title: An analysis of defensive strategies used by home and away basketball teams.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to identify differences in defensive strategies used during basketball games, to compare the defensive strategies used by home and away basketball teams, and to analyze the effectiveness of home and away ball possessions when playing against each defensive strategy. The sample was composed of 10 games of the Spanish men's 2005-2006 regular basketball season (N = 1,785 ball possessions). The analyzed variables were the number of types of defenses used, points per possession, foul percentage, and turnover percentage according to the type of defensive strategy and game location. The game location main effect was significant in points per possession, with home teams having lower values than away teams. The defensive strategy main effect was significant in number of types of defenses used, with man-to-man as the most frequently utilized defense, and foul percentages with higher values in zone defenses. There was a statistically significant interaction in turnover percentages, with significantly lower values for man-to-man defense and home games. Overall, it is suggested that team performance for the studied variables changed according to the factors and, thus, it may be beneficial to change defensive (and offensive) strategies according to game location.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain. magor_2@yahoo.es
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lorenzo
authors.forename: Sergio J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ibáñez
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Leite
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sampaio
mesh_terms: D054874:Athletic Performance; D001490:Basketball / Q000523:psychology*; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012931:Social Environment; D013030:Spain