Hapoel 2.0: Upgraded machine

?The end of the group stage in the Champions League is a good invitation to look back and examine Hapoel's ability this season compared to last season, especially in light of the fact that this year the team also finished the group stage with a record of 5 wins versus a single loss. But it seems that this year the team in red showed greater dominance and superiority compared to last year. Do the numbers support this theory? We went out to check.

 

Let's start with the base. This year's Hapoel scores more, much more. how much more? 85.5 points this year compared to 76.2 last season (and 80 in the group stage). This is a sharp increase of almost 10 points per game, a figure that is even more impressive when you find out that the amount of possessions did not increase dramatically - only 3 possessions more than last season.

 

There was also an improvement in the conceding category, despite the slightly higher pace of the season: Hapoel is conceding 73.3 points on average this year, compared to 74.7 in the group stage last season - 1.4 points less. To understand how much Hapoel's defense has been upgraded this year, you need to look at two additional figures: the rebounds - 33.7 this season compared to 29.5 last season, and the deflections (the number of times a defensive player touched the ball and possibly changed its trajectory) which jumped to 1.3 deflections on average this season compared to only 0.17 in the previous season. Hapoel also steals half a ball more per game this year - 8.7 steals compared to 8.2 last year.

 

Let's return to offense. Hapoel is more lethal from outside the arc (37.5% vs. 31%), more accurate from the line (71% vs. 65%) and actually scores more points per possession, compared to 0.96 last season. All these give us a lot of appetite for the rest of the way. One thing is certain: the top 16 stage will not be easy - but neither will the opponents.