Abstract:
The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of game timeouts on basketball teams' offensive and defensive performances according to momentary differences in score and game period. The sample consisted of 144 timeouts registered during 18 basketball games randomly selected from the 2007 European Basketball Championship (Spain). For each timeout, five ball possessions were registered before (n=493) and after the timeout (n=475). The offensive and defensive efficiencies were registered across the first 35 min and last 5 min of games. A k-means cluster analysis classified the timeouts according to momentary score status as follows: losing (−10 to −3 points), balanced (−2 to 3 points), and winning (4 to 10 points). Repeated-measures analysis of variance identified statistically significant main effects between pre and post timeout offensive and defensive values. Chi-square analysis of game period identified a higher percentage of timeouts called during the last 5 min of a game compared with the first 35 min (64.9±9.1% vs. 35.1±10.3%; χ2=5.4, P<0.05). Results showed higher post timeout offensive and defensive performances. No other effect or interaction was found for defensive performances. ...