With the shot data we are collecting it allows us to do some fun things. Last week I posted a piece that looked at the final 2 minutes of games and we examined who was taking shots for each of the ACC teams. This week we're going to turn to the defensive side of the ball in our series of exclusive articles.
There's no doubt that on defense the simple purpose is to make life as difficult as possible for the offense. Typically this involves pressure in passing lanes which is easy to equate by looking at turnovers forced. The other side of the defensive mind is to not take chances in the passing lane, but force the offense to take less efficient shots. We've done articles in the past that show that the farther you get from the basket the less likely you are to make the shot, that is, until you get to the three point line where there is a spike. So, defenses want to challenge the 3 point shot but recover to force a mid-range shot.
We've broken down the shot distances into four categories, under 3 feet, otherwise known as dunks and layups. Between 4 to 10 feet which would encapsulate the post game. Between 10 feet and 20 feet, which should show us the defensive valued mid-range shot. The final zone is the 3 point shot.
Let's take a look at the chart sorted by the teams that force the most shots between 10-20 feet...
PERCENTAGE OF OPPONENTS FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS BY DISTANCE