ÜYou win games by attacking and championships by defending. This statement has been made in basketball for many decades. The basic assumption was and is that a team can call up their defensive performance more consistently than their offensive qualities, which depend much more on imponderables such as the day’s form. But given how the game has evolved, is the emphasis on defense still relevant as a basis for success?
Teams are scoring significantly more points than in the past, due to two factors. Players’ offensive skills have grown immensely, making it significantly more difficult to dominate a game over defense. In addition, the pace of the game has increased. Not only the accuracy has increased, but also the number of throws.
At the beginning of this millennium, many coaches had concrete touched on the defensive in order to nip the opponent’s flow of play in the bud. The result was an unattractive basketball with few points. This questionable philosophy of the game was supported by the interpretation of the rules, which actually gave teams that wanted to succeed through speed and offensive basketball hardly a chance.
Whenever there was a chance of fast-breaking, the “Zerstorer-Teams” resolved this situation with a tactical foul that carried no particular penalties unless physical hardness was involved. In the meantime, such an approach is sanctioned with two free throws and repeated possession of the ball.
The fact that the offensive has improved in all aspects and the rules no longer support the destructive approach does not allow the reverse conclusion that defense has become less important. The effectiveness of defensive work has long since ceased to be measured by the total number of counter points, but by the counts per ball possession. This ensures that teams that keep the score low by delaying the pace are correctly not automatically classified as good defensive teams.
Encourage poor litter rates
But are the teams that defend well also at the top of the table? It’s like that in the Bundesliga. Berlin, Bonn and Munich also take first place in the defensive rating. With 101.2 counterpoints per 100 ball possessions, the Bonners have the best value. 40 years ago, before the introduction of the three-pointer, the aim was to keep the opponent under 75 points per 100 possessions. A claim that is totally utopian these days.
It’s especially important for a good defense to encourage bad shooting odds. The three top teams are also in the first places when it comes to the effective field shot rate, in which a successful three-pointer is rated by a factor of 1.5 compared to a two-pointer in order to obtain reliable numbers. In addition, it is noticeable that the best defensive teams secure the rebounds to a high degree and do not allow second chances.
A similar picture emerges in the Euroleague. Just as the title contenders are called Berlin, Bonn and Munich in the BBL, they are called Piraeus, Madrid and Barcelona in the European premier class. Here, too, the favorites occupy the first three places in the classification – and positions one, two and four in the defensive rating. The bases for success are also similar: first, second and sixth in effective field rate, second, third and sixth in defensive rebound.
Look at the NBA
But are there also parallels to the North American professional league? In the NBA, four teams in the top six have the best defensive rating numbers. The Milwaukee Bucks, who will start the playoffs from pole position, are the fourth-best team on defense but force opponents into the weakest effective field rate and allow them the fewest offensive rebounds.
This puts the Wisconsin team ahead in the two most important subcategories. Neither in the BBL nor in the Euroleague nor in the NBA are the best defensive teams characterized by the fact that they provoke a lot of ball losses. Rather, the focus is on making all throws difficult without giving up the solid position between the opponent and the basket.
Of course, the best teams are usually found high up in the offensive rating. But Milwaukee, for example, is only eleventh. Boston as the top-ranked title contender in third, as does Piraeus in the Euroleague. But whether the defense actually wins championships will only become apparent in the playoffs.
The author was coach of the year twice in Germany.