Author(s): LAN, Y.C.1, LIU, Y.T.2, Institution: NATIONAL YANG-MING CHIAO-TUNG UNIVERSITY, Country: TAIWAN, Abstract-ID: 1181

INTRODUCTION:
Possessions (POSS) are the foundational elements for scoring in basketball. Within the possessions, the dynamic interplay between the offensive and defensive maneuvers is intricately shaped by offensive tactics such as set offenses and transitions (fast break, FB), and the dynamic complexity of these tactics is further amplified across different competition stages (Selmanović et al., 2015). A POSS may entail multiple set offenses (plays), while an FB occurs exclusively upon initial ball possession by the team. Therefore, the set offense rate is the percentage of plays with set attacks, whereas the FB rate is the percentage of POSS that executes FB. This study analyzed the offensive tactics, efficiency, and pace between competitive stages to identify patterns and factors contributing to game success or failure.
METHODS:
One hundred thirty-nine games (32 from the advanced stage) were analyzed from the 2022-2023 Taiwan University Basketball Association (UBA) Division 1 tournament. Two independent observers recorded data from two games not part of the study for the reliability test. Cohen’s Kappa was 0.83 and 0.80 for the intra- and inter-observer reliability, respectively. Data were divided and recorded separately by the two observers. Three categories of offensive tactics were recorded: (1) set offense, an attack duration over 8 s; (2) FB, an attack executed within the first 8 s of POSS without a turnover; and (3) others. Data were analyzed using 2 (stage) by 2 (outcome) mixed design MANOVA on the set offense rate, FB rate, number of POSS, number of plays, and scoring rate, with the game outcome as the repeated factor.
RESULTS:
There was no significant interaction effect between stage and outcome, Wilksλ =.971, F(8, 266) = .969, p>.05. For the stage effect, the POSS (82.97, 77) and plays (101.81, 90.81) showed a significantly higher frequency in the preliminary stage than in the advanced stage (ps<.001), and the rate of set offenses in the advanced stage (84.13%) was higher than in the preliminary stage (80.68%) (p < .05). For the outcomes effect, the winners (19.49%, 34.39%, 11.03%) were significantly higher for FB rates, set score rates, and FB score rates compared to the losers (16.43%, 28.30%, 8.09%) (ps <.05).
CONCLUSION:
The advanced stage demonstrated a reduction in possessions and plays compared to the preliminary stage, accompanied by a reduced play/possession ratio, indicating a slower-paced game with heightened defensive intensity. The increasing set-play ratio likely reflected evenly matched teams engaging in a tactical battle between offense and defense in the advanced stage. However, regardless of the competition stage, the ability to capitalize on fast break opportunities and achieve a high score rate remained crucial for winning.

Reference
Selmanović, et al., (2015). Basic characteristics of offensive modalities in the Euroleague and the NBA. Acta Kinesiologica, 9 (2), 83-87.