Descriptive study of the use of defensive factors in the highest division of chilean basketball (dimayor)

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to analyze the various technical and tactical aspects of the defensive phase of Chilean basketball. Therefore, all the attack phases (n=2513) done during 13 play-off games of the 2006 Dimayor Chilean championship were analyzed. In each attack phase the following variables were analyzed in regard to the team on defense: (1) type of defense (man-to-man, zone, combination, other); (2) pressure in the transition offense; (3) defensive switches; (4) defensive help; (5) inside passes; (6) degree of shot opposition (low, medium, high); (7) points allowed; and (8) defensive rebounds. The results indicate that: a) the type of defense that is most used is man-to-man (56.6%); b) defensive factors that are not often used include pressure in transition (in 18.0% of attack phases), defensive switches (0.14 per attack phase), and defensive help to guard the player with the ball (0.52 per attack phase); c) few inside passes are done or allowed (0.17 per attack phase); d) low opposition is the most frequent degree of shot opposition (61.4% of shots); and e) defensive rebounds were made in more than 60% of opportunities.