings exactly. A team’s ability to get stops against an opponent’s set offense has been the single biggest differentiating factor in the ABA League this year. The average half court possession is worth 0.92 points per possession and half court opportunities make up 88% of all offensive possessions.
Digging Deeper
There’s a lot of things that go into how a team performs in the half court defensively ranging from the size and ability of its personnel, to its overall principles, to its scouting game-to-game.
Partizan’s success can be traced to their ability to protect the rim. William Mosley protects the basket at a very high level to lead that cause and their group does a good job as a team challenging drives and catch and finish opportunities. They rank 2nd in blocks per game behind only Mornar.
Budućnost VOLI in contrast does its best work on the perimeter doing an excellent job contesting pull-up jump shots. They are particularly effective against the pick and roll which requires a group effort and a lot of fine tuning to guard effectively. Not only are they consistent in the half court, but they rank as the ABA League’s top transition defense as well.
Crvena zvezda mts is the league’s most disruptive defense forcing a high volume of turnovers but doing so without committing a lot of fouls. They are very aggressive taking away spot up opportunities on the perimeter chasing opposing shooters off the line and forcing them to put the ball on the floor. That plays a role in the number of mistakes they force as they take many shooters out of their comfort zones.
Cedevita Olimpija is a capable all-around half-court defense that does a nice job finishing possessions with rebounds. They may not have any one particularly stark strength but do a very good job guarding on the perimeter and cleaning the glass and do not have too many major weaknesses either.
It will be interesting to see if the trend of half-court defense determining the standings holds up at this time next season or if that is specific to the 2019/20 season.
Insights and Statistics Provided by Synergy Sports Technology
