Stats review: Pace and efficiency are up this season

Increased aggression in transition, regardless of how subtle, has played a role in the rise in efficiency league-wide this season

Pace and efficiency are up in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this season and one of the reasons why played a not-so-subtle role in one of Round 18’s most significant outcomes. Paris Basketball and Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz combined to score 38 points in transition as the latter managed a crucial home win at Buesa Arena to stay attached to the 15-team cluster jockeying for position entering the second half of the regular season.

While 38 may not seem like a big number, it is worth noting that the average game featured only 21 points in transition per game a year ago. Historically, it is extremely hard to get in the open floor in the EuroLeague as the level of organization simply doesn’t allow for it; teams take care of the ball, which makes it hard to turn defense into offense and they change ends quickly to take away runouts after missed shots. As a result, seven teams generated less than 10% of their total opportunities in the open floor last season. That is true for only one unit this season as, across the league, teams have been more decisive when looking to push in the early going.

That increased aggression, regardless of how subtle, has played a role in the rise in efficiency league-wide this season. Transition efficiency has been largely flat in recent seasons even as pace has ebbed and flowed and turnovers are not up on the year. With the average transition possession being roughly 20% more efficient than the average half-court possession, teams looking to be more opportunistic has been one of the small changes propelling the EuroLeague back up to its gaudy pre-pandemic offensive efficiency.

The table above lists the seven teams pushing the pace more often than anyone else this season. Even as ALBA Berlin has had a hard time securing victories early on, their production in the open floor has been a bright spot and given them a puncher's chance against several playoff teams. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have both found success pushing to score as they begin to get back on track in the half-court with Barcelona shooting the three opportunistically and Madrid finishing layups at a tremendous rate when they run.

Paris Basketball and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens are the enigmas on this list. No team has been more aggressive shooting transition three-pointers than Paris, who attempts nearly half of their shots from beyond the arc when they run. Panathinaikos, in contrast, has attempted a EuroLeague-low 15% of their shots in the open floor from beyond the arc as they are very aggressive putting pressure on the rim. While Paris makes a concerted effort to look for shooters, they have shot 31% from beyond the arc in the open floor compared to 35% in the half-court. The team missed their last 4 transition threes against Baskonia as their tempo and shooting did not provide much relief during a 23-point swing on the scoreboard in the second half.

One of the key contributors in that swing was Chima Moneke who scored 13 points in transition alone to help Baskonia secure victory. The veteran forward currently ranks second among all players in transition points per game after leading the league last season.

The only player scoring more prolifically in transition is FC Bayern Munich guard Carsen Edwards. Averaging 1.42 points per possession in transition, Edwards has been hugely effective this season and the main reason Bayern leads all teams in transition efficiency.

EuroLeague offenses tend to be well-oiled machines, but there’s a chance that this season winds up being the most efficient season on record when the regular season comes to a close. It will be interesting to see what subtle things, like transition play, push the league to new heights and what kind of staying power those things have in the coming seasons.