Best examples of analyze opponent's strengths & weaknesses in modern sports

Real game examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses

The best way to understand how to analyze an opponent is to watch how elite teams do it under pressure. Instead of starting with theory, let’s start with real examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses that changed how games were played.

In the 2024 NBA Playoffs, several teams openly talked about building series-specific plans around opponent tendencies. Coaches used tracking data showing where star players scored most efficiently, then adjusted pick‑and‑roll coverages and help rotations to push them away from those zones. That’s not abstract strategy; that’s a concrete example of using opponent strengths and weaknesses to shape every possession.

You see the same thing in international soccer. At the 2023 Women’s World Cup, staff analysts used GPS and event data to identify which opponents faded physically after the 70th minute. That scouting insight led to late-game substitutions and pressing surges targeted at tired fullbacks. Again: analysis of opponent weaknesses directly informed when and where to attack.

Below are several best examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses across different sports, with enough detail that you can copy the logic even if you don’t have pro-level technology.

Basketball: examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses using shot charts

Basketball is a gold mine for clear, data-backed examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses because every shot, pass, and possession can be tracked.

Example 1: Forcing a star out of their favorite zones

Imagine you’re scouting a high-usage guard. Synergy, Second Spectrum, or even basic shot chart tools show:

• Elite efficiency on pull‑up threes going left
• Below-average efficiency on drives finishing with the right hand
• Very low efficiency on mid-range jumpers off the dribble

A smart defensive plan might:

• Send the on‑ball defender to shade the left hand, forcing drives right
• Drop the big deeper on ball screens to invite mid‑range pull‑ups
• Load help early at the nail when the guard drives left, taking away the most efficient lane

That’s a textbook example of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses: you identify the star’s best actions, then design coverages to remove them and steer the player into their weakest options.

Example 2: Attacking a slow-footed big in space

On offense, your analytics staff flags a center who:

• Defends well in the paint
• Struggles badly when switched onto guards
• Fouls often when forced to defend in isolation above the free-throw line

Instead of running your usual sets, you:

• Use five‑out spacing and drag screens in transition to force that big into early switches
• Clear a side for your quickest guard to attack the mismatch
• Hunt that matchup repeatedly until the opponent subs out or changes coverage

Here, the opponent’s rim protection is a strength, but their lateral speed is a weakness. Your entire game plan is a live example of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses: don’t challenge what they do best; stretch them into what they do worst.

For youth and college coaches, you don’t need NBA‑level tracking. Basic shot charts and simple stats like opponent field-goal percentage by area can be built from your own film. The logic stays the same.

Soccer: examples include pressing triggers and set-piece targeting

Soccer analysis has exploded with tracking data in the last decade. Even at the amateur level, you can borrow the same principles that national teams and Champions League clubs use.

Example 3: Pressing the weaker ball‑playing defender

Suppose your staff reviews three matches and spots that an opponent’s right center back:

• Plays significantly fewer progressive passes than the left center back
• Turns the ball over more often under pressure
• Prefers his stronger right foot and struggles when forced onto his left

You build a press that:

• Allows the left center back to receive relatively freely
• Curves runs to steer the ball to the right center back
• Triggers an aggressive press the moment he receives on his weaker foot

This is one of the best examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses in modern soccer: you don’t press blindly; you funnel the ball toward the defender most likely to crack.

Example 4: Targeting a smaller fullback on set pieces

On set pieces, data from tools like StatsBomb or Wyscout often shows:

• Which defenders lose the most aerial duels
• Which zones opponents concede from most often

If a team defends corners with a 5’7” fullback marking the back-post zone, you design a routine that:

• Crowds the keeper to drag the center backs inward
• Sends your tallest attacker to the back post for a mismatch on that fullback

In lower leagues, you can build the same insight from video and simple tallies of who wins or loses headers. That’s another clean example of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses: you identify a physical mismatch and build a repeatable action around it.

For context on how performance analysis and GPS tracking are reshaping soccer, the U.S. Soccer Federation and various sports science programs discuss training load and match analysis methods similar to these, often connected to broader sports science research at universities like the University of North Carolina and other NCAA programs.

American football: examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses in play-calling

Football is basically a weekly exam in opponent analysis. You have days, not hours, to build a plan around the other team’s tendencies.

Example 5: Attacking coverage tendencies on third down

Film and data show that a defense:

• Plays man coverage on 70% of 3rd‑and‑short
• Switches to Cover‑3 on 3rd‑and‑7 or longer
• Brings a specific nickel blitz from the boundary when the back aligns weak

An offensive coordinator responds by:

• Calling pick routes and rub concepts on 3rd‑and‑short to punish man coverage
• Tagging deep crossers and flood concepts versus Cover‑3 on longer downs
• Using motion to move the back and bait the nickel blitz, then throwing into the vacated zone

This is a clear example of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses: you’re not just calling your “favorite” plays, you’re calling the plays that stress the exact coverages and blitzes the opponent relies on.

