Mixed Methods in Tactical Analysis Through Polar Coordinates and Function Estimation: The Transition Play in ACB Basketball

Abstract

Nowadays, getting advantageous offensive situations in high-level basketball is being increasingly harder, so taking advantage of any situation in the game since the team has the ball is essential to be competitive. Therefore, the goal to achieve in this study is to evaluate using a mixed method strategy the behaviors happening in the application of the technical–tactical means performed in the transition play of professional basketball in Spain. An ad hoc observation tool made of 11 criteria and 83 exhaustive and mutually exclusive categories (E/ME) has been designed and validated by means of data quality and generalizability analyses. Indexes obtained show high reliability and validity allowing the proposed actions to be recorded (correlation coefficients are above 0.95 and generalizability coefficients are above 0.90 in all cases). A total number of 128 situations corresponding to eight games of Unicaja de Málaga in the Endesa League in the 18/19 season were observed with the Hoisan software. The analysis of the relationships among behaviors was performed using the polar coordinates technique where the one-on-one initiation, outside the zone, has been used as focal behavior. The estimation of the functions representing the vectors has also been performed to model the best fit that estimates, starting from a focal category, the relationship among this focal behavior and the rest of the mating behaviors for possible future observations. The results show significant relationships between the selected focal behavior and the mating behaviors, showing indications of behaviors allowing tactical interpretation of the game and the definition of intervention programs to improve the performance of the team.

The Pick-and-Roll in Basketball From Deep Interviews of Elite Coaches: A Mixed Method Approach From Polar Coordinate Analysis

“…This quantitative analytical technique identifies statistically significant relationships among different behavior codes, specifically, between the behavior of interest ( focal behavior ), which is considered central or core, and other associated behaviors ( conditional behaviors ). This technique offers wide possibilities of use, as proven by numerous studies on sports sciences (e.g., Castañer et al, 2017 ; Tarragó et al, 2017 ; Maneiro and Amatria, 2018 ; Prudente et al, 2018 ; Vázquez-Diz et al, 2019 ; Jiménez-Salas et al, 2020 ; Pastrana-Brincones et al, 2021 ).…”

Playing 7 vs. 6 with an empty goal: Is it really an option for coaches? A comparative analysis between Portugal and the other teams during the Men’s European Handball Championship 2020

“…The length of the vector expresses the quantitative relationship between the focal conduct (given) and the conditioned conducts (the longer the vector, the stronger the intensity of the relationship between the conducts). The quadrant where the vector is placed expresses the qualitative relationship between these behaviors as follows ( Paulis and Hernández-Mendo, 2003 ; Flores-Rodríguez and Anguera, 2018 ; Pastrana-Brincones et al, 2021 ):…”

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“…As mentioned by Prudente et al ( 7 ), the length of the vector expresses the quantitative relationship between the focal conduct (given) and the conditioned conducts (the longer the vector, the stronger the intensity of the relationship between the conducts). The quadrant where the vector is placed expresses the qualitative relationship between these behaviors as follows ( 6 , 54 , 55 ): Quadrant I (+ +): mutually excitatory given conduct and matching conduct. Quadrant II (− +): inhibitory given conduct and excitatory matching conduct.…”