Sportradar breaks down which teams take the most shots at the rim
Stats review: How attacking the rim has keyed Zvezda’s win streak
Statistika
3 Minutė skaityti
Only four road teams were able to notch victories during the double-round week. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade secured one of those victories to join Zalgiris Kaunas and Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv as the only three teams to win six games so far. Integrating a host of newcomers this season, the historic Serbian club has seemed to right the ship after dropping its first two games. One key for Sasa Obradovic’s team in its rise towards the top of the standings: its relentless attacking of the basket.
As the table above suggests, no team has taken more shot attempts at the rim than Zvezda; whether those be dunks in transition, driving and-one layups, or tip-ins crashing the offensive glass. Despite finishing the fewest dunks in the EuroLeague thus far, Zvezda ranks first in overall rim scoring as it has consistently been the aggressor and finished steadily nonetheless.
While the club that claimed last season’s final Play-In spot has been able to rely on Chima Moneke scoring prolifically in transition, Ebuka Izundu and Donatas Motiejunas finishing plays inside, and Codi Miller-McIntyre to get downhill quickly out of pick and rolls, the rise of Jordan Nwora has been key to its early success and prolific interior scoring to this point.
After averaging only 7.6 points per game in his first EuroLeague campaign a year ago, he currently ranks fourth in scoring, averaging 19.7 per game – a jump rooted almost entirely in what he’s creating for himself driving to the rim and getting to the line. Leading all wings by a comfortable margin, averaging 8.8 points at the rim per game, he’s done a little bit of everything while shooting a stellar 77% inside but been especially effective using his frame against smaller wings on dribble drives. Slotted behind only Dan Oturu and Filip Petrusev in rim production, his assertiveness has added a key dimension to Zvezda’s attack.
That puts the fact that Zvezda scored a season-high 45 points at the rim without him against Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv in perspective. Even without its most prolific slasher, this unit has the personnel and determination to put consistent pressure on the paint. Not only are they prolific making shots at the rim, but their aggression attacking the basket has translated to the foul counts as well as they also rank first in total free-throw attempts.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade has been similarly assertive, but with only one player in the top 20 in individual scoring in close, it has benefitted from perhaps the EuroLeague's most balanced effort to this point. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz has been one of this season’s most efficient finishing teams due in large part to its athleticism on the wings, with AS Monaco in lockstep thanks to Daniel Theis’s 90% shooting at the rim so far this season. Only Olympiacos Piraeus and Hapoel have shot better than that pair, but on far fewer attempts.
While shot-making balance is key in the EuroLeague, teams that can leverage their perimeter shooting to put steady pressure on the rim in the half court present a unique challenge for opposing defenses. Zvezda has shown as much during its six-game win streak.