Now that we are in mid-December and more than a third of the season is complete, several players have begun to separate themselves from the rest of the League on offense. The table below ranks the League’s most productive scorers in two groups: 1) players with more than 10 possessions per game; 2) players with 4-10 possessions per game (table in Russian, see English explanation below).
Players ranked 1-10 on points per possession; В/И = possessions per game; О/В = points per possession
Players with more than 10 possessions per game (ranked 1-10): Nando De Colo, Jamar Smith, DeAngelo Harrison, Errick McCollum, David Kravish, Jalen Reynolds, John Roberson, Ken Horton, Mikhail Kulagin, Perrin Buford
Players with 4-10 possessions per game (ranked 1-10): Anthony Gill, Othello Hunter, Evgeny Valiev, Semyon Antonov, Konstantin Bulanov, Kristjan Kitsing, Kyle Hines, Charles Jenkins, Andrey Vorontsevich, Anthony Ireland
Offensive efficiency records could fall this season
Even if you include players with 4-10 possessions per game, Nando De Colo of CSKA Moscow and Jamar Smith of UNICS Kazan would still rank in the top 10 for scoring efficiency. It’s incredibly rare for high-volume shooters to display that type of efficiency, but De Colo and Smith are proving the exception to the rule this season.
Nando De Colo, who finished 2nd in scoring efficiency the past two seasons for players with more than 10 possessions per game, has taken his game to another level to start the 2018-19 season. He’s on track to both finish first this season and break Finnish guard Petteri Koponen’s record of 1.21 points per possession, which he set in 2014 at Khimki.
Jamar Smith is also on track to break Koponen’s record, averaging 1.25 points per possession, though he trails De Colo a significant margin. Last season, Smith finished a measly three points shy of breaking Koponen’s record.
Guards with impressive accuracy and explosive big men
Playmakers who can create their own shot have played a very big role in the League this season. Several players above belong in this category: Nando De Colo (CSKA), Jamar Smith (UNICS), Errick McCollum (UNICS), DeAngelo Harrison and John Roberson (Enisey) and others.
The other half of the table consists of players who like to score in the paint. This list includes Jalen Reynolds of Zenit; Kalev forward Kristjan Kitsing; a pair of players who can also hit the mid-range jumper–Anthony Gill (Khimki) and Ken Horton (Astana); and hard-working Zenit veteran Evgeny Valiev.
CSKA’s versatility and depth
CSKA boasts six players spread between the two categories. The Army Men, who are competing for their 9th championship, have an excellent chance of breaking the team record they set last season: 1.11 points per possession. The club boasts effective scorers in both the backcourt (De Colo, Kulagin) and the frontcourt (Hunter, Antonov, Hines, Vorontsevich). CSKA is averaging 1.14 points per possession to start the season and is also the only team without a single player who has more than 10% of total possessions. It’s also interesting to note that of the 16 CSKA players with at least 10 possessions this season, 12 are averaging more than 1.00 point per possession.
Statistics provided by Synergy Sports Technology.
