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Game plans · Tuesday, November 25

How each team beats its opponent. Where to attack, and what to take away.

Plan any matchup

Based on 2025-26, with the current roster
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Trail Blazers at Thunder

How the Trail Blazers beat the Thunder

  1. TurnoversTake care of the ballThe Thunder force turnovers on 14.0% of plays (2nd) and the Trail Blazers give it away on 14.0% (30th of 30).
  2. Key scorerKey scorer: Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderGilgeous-Alexander (31.1 points per game): best from midrange (54% on 332 shots, league 42%), worst from above the break (39%, league 35%).
  3. AttackAttack the corner 312.2% of Trail Blazers shots come from the corners (5th most), and the Thunder allow 39.9% there (24th of 30).
  4. AttackAttack the above-the-break 334.6% of Trail Blazers shots come from above the break (5th most), and the Thunder allow 35.6% there (23rd of 30).

How the Thunder beat the Trail Blazers

  1. TurnoversPressure the ballThe Thunder force turnovers on 14.0% of plays (2nd), and the Trail Blazers give it away on 14.0% (30th of 30).
  2. Key scorerKey scorer: Deni AvdijaAvdija (24.2 points per game): best in the paint (42% on 220 shots, league 44%), worst from above the break (31%, league 35%).
FG% by zone. Offense rank: 1st = best shooting. Defense rank: 1st = lowest FG% allowed, 30th = most.
ZonePOR offenseOKC defenseOKC offensePOR defense
At the rim64.9% (22nd)60.1% (1st)67.2% (10th)65.3% (13th)
Paint38.7% (29th)39.9% (1st)46.1% (7th)44.1% (16th)
Midrange37.5% (27th)38.0% (1st)48.1% (1st)42.1% (19th)
Corner 334.4% (30th)39.9% (24th)38.1% (17th)39.0% (19th)
Above-the-break 334.2% (21st)35.6% (23rd)35.9% (8th)34.5% (14th)

Matchups on Tue, Nov 25

3 games
  • Hawks at WizardsFinal

    How the Hawks beat the Wizards

    1. AttackAttack the corner 311.7% of Hawks shots come from the corners (8th most), and the Wizards allow 40.9% there (28th of 30).
    2. TurnoversPressure the ballThe Hawks force turnovers on 13.2% of plays (6th), and the Wizards give it away on 13.2% (26th of 30).

    How the Wizards beat the Hawks

    1. TurnoversTake care of the ballThe Hawks force turnovers on 13.2% of plays (6th) and the Wizards give it away on 13.2% (26th of 30).
    2. Key scorerKey scorer: Jalen JohnsonJohnson (22.5 points per game): best at the rim (69% on 397 shots, league 66%), worst in the paint (42%, league 44%).

    2025-26 so far

    Full preview →Full plan
  • Magic at 76ersFinal

    How the Magic beat the 76ers

    1. Key scorerKey scorer: Jaylen BrownBrown (28.7 points per game): best in the paint (50% on 434 shots, league 44%), worst from midrange (40%, league 42%).

    How the 76ers beat the Magic

    1. Key scorerKey scorer: Paolo BancheroBanchero (22.2 points per game): best from the corners (44% on 52 shots, league 39%), worst in the paint (35%, league 44%).
    2. AttackAttack the rim33.4% of 76ers shots come at the rim (5th most), and the Magic allow 67.5% there (21st of 30).

    2025-26 so far

    Full preview →Full plan
  • Clippers at LakersFinal

    How the Clippers beat the Lakers

    1. Key scorerKey scorer: Luka DoncicDoncic (33.5 points per game): best at the rim (79% on 174 shots, league 66%), worst from midrange (44%, league 42%).
    2. AttackAttack the rimThe Clippers shoot 69.4% at the rim (3rd), and the Lakers allow 70.5% there (29th of 30).

    How the Lakers beat the Clippers

    1. Key scorerKey scorer: Brandon IngramIngram (21.5 points per game): best from the corners (52% on 93 shots, league 39%), worst from above the break (33%, league 35%).
    2. AttackAttack the above-the-break 3The Lakers shoot 36.3% from above the break (6th), and the Clippers allow 35.6% there (22nd of 30).

    2025-26 so far

    Full preview →Full plan
How this works

Each plan is a short list of rules applied to both teams' season numbers. Every item shows its numbers and ranks out of 30 so you can check it. At most 5 items per team, the biggest edges first.

  • Attack: a shot zone where the team is good (top 10 in FG% or in share of its shots) and the opponent's defense there is bottom 8 in FG% allowed (bottom 10 if that finds fewer than 2).
  • Take away: the opponent's favorite zone (top 5 in share, top 8 if fewer than 2 qualify) where they are also efficient (top 10 FG%), with the team's own defensive rank there.
  • Target: of the opponent's 5 most-used lineups, the one that allows the most points per 100 possessions, with at least 100 possessions and at least 3 points worse than the team's own defensive rating. All 5 players must still be on the team.
  • Key scorer: the opponent's top scorer on the current roster (100+ shots). Best and worst zones compare his FG% with the league average there (50+ shots per zone). A side lean shows only when he has 60+ shots on each side and a gap of 6+ points. Left and right are as our shot charts draw them (rim at the bottom), and shots at the rim are left out of the side split.
  • Tempo and glass: a pace gap of 2+ possessions per 48 minutes; offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding and turnovers when one team is top 5 and the other bottom 5 (widened to 8 when fewer than 2 edges show up).

Data: team zones come from every counted regular season shot (made and missed; backcourt heaves left out; left and right corner 3s combined). Defense zones use the shots each team allowed. Lineups come from our play-by-play lineup stints. Before a team has played 10 games this season, its plan uses last season's numbers with today's roster, and lineups that no longer exist are skipped.

What it cannot see: there is no tracking data, so no defender distance, individual matchups or play types (pick and roll, isolation, post ups). Team zone numbers include every player a team used, even ones who have left. Injuries and rest are not in the plan, and season numbers can hide a recent change in form.