✉️ PTB ICYMI

What I've learned about sport(s) over the last two months

Feb 21, 2025

In addition to the regular Friday newsletter, every two months this year I’ll also be sending subscribers a brief recap of all the work that has recently been published at Plot the Ball — in case there’s anything you’ve missed.

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What I’ve learned over the last two months

⚽️ Aitana Bonmatí is doing more of everything for Barça

Bonmatí is still playing a crucial role on the right of Barça’s midfield three, but her role in their attack has evolved this year.

⚽️ Pedri’s passing game is evolving in Hansi Flick’s Barcelona midfield

[T]he number of successful balls Pedri plays into the penalty area has fallen off by around 20% since last year, while the number of progressive passes he’s playing outside the box has risen by 28% on a per-minute basis.

⚽️ Before signing Naomi Girma, Chelsea’s defence had quietly declined

[T]heir defence in league play has quietly slipped in recent years, too. Since 2022-23, they’ve conceded chances worth 0.8 non-penalty xG per WSL game.

⚽️ Barça Femení still dominate — but might be moving away from their defining style

They’re taking more than twice as many shots in possession from further than 18 yards out than they did in 2022-23, and creating fewer of these shots from inside 18 yards than they did last season.

⚽️ Heading into Wembley test, Spain may have patched up their defence

They only managed a fourth-place finish at last year’s Olympics, and their defence looked rather porous.

🏀 JuJu Watkins is thriving at USC with a lighter workload

Watkins is getting on the bandwagon: threes make up 34% of her shot attempts this year, up from 28% as a freshman.

🏀 Aliyah Boston — Caitlin Clark’s WNBA sidekick — brings a unique set of skills to Unrivaled

Only one player selected rebounded more of her own team’s missed shots during 2024, and only two blocked a higher share of opponents’ shots; no one outranked her in both metrics.

🏀 Cooper Flagg would be the youngest top NBA draft pick since LeBron

Flagg’s age can’t be emphasised enough when considering his development trajectory — and the hype he’s already garnering as a possible future star.

🏀 Breanna Stewart is struggling from three-point range at Unrivaled

Stewart has seen a roughly similar drop in her three-point attempt rate: from 27% in WNBA play last year to just 24%.

🏀 Luka Dončić’s early exposure to professional basketball has been both a blessing and a curse

Dončić had accumulated around 50 ‘true’ games of experience at the highest levels of basketball by his age-18 season; this is something none of his real peers — other first-team All-NBA players — could claim.

🏏 Jasprit Bumrah is better than ever — but that’s not enough for India

Since June 2023, Bumrah has bowled 393 overs and taken 77 wickets at a cost of 15.1 runs each — while other fast bowlers in the games he’s played have taken theirs at 27.1 runs per wicket, on average.

🏏 Australia’s exceptional spin bowling powered their recent sweep of the Women’s Ashes

The tourists bowled more spin than Australia did in the ODIs and T20Is, and it was more effective than their own pace bowling — but their spinners’ returns still paled in comparison to Australia’s.

🏏 Dewald Brevis was the best boundary-hitter in this year’s SA20

His effective boundary rate this year was 35% — 14 points higher than other batters in his matches, and easily the highest mark in the whole league.

🏈 This version of Patrick Mahomes is a very different NFL quarterback

For Mahomes, though, the drop has been much bigger: his completions this year have gained 4.2 air yards on average — down from 6.5 in 2018 — and his incompletions are down to 10.4 intended air yards from 14.2.

🏈 Josh Allen has changed his style too — just not as much as Mahomes

This regular season, Allen’s completed passes travelled about the same distance in the air as the rest of the NFL’s, on average.

🏈 Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs get a real — but small — playoff boost

On average…they’ve improved their margin in regulation against the same opposition by 2.7 points per game in the postseason.

🏉 French scrum-half Antoine Dupont is a ball-progression machine

On average this season, he’s gained 505m per 80 minutes for his team via kicks and carries — while his opposite number has gained just 229m.

🏉 France are the best attacking team in the men’s Six Nations — and it’s not close

France — led by scrum-half Antoine Dupont — are comfortably the best attacking team in Europe: they’ve scored around five more points per game than a typical ‘Tier 1’ team in their most recent set of fixtures.

🏉 Joseph Sua’ali’i brings elite offloading skills with him to rugby union

He was good at this in the NRL…but his passing out of contact already seems like more of a point of difference in union.

🏒 McKenna aside, Canada got their team selection wrong at the WJC

One high-ceiling player they did bring was Gavin McKenna, who won’t be drafted until 2026.

🏒 Connor Bedard — Canada’s next hockey hope — isn’t yet an NHL star

Bedard’s current rate of 6.5 shots per 60 certainly doesn’t stand out among this cohort of highly talented young players. More worrying for the Blackhawks will be the fact that he’s fallen off from the rate he was able to sustain last season.

🎾 Mirra Andreeva is already one of the best returners on the WTA Tour

[S]he already wins as many return points as almost anyone else on tour — and…it’s on her own serve that she, like other players, is likely to improve as she matures.

🎾 Jannik Sinner is hitting the start of his peak and leaving Alcaraz behind

After a second Australian Open title, Sinner hit his highest-ever Elo rating at Tennis Abstract — and one of the highest marks ever.

⚾️ Roki Sasaki's MLB upside is uncertain — but he's worth the risk for the Dodgers

Rather than wait another two years and cash in on “a Yamamoto-sized deal”, Sasaki was motivated to put himself in the best possible learning environment as early as he could.

⛳️ At 35 years old, Rory McIlroy is still unmatched off the tee

At just 35 years old, he’s already fourth in their career DG Points list; the next-best player under 40 is Jason Day in 32nd.

The next edition of My Week In Sport(s) will be published on Friday February 28th.