Analysis: Transition Offense

The rankings above display this season’s top scoring teams in transition. The average ABA League team has scored 11.1 points per game in transition through Round 3—down just slightly from last season.

Digging Deeper

Easy points in the open court are hard to come by in the ABA League. Only 11.6% of all possessions this season have come in transition, but they have been converted for 1.14 points per possession — well above the league average of 0.93 points per possession on opportunities in the half court.

Cedevita Olimpija has been the league’s top transition scoring team through their two games. Their success can be traced to the play of Kendrick Perry and Jaka Blažič who rank as the league’s top-2 individual transition scorers. Interestingly, Olimpija does not rank first or even second in transition chances per game, they have just been extremely opportunistic when they have been able to run. Perry’s speed has been a major factor in that as he has created several true fast breaks by outrunning defenders.

Borac has also benefitted from the play of a productive pair of guards. Bryce Jones and Derryck Thornton have not had as many clean looks in the open court as Olimpija’s guards, but Jones in particular has done a nice job stepping through traffic and finishing with touch.

Mega Soccerbet and Partizan NIS have been more balanced in their efforts in the open floor but are separated by a few key factors. Mega Soccerbet has forced the lowest percentage of turnovers in the ABA League on the defensive end, but have benefitted from the mobility of their big men who can spark the break with their rebounding and fill lanes on the other end. Partizan, in contrast, has done a nice job forcing turnovers to create transition opportunities and spreads the ball around as much as any team in the ABA League.

Transition production can be somewhat unpredictable as mistakes leading to fast breaks, high-level defense, or good shooting can influence the number of times a team can get in the open floor on any given night. Teams that can sustain strong defense in the open court even when they are not making shots present an especially tough challenge. Partizan is the best example of that early on. They rank around average in field goal percentage, but has allowed only 18 points in transition through 3 games.

Insights and Statistics Provided by Synergy Sports Technology