Example 6: Neutralizing a dominant edge rusher

On the flip side, your analysis shows an edge rusher who:

• Wins quickly off the line with speed
• Struggles to anchor versus double teams in the run game
• Rarely drops into coverage

The offensive plan might:

• Run directly at him with double teams to wear him down
• Use chip blocks from the tight end and running back on obvious passing downs
• Call quick game concepts (slants, hitches) to reduce his time to impact the quarterback

Again, this is a live, practical example of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses: you blunt his strength (edge speed) and magnify his weakness (run defense and stamina).

For coaches interested in broader sports performance and injury risk related to position demands, organizations like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publish research on workload, fatigue, and injury patterns that can indirectly inform how you evaluate physical strengths and weaknesses.

Individual sports: tennis, combat sports, and endurance racing

Opponent analysis isn’t only a team concept. Some of the sharpest examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses come from one‑on‑one sports where every tendency is magnified.

Example 7: Tennis – building rallies to the weaker side

A tennis analyst reviewing match footage notes that a player:

• Hits heavy, penetrating forehands
• Produces short, attackable balls off the backhand when stretched wide
• Struggles to defend short angles to the backhand side

The game plan:

• Serve wide to the backhand on the ad side to start rallies where the opponent is already off balance
• Work cross‑court patterns that gradually pull the opponent wider on the backhand
• Finish with inside‑out forehands into the open court once the backhand breaks down

This is a textbook example of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses: you respect the forehand, avoid feeding it, and build patterns that constantly expose the weaker wing.

Example 8: Combat sports – exploiting conditioning and pace

In MMA or boxing, camps often identify that an opponent:

• Starts fast but fades after the first round
• Throws power shots with limited volume
• Leaves defensive gaps when forced backward

A smart corner might instruct their fighter to:

• Stay defensively sound early, forcing the opponent to miss and overexert
• Increase output in later rounds when the opponent’s power has dropped
• Pressure forward to put the opponent on the back foot, where their defense is weaker

Sports science research on fatigue, reaction time, and concussion risk from organizations like the Mayo Clinic and academic sports medicine programs supports the idea that tired athletes become slower and more vulnerable. That scientific backdrop reinforces why conditioning differences are a real, exploitable weakness.

How to build your own examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses

You don’t need a pro analytics department to create your own high-quality examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses. You need a repeatable process and consistent note‑taking.

Step 1: Define what “strength” and “weakness” mean for your sport

In basketball, it might be:

• Shot zones and play types (catch‑and‑shoot vs pull‑up)
• Ball‑handling under pressure
• Defensive foot speed laterally

In soccer:

• Passing under pressure
• Aerial duels and 1v1 defending
• Recovery runs and late-game stamina

In football:

• Coverage recognition
• Pass‑rush win rate
• Run‑fit discipline

Write these down before you watch film so you’re not just reacting to highlights.

Step 2: Watch film with specific questions

Instead of “How good is this team?”, ask:

• Where does their best scorer actually score from?
• Which players look uncomfortable when pressed or isolated?
• When do they tire—early, mid‑game, or late?

You’re looking to generate your own example of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses for each key player or unit. The more specific, the better: “#10 struggles when forced right and under heavy pressure” is actionable. “#10 is decent” is useless.

Step 3: Use simple data, not just vibes

Even if you’re at the high school level, you can track:

• Shot charts by location
• Turnovers by pressure level (no pressure, light, heavy)
• Goals or points conceded by minute segment (0–15, 16–30, etc.)

These simple stats will highlight patterns that your eyes might miss. They also help you build real examples you can show players: “They’ve conceded 60% of their goals after the 70th minute. We are going to press harder late.”

Step 4: Translate analysis into 2–3 clear priorities

The mistake many coaches make is building a great scouting report that never reaches the court or field. Boil your findings down into:

• One or two things you want to take away (opponent strengths)
• One or two things you want to attack (opponent weaknesses)

For instance:

• “We will not let #3 go left in transition.”
• “We will attack #24 in ball screens every time he’s on the floor.”

Those sentences are your live, in-game examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses. If your players can’t repeat them back, they’re too complicated.

2024–2025 trends that shape how we analyze opponents

Modern scouting is drifting in a clear direction: more data, more tracking, and more integration with sports science.

A few trends worth noting:

• Wearable tech and GPS: Teams are using GPS and inertial sensors to measure high‑speed running, accelerations, and decelerations in matches and training. That helps identify opponents who may be overworked or under‑conditioned, which then becomes a targetable weakness late in games.
• AI‑assisted video breakdown: Software can now auto‑tag actions—pressing sequences, ball screens, set pieces—so analysts spend more time interpreting and less time cutting film. That makes it easier to generate multiple real examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses for each matchup