Trends in Offensive Team Activity in Basketball

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the structure of the models of offense and to determine their effi ciency. We
were able to determine the teamwork structure by using a system of analysis of the offensive process. The analysis of
the team activity as an integrated whole becomes very important.
For this research we observed the Tallinn University basketball team, which plays in Division One of the Estonian
league. The data was gathered from 600 ball possessions in 8 recorded games of the regular season. The data we
collected was analyzed by the means of data mining. This research has helped to work out the basics of the analytical
system of the teamwork aspect. The analyzing system of the competitive activity of the game, enables us to fi nd out
interesting offensive models from the data.
The results show that the team scoring (points/possession) as the main indicator of analyzed offenses was equal to
1.13 on average with a frequency of 48%. The 1—2 s duration period of ball possession in offensive zone proves to
be most effective (scoring 68%). The most effective transition period is under 1.82 s (62%). The scoring of set offense
is 44% in the mean. On the basis of this information, the coach can fi nd more convenient time lapses in the game’s
performance. The analyzing system worked out through that, helps coaches to develop performance and promote
learning.

Keywords: performance analysis, data mining, efficiency.