Stats review: Which teams are using post play to their advantage

There has been a rise in post-up usage and efficiency in the EuroCup this season led by Umana Reyer Venice

Round 13 of the BKT EuroCup saw Umana Reyer Venice hand previously undefeated Valencia Basket its second straight loss to rise back into the playoff picture following some early-season struggles. One source of momentum for Reyer over the last month and a half and a contributing factor to their hard-fought victory has been their ability to play through the post.

It is no secret that modern offenses have pivoted away from post play — while only 1 of 20 teams created less than five possessions per game playing out of post-ups during the 2016-17 season, half the league has fallen under that mark this year. The driving factor in that decline has been obvious in previous seasons as teams scored just 0.86 points per post-up possession in the three years leading up to this one, making it a real challenge to justify throwing the ball inside with teams attempting and making more three-pointers.

This season has seen a renaissance on the block as teams have scored 0.97 points per post-up possession — a massive jump from recent seasons and a little higher than the league average for overall offensive efficiency. That number doesn’t even include passes out of the post, which tend to be quality looks. There’s no specific offensive approach driving the change either, both teams with the personnel to play through the post consistently and those doing so in specific instances have found significantly more success doing so to this point this year. Field goal percentages are up, turnovers are down — there are multiple factors at play.

All of that circles back to Reyer, which has nearly doubled its post usage in the stretch following its sluggish start and ascended to lead all teams in points created through post ups as the table above suggests. That covers not only the points scored in back-to-the-basket situations but those created by passes out of back-to-the-basket situations as well.

Perhaps the least surprising team on this list is Joventut Badalona, which has been the most consistently balanced offense in the EuroCup over the last decade. The presence of veteran Ante Tomic has bolstered the efficiency of those efforts in recent years and he and Artem Pustovyi have both shot over 51% on the block to rank second and first in individual post scoring, respectively, this season.

Reyer is the only other team on this list to rival the efficiency of Joventut’s one-on-one scorers though several teams like U-BT Cluj Napoca and ratiopharm Ulm have been in the same tier on a much smaller volume of chances. Kyle Wiltjer has been very effective using his touch inside while Aamir Simms has been a consistent weapon and Mfiondu Kabengele has punished certain matchups as well.

Trefl Sopot falls in the middle of the road in one-on-one efficiency but has been extremely effective passing out of the post with its shooters and finishers consistently paying off the efforts of Geoffrey Groselle and Marcus Weathers.

Tyler Cavanaugh and Tai Odiase give Bahcesehir College Istanbul quality play on the interior while Nikola Tanaskovic has been the most effective of several interior options for Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. Though many of the teams above rely on no fewer than two back-to-the-basket weapons for balance, the notable absence from this list, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv, relies almost exclusively on Johnathan Motley. Motley leads the EuroCup scoring or creating over 6 points per game out of the post and that has accounted for close to three-quarters of the team’s post-production when he’s been active.

Post play may never regain the real estate it held in professional basketball even a decade ago, but it has made a notable comeback in the EuroCup this season and that’s a trend worth keeping an eye on moving forward.