Four teams survived the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague's latest double-round week without a loss: LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, FC Barcelona and Virtus Segafredo Bologna. But only one player eclipsed the 30-point mark in any single game last week: Rodrigue Beaubois of Anadolu Efes Istanbul.
Stats Review: Where the shooters shoot
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As he has done periodically over the course of his eight EuroLeague seasons, the 35-year-old guard got scorching hot from the perimeter against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. He went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc and 6-for-6 from midrange spots to score his 30 points over just 17 shot attempts, almost single-handedly keeping Anadolu Efes Istanbul competitive on an off-night for most of the club's main contributors offensively.
Scoring 12 points on catch-and-shoot jumpers and 10 on pull-ups, Beaubois had everything in his arsenal going against Partizan.
It was a change in how Beaubois had been used on the offensive end this season. The graph above displays where every player in the EuroLeague stands in terms of points scored on catch-and-shoot and pull-up jumpers, with the color coding splitting the field into thirds. Beaubois falls in the one-third of players for whom more than two-thirds of their perimeter scoring comes on catch-and-shoot situations. His shooting off the dribble in Round 14 reflects how hot Beaubois got and how quickly Efes pivoted to him in an effort to ride that wave.
Nearly 60% of all EuroLeague players join Beaubois as mainly catch-and-shoot scorers, which is not particularly surprising given that such opportunities have made up 57% of all perimeter shots and 29% of overall attempts this season. EuroLeague players have scored 1.13 points per catch-and-shoot jumper this season compared to just 0.94 points per pull-up jumper. That difference is driven by two things: 92% of all catch-and-shoot jumpers are three-pointers compared to 62% of all pull-ups. What's more, the difference in three-point percentage for attempts made off the catch and off the dribble is a massive 8% as this season’s shooters are knocking down 39% of all three-point attempts when their feet are set.
It is not particularly surprising that Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus, the EuroLeague's current efficiency leader, and Bojan Dubljevic of Valencia Basket, a long-time model of consistency, fall into the same zone as their ability to opportunistically pick and choose their spots is part of what makes them so valuable. The two most prolific set shooters in the EuroLeague being big men is certainly a sign of the times, but Beaubois still crashes that party thanks in large part to his 52% shooting on catch-and-shoot three-point attempts this season.
On the other side of the spectrum, just 9% of all players have done two-thirds of more of their perimeter scoring with pull-up jumpers. That group is comprised of exclusively guards and features many of this season's highest usage ball handlers. The usual suspects like Mike James of AS Monaco and Lorenzo Brown of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv fall in that zone, but even within that cluster of talented guards there can be a significant contrast of styles.
While Kevin Punter of Partizan is a menace in the midrange, making shots at a high level by taking whatever defenses give him, Keenan Evans of Zalgiris Kaunas is far more aggressive in looking to create separation to shoot from beyond the arc. With EuroLeague players making nearly 40% of their midrange pull-ups this season, their keen decision-making renders that traditionally low-percentage shot more valuable than most other places in elite basketball worldwide.
The figurative and literal gray area above includes this season's most prolific perimeter scorer: Markus Howard of Baskonia. He is joined in top 10 perimeter scorers in that middle zone by Will Clyburn, Nicolas Laprovittola, Vasilije Micic and Tamir Blatt, a group that tends to have a lot of nuances to their shooting profiles. Micic, for example, tends to capitalize on scripted plays on the perimeter, but sees more of them sometimes than others, depending on who he is paired with on the perimeter. Howard sees opportunities steadily both on and off the ball in half-court situations, but also leads the EuroLeague in transition three-pointers made because he's just as likely to rise up and fire while pushing the ball himself as he is to pass and get it back later on the wing. Clyburn, in contrast, has been the league’s truest mismatch on the wing this season, leading the league in isolation three-pointers made while also making several turnarounds on the blocks.
Given the high bar for offensive efficiency in the EuroLeague, it is interesting that several players from each third are represented in the top 20 in terms of perimeter point-production – a testament to how well teams at this level are able to maximize their talent.