## 2 Materials and Methods
### Procedures
#### 2.3.2 Inertial Movement Analysis  
During each game, the players' physical loads were measured using IMUs (ClearSky T6; Catapult Innovations, Melbourne, Australia). Before the beginning of each game, players were required to wear neoprene vests featuring a pocket placed between the scapulae where the IMU was positioned. Each IMU included a triaxial accelerometer sampling at 100 Hz to record movement in all three planes (transverse, coronal, and sagittal) [15]. The PL, which represents the square root of the sum of the squared instantaneous rate of change in acceleration across the transverse, coronal, and sagittal planes (x, y, and z, respectively) was used to quantify the volume of the physical load, due to its high reliability (within-device CV = 0.91-1.05%; between-device CV = 1.02-1.90%) [16] and its widespread use in basketball research [6; 7; 17; 18]. Additionally, PL-min\({}^{-1}\) was calculated to evaluate the physical intensity [14; 19]. All data were processed and exported on a personal computer using the OpenField software (version 1.18; Catapult Innovations, Melbourne, Australia).  
2.3.3. Integration of Data from Time-Motion Analysis and Inertial Measurement Units  
Immediately after each game, PL data were downloaded and stored via Catapult proprietary software (OpenField, version 1.18; Catapult Innovations, Melbourne, Australia). Once the TMA was completed, the TMA and IMU datasets were aligned, based on the start and end times of each defensive PnR action, identified using the \"Timestamp Camera Free\" software (version 1.235; [PERSON], Google Play Store). Specifically, IMU data were analyzed to identify each defensive PnR action, allowing alignment with TMA-detected events. Combining both datasets enabled the quantification of PL and activity duration for each coded PnR action. This process resulted in a fully integrated dataset containing all relevant activities and their corresponding PL values.  
2.3.4. Pick-And-Roll Action Identification  
During the investigated games, defensive PnR actions were categorized based on court location (middle or side) and the defensive option employed, including switch, drop (only for middle PnR), ice (only for side PnR), and trap. The definition of each PnR typology has been previously described [6,7] and is displayed in Figure 1.  
Figure 1: Scheme of the middle and side pick-and-roll (PnR) actions. General representation of the execution of defensive possession for the middle PnR: (**A**) Drop defense, in which 2.3.4.1.  
in the paint (3 s area) while follows the ball handler, (**B**) Switch defense, in which takes the ball handler, while rolls with the screener, underneath the basket. General representation of the execution of defensive possessions for the side PnR. (**C**) Ice defense, in which den denies the drive to the baseline while sides with (i.e., forcing the offensive player to one side). (**D**) Switch defense, in which and change their assigned players, with defending the screener, and defending the ball handler, (**A**) Trap defense on the sideline, in which and double-team the ball handler, (**A**) Map the role of the key, in which and double-team the ball handler, (**A**) Map the role of the defensive  
0.48), _small_]. Moreover, for each dependent variable, an interaction between court location, defensive option, and outcome was found (duration: \(p\) = 0.023; PL: \(p\) = 0.004; PL-min\({}^{-1}\): \(p\) = 0.027). Furthermore, an interaction between outcome and defensive strategy was found for PL (\(p\) = 0.006).