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A network DEA assessment of team efficiency in the NBA

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Abstract

In this paper, a Network DEA approach to assess the efficiency of NBA teams is proposed and compared with a black-box (i.e. single-process) DEA approach. Both approaches use a Slack-Based Measure of efficiency (SBM) to evaluate the potential reduction of inputs consumed (team budget) and outputs produced (games won by the team). The study considers the distribution of the budget between first-team players and the rest of the payroll. The proposed network DEA approach consists of five stages, which evaluate the performance of first-team and bench-team players, the offensive and defensive systems and the ability for transforming the points made by itself and by the opponents into wins. It has been applied to the 30 NBA teams for the regular season 2009–2010. The results show that network DEA has more discriminating power and provides more insight than the conventional DEA approach.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions, which have helped to improve the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Management, University of Seville, 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Plácido Moreno & Sebastián Lozano

  2. Escuela Superior de Ingenieros, Camino de los Descubrimientos, s/n, 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Plácido Moreno

Authors
  1. Plácido Moreno
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  2. Sebastián Lozano
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Correspondence to Plácido Moreno.

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Moreno, P., Lozano, S. A network DEA assessment of team efficiency in the NBA. Ann Oper Res 214, 99–124 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-012-1074-9

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