Stats review: A look at the EuroCup's best three-point defenses

The BKT EuroCup saw a big shakeup in Group A when Slask Wroclaw handed Bahcesehir College Istanbul its second loss of the season. In a competitive matchup at Hala Orbita that saw Bahcesehir jump out to a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter, the Polish club stayed attached before taking over in the fourth quarter to score a comeback victory against the previous group leader.

Slask did a lot of little things to score the win, pounding the glass and moving the ball unselfishly, but its three-point defense was ultimately key to its success.

That is nothing new for coach Ainars Bagatskis’s team, as his group has done a good job in rotation and an excellent one at getting a hand up on pull-up three-point shooters over the first months of the season.

Around 40% of all shot attempts have come from beyond the arc in the EuroCup this season, with teams converting them at a 34% rate that falls between the 29% players are shooting off the dribble and the 36% they are shooting off the catch. With only 31% of all three-point attempts coming off the dribble and teams knocking down 40% of their open spot-up jumpers, there’s real value in a defense that can speed an offense up and alter their shot selection, whether that be forcing them into contested shots, challenging them to beat them off the dribble, or funneling everything into the three-point line.

Slask has done a good job fitting into the second of those molds. While it does not force a high volume of midrange attempts, it has done a great job at extending its defense and then recovering in time to get a hand up when shooters step into pull-up threes. Allowing just 20% from beyond the arc on those attempts has been an important factor in its top-seven overall defensive performance thus far.

Slask is unsurprisingly joined by Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse, which continues to lead the EuroCup in defensive efficiency by a wide margin, allowing only 0.84 points per possession. Its efforts on the ball and in transition have been especially impressive, but Bourg has done a stellar job in rotation as well, despite how often its big men are switched onto the perimeter. While it has faced the second-highest volume of spot-up three-point attempts of any team this season, Bourg ranks second in efficiency defending them. NINERS Chemnitz has excelled with a similar approach.

Besiktas GAIN Istanbul stands out on this list by doing the best job to take away the three and open catch-and-shoot jumpers in particular, not only facing a low volume, but contesting a well-above-average 61% of the attempts it does face. Besiktas has often managed to disrupt the rhythm of opposing shooters this season. The London Lions fall into a similar category, with most of their wins this season resulting from significant efforts on the defensive side to contest the high volume of two-point attempts they force teams to beat them with.

While offense has been the separator for a lot of elite EuroCup teams in recent history, several of the league's notable overachievers in the current format have excelled at guarding the three-point line.