The difference between three-pointers made and three-pointers allowed can shed some light on results in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
Stats review: Diving into three-point differential
Stats
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Round 19 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague saw Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade match its win total from last season with a narrow 75-73 road victory over Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in Buesa Arena. In a low-scoring affair, Zvezda held Baskonia to 6-of-28 shooting from beyond the arc to overcome a difficult shooting night of its own.
It is Zvezda's perimeter defense that is at the root of its improvement year-over-year along with a bit of karma as well. Last season, Zvezda allowed 38% shooting from beyond the arc when it was in position to close out jump shooters. This season it has allowed an outlier 25% when getting a hand up in catch-and-shoot situations. Despite returning eight contributors from last season, the club has found itself on both extremes over a two-year period. A shift in priorities and personnel has been key as it has focused on guarding the three-point line at the expense of rotations inside, but the difference has been greater than the sum of its parts and the driving force behind its success to this point.
As the table above suggests, Zvezda is one of the five teams that has built a distinct advantage on the scoreboard from beyond the arc this season, albeit among the second tier of that group. The EuroLeague is often a make-or-miss league with many games hinging on a couple of bounces one way or the other and the Serbian club has put itself on the right side of those bounces and reaped the rewards after a season on the wrong side.
Zalgiris Kaunas and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul are unsurprising leaders here, though the margin they have sustained over their opponents — more than 3 makes per game — is striking. While Zvezda has done a dramatically better job contesting shots and seen the toll that takes on the rhythm shooters find on other attempts, Zalgiris and Fenerbahce often take three-point shots away entirely. The way they close out has stood out across the league this season with Zalgiris ranking second in overall defensive efficiency as it not only brings great energy to the perimeter, but manages to hold up well around the rim in spite of those efforts too.
Perhaps fittingly, Zvezda’s defensive efforts have put it on par with this season’s two more aggressive three-point shooting teams and its other biggest surprises. Paris Basketball and FC Bayern Munich have fired away at a historic rate from beyond the arc this season with that strategy fueling Paris’s impressive debut campaign and Bayern’s equally impressive turnaround from a year ago. Paris is an intriguing fit here given it has shot a 15th-ranked 34% from beyond the arc to this point as it still seemingly has some room to climb.
Unsurprisingly, many teams have fallen right around even this season in three-point differential, but some of this season’s biggest surprises have been rooted in their ability to build an advantage along the arc.