# Analysis of Offensive Patterns After Timeouts in Critical Moments in the EuroLeague 2022/23
## 4 Discussion
Nonetheless, their study highlighted the tendency of the requesting teams to switch from zone defense to man-to-man defense after the timeout, which could indicate a strategy to adapt to higher-pressure situations or better game control. When examining passing patterns during possession, the data indicate that a lower number of passes correlates with a higher shooting success rate, with the best results obtained in plays involving between 0 and 2 passes. This could be attributed to the urgency and time constraints typically present during the final minutes of close games, which may discourage prolonged ball movement. The heightened psychological pressure during crunch time may prompt players to prioritize straightforward scoring opportunities over more complex passing sequences. This finding was reflected in a study that observed how the most effective actions during critical moments of EuroBasket games were those involving simple plays, such as the 1-on-1 plays [48]. Additionally, plays with fewer passes allow teams to quickly exploit defensive mismatches or capitalize on previously planned set plays, reducing the risk of turnovers. These findings align with those of one of the studies consulted [40], where it was observed that in the last five minutes of the game, plays with zero to two passes predominated, highlighting how the absence of passes in this phase of the game increases shooting effectiveness during possessions. Additionally, previous studies have noted an average of two passes in fast-break situations [65], 3.7 passes in offensive systems, and 1.45 passes in transitions [66], or 2.95 passes in the EuroLeague and 2.71 in the NBA [67]. Furthermore, it appears that teams with a lead tend to employ a greater number of passes [68,69], which could be related to a focus on maximizing possession time to reduce the opposing team's opportunities [26,62]. In addition, it was observed that in almost half of the analyzed plays, no type of screen was used, which aligns with the results of other researchers [40], who found that in the last five minutes of the game, screens were used in 44% of the cases. This limited use of screens in late-game situations may be attributed to the urgency of the moment, where teams prioritize faster, less complex plays to minimize the risk of turnovers or miscommunications. On the other hand, the absence of screens can be attributed to the high number of actions that result in a quick foul by the teams trailing on the scoreboard. When screens were employed, the on-ball screen was the most frequent (21.4%). The use of the pick-and-roll in the final minutes appears to be an effective element in these phases of the game [49]. These results are consistent with studies addressing similar contexts in terms of time and score; for example, a 29.1% use of on-ball screens was observed in the last two minutes of NBA games [26] and 15.92% in the EuroLeague during the same period [62]. Observing successful patterns, we noticed that teams in the lead, regardless of location or the phase of possession, most frequently scored through free throws resulting from fouls. Fouls were the most common type of play-ending event, accounting for 23.3%. Within the context of this research--analyzing the final two minutes of games with a final score margin of less than 10 points--and considering that teams trailing in the score accounted for 60.8% of the sample, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that these teams resort to fouling their opponents to stop the game clock and challenge the leading team to score through free throws [25]. However, this \"comeback\" strategy of fouling may not be the most effective, as the probability of overcoming the deficit and winning increases if the trailing team allows their opponent's attack to proceed without committing a foul [26]  
On the other hand, it was observed that teams trailing in the score, regardless of location or possession phase, most commonly scored through a two-point basket, usually a layup, predominantly executed by a point guard.