The effects of defensive style and final game outcome on the external training load of professional basketball players

Abstract

This study aimed to analyse the influence of different contextual factors (i.e., defensive style and game outcome) on basketball players’ external load during games-based drills using ultrawideband (UWB) technology. Fourteen male professional basketball players belonging to an elite reserve Spanish club (ACB) participated in this study. The games-based drills consisted of one bout of 10 min played 5vs5 in which players were instructed to use man-to-man defence (MMD) and/or zone defence (ZD). In addition, the final game outcome (i.e., winning or losing) of the game-based drill was registered. External load variables per minute were recorded: total distance covered, distance covered in different speed zones, distance covered while accelerating and decelerating, maximum speed, steps, jumps and player load. A two-way ANOVA with the Tukey post hoc test was used to assess the impact of defensive style and final game outcome and the interaction of both factors on the external load encountered by basketball players. No meaningful differences (unclear) were found in the external loads between playing with MMD and with ZD and between winning and losing teams except for greater distance at high-speed running (18.0–24.0 km·h -1 ) in winning teams (p < 0.05, ES = 0.68, moderate). A significant interaction between defensive style and final game outcome was found for high decelerations (> -2 m·s -2 ) (p = 0.041; ES = 0.70) and jumps (p = 0.037; ES = 0.68). These results could potentially help coaching staff in prescribing an appropriate workload during basketball-specific game-based drills, and ultimately enhance the match performance.

Impact of Spectators, League and Team Ability on Home Advantage in Professional European Basketball

“…Identifying variables affecting winning in team sports has been a major focus of sport science, with the number of research studies that have focused on key performance indicators having expanded over recent years (Castillo et al, 2021; Esteves et al, 2020; Fernández-Leo et al, 2020; Fox et al, 2020; Gonzalez et al, 2013; Zhang et al, 2020). Of particular importance has been a focus on the advantages of home teams who are afforded such benefits as not travelling long-distances before matches and playing in their home stadiums where most spectators are cheering/supporting them (Alonso et al, 2022).…”

A Systematic Review on the Physical, Physiological, Perceptual, and Technical–Tactical Demands of Official 3 × 3 Basketball Games

“…These results might indicate that male players could accumulate more fatigue across 3 × 3 tournaments, while female players maintain their physical performances. However, the observed changes were small and might have also been influenced by tactical aspects (eg, offensive and defensive actions and types) 8,9,37 and game-related contextual factors (eg, score line), 38 which have been previously shown to influence physical performances in 5 × 5 basketball games. Additionally, microtechnology results provide in-depth data which practitioners might consider alongside tournament phases.…”

Influence of game and quarter results on external peak demands during games in under-18 years, male basketball players

“…ball coordination between inside and outside playing positions that enhance threepoint shot opportunities) [ 32 ], perceptive and decision-making processes [ 33 ], and defensive preparation (e.g. personal fouls, steals) [ 34 ]. In turn, our data suggest identifying factors associated with team success in U18, male basketball players is not permissible using PD variables gathered from external load monitoring data in isolation [ 35 ], with a multidimensional approach considering other areas of performance likely needed.…”