Basketball has developed into an increasingly offensive sport. On average, players’ athletic ability and technical skills have increased significantly. Stopping a well-trained basketball player from scoring is becoming increasingly difficult. That’s why this sport has become significantly more attractive over the past twenty years. Rule changes also contributed to this. Since intentionally fouling a competitor in a quick attack is punished with an unsportsmanlike foul, there is more speed in the game, which leads to more and more easy and spectacular baskets overall.
With a good offense you win games, with a good defense you win championships – that’s an old saying in basketball. One could conclude that it is outdated due to current developments and that a good offensive can also be the basis for lasting success. However, it is important to remember that only a few teams can pay the absolute top talents who make the difference in attack. These players can be classified as artists, but the working virtues of defense and rebounding are still extremely important, as a look at the current situation in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) shows.
And what is it like in the NBA?
The Telekom Baskets Bonn score more than 124 points per 100 ball possessions. This is an outstanding value that puts the Rhinelander at the top of the ranking, immediately ahead of the star-studded FC Bayern Munich (123.5). In the table, the Bonn team is only in ninth place. Things look different when you look at the best defenses. The seven best defensive teams are actually in the top seven positions in the rankings. In addition to Munich, Euroleague participant Berlin, champions Ulm and the traditionally defensively strong Ludwigsburg team, these also include the surprises from Chemnitz, Würzburg and Vechta.
Despite major injury problems, the Chemnitz team have settled at the top of the table despite all the prophecies of doom because they are clearly the best defensive team. The Saxons are the only team to allow fewer than 100 points (98.3) per 100 ball possessions. Behind them are Würzburg, who are currently fifth in the table. The approaches are quite different.
While the Chemnitz team has excellent individual defenders with a lot of variability who are difficult to overcome in a direct duel, the Würzburg team has a stronger collective approach. The surprise newcomer from Vechta has so far primarily received praise for its offensive. What was overlooked was the fact that coach Ty Harrelson’s team also defended excellently.
Christoph Becker and Anno Hecker Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 15 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1 Anno Hecker Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2
If you want to break into the phalanx of the big players with a manageable budget, you have to do it through defense. This conclusion is supported by the fact that league leaders Chemnitz only have the thirteenth best offense. But is defense also the decisive factor in the bottom of the table? Yes, because the three worst teams in the league are also the weakest defensively. Göttingen, Heidelberg and Crailsheim allow their opponents high shooting rates and also have a significant rebound problem. Apart from newly promoted Tübingen, who probably has the lowest budget, these teams are also at the bottom of the ranking here.
The fight for second throwing opportunities is of course also decided by body length, but like defense, it is still considered a blue-collar area in which high effort can compensate for a lack of talent. Part of good defense is that you end the defensive sequence with a rebound. Otherwise all the work beforehand was in vain. Significantly, the top teams in the league are also at the top of the statistics table here.
Now the objection could arise that European basketball is fundamentally different than the North American NBA, where the individual quality of the players is much higher and spectacular offensive actions feed the marketing machine. But even in the best basketball league in the world, the numbers prove the importance of defense. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics, the leaders of the Western and Eastern Conferences, are the best defensive teams in the NBA.
The author is a two-time coach of the year in Germany.
