Some teams have leaned on their defense to rise up the standings
Stats review: The importance of defensive details
Stats
4 Mins read
It was an eventful double-round week in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague as just five teams managed to escape with a pair of victories, setting the margin between second and ninth place in the standings at just a single game heading into Round 11. It is hard to escape just how unforgiving the league landscape is at this point as one week can be the difference between the optimism that comes with a spot near the top of the standings and the worry that comes with being on the edge of the early playoff picture.
That paints the teams that can rise up above the fray – even if only for a few games – in a different light. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul is the only team with a degree of separation at the moment as its five-game winning streak has the Turkish side one game clear at the top of the standings. Ranked 15th in offensive efficiency, its defense has been absolutely crucial to its success to this point.
The table above lists the top eight teams in points per possession allowed this season with some additional details – turnover rate, free throw rate, and Synergy Shot Quality (SSQ) – for reference. Given how difficult it is for teams to differentiate themselves at this level, the details are where things get interesting for Fenerbahce. Forcing turnovers at the lowest rate in the EuroLeague while committing fouls at the second-highest rate, its shot defense has had to be special to propel its record.
SSQ provides some insight into their recipe for success – it calculates the expected value of any given shot based on a data-driven model that considers all the advanced tracking data from the last decade of attempts in the EuroLeague. Fenerbahce is one of four teams with an SSQ under one point per attempt this season along with Zalgiris Kaunas and Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz – both featured above – and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, whose uneven start has been based, at least somewhat, on a run of bad luck.
Fenerbahce and Zalgiris have used a similar formula to limit their opponent’s shot quality this season. One of the main reasons they have been this season’s most efficient defensive units has been their efforts to chase opposing shooters off the three-point line and get to spots early in rotation along the perimeter to contest the shots that do go up. Even if neither team has been overly productive in the passing lanes and will commit some fouls as they scramble to recover around the rim or after switching, the volume of three-point shots they prevent and the quality of their closeouts have set them apart early on. It should come as no surprise, then, that that duo shot a combined 12 for 45 in Fenerbahce’s Round 10 victory at Zalgirio Arena.
Digging even a layer further, Fenerbahce’s attention to detail coming out of timeouts and diligence finishing plays late in the shot clock have had a noticeable impact on its bottom line defensively. Given the razor-thin margin for error round to round, it takes really good scouting of a set play, true multiple efforts to survive switches, or perfectly timed stunts to force mid-range shots to give a team the upper hand on the scoreboard. Fenerbahce is perhaps the league’s best example of that early on as its work in the details has materialized in the standings.
Among other superlatives in the details, Zalgiris has been the EuroLeague's top full-court pressing and pick and roll defense, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade has allowed the fewest opportunities in transition, Partizan has allowed the fewest shots around the rim, Real Madrid has finished plays on the glass more consistently, and Olympiacos Piraeus has forced the highest volume of mid-range jumpers. There’s a level of urgency to keep up with the pack right now that makes all the little things teams do at an elite level defensively feel a bit bigger than usual.