Taking care of business in close games is a big part of EuroLeague success.
Stats review: Team efficiency leaders
![Stats review: Team efficiency leaders](https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/08fb475c-e2e6-4058-a058-22f172590312.jpg?crop=1324%3A745%3Anowe%3A0%3A84)
The drama of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season remains with the final round of the season on the horizon. While all six playoff berths have been claimed, the order of the teams behind first-place Real Madrid remains undetermined. There's still some sorting to be done among the teams in line to qualify for the Play-In Showdown, as well, with three teams still vying for the fourth and final spot in that group. With a dozen teams involved in the postseason picture until the 34th and final round – and the rest in prime position to play spoiler, as LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne did last week – it can be said that the new postseason format has successfully leveraged the parity that has defined the EuroLeague in recent seasons.
For most of the teams in position to claim the second seed in both the overall standings and the Play-In Showdown, the task in Round 34 is simple: win and see what happens from there. For Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, the stakes are a bit more dire as both teams will need some help to sneak into the 10th and final postseason slot. Regardless of where a team falls in the standings, clutch time has arrived.
![image](https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/0372151b-9cea-4944-9271-9cae99921d9e.png?crop=960%3A768%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=320&resizeType=fill&format=webp 320w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/0372151b-9cea-4944-9271-9cae99921d9e.png?crop=960%3A768%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=360&resizeType=fill&format=webp 360w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/0372151b-9cea-4944-9271-9cae99921d9e.png?crop=960%3A768%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=640&resizeType=fill&format=webp 640w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/0372151b-9cea-4944-9271-9cae99921d9e.png?crop=960%3A768%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=720&resizeType=fill&format=webp 720w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/0372151b-9cea-4944-9271-9cae99921d9e.png?crop=960%3A768%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=960&resizeType=fill&format=webp 960w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/0372151b-9cea-4944-9271-9cae99921d9e.png?crop=960%3A768%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=1280&resizeType=fill&format=webp 1280w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/0372151b-9cea-4944-9271-9cae99921d9e.png?crop=960%3A768%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=1440&resizeType=fill&format=webp 1440w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/0372151b-9cea-4944-9271-9cae99921d9e.png?crop=960%3A768%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=1920&resizeType=fill&format=webp 1920w)
The table above looks at this season's most successful teams in clutch situations – that is, any possession in the final 5 minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the margin on the scoreboard is 5 points or less Unsurprisingly, this list features many of this season's top overall teams. Nonetheless, a few surprises in the rankings and gaps in performance among the top teams are intriguing.
No team has performed better in the clutch this season than FC Barcelona. Some of that can be traced to the relatively low number of clutch minutes they have played compared to their peers, but Barca is far from an outlier and the gap they enjoy over the rest of the field is hard to ignore. Barcelona's defense has been stellar late in close games, holding opponents to just 29% field goal shooting in clutch situations – 10% lower than any other team.
Real Madrid and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens hold first and second place, respectively, in the standings, and their consistency in the clutch is a big reason why. While Madrid is just 10-6 in the new year – after having finished the first half of the season 16-1 – their clutch performance has not been the issue. Los Blancos have been just as effective late in games over the second half of the season as during the first half.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul's placement on this list is particularly notable. Despite having a 9-15 record at one point, Efes finds itself in a win-and-in situation going into Round 34 in part because its best clutch moments have come over the last several weeks. During its current 7-2 run, Efes has won two of the last three games by a combined total of three points.
Whether the teams pushing for playoff position find themselves in games that go down to the wire next week remains to be seen, but there's a lot on the line in Round 34 and how teams have executed under pressure looms as large now as at any point in the season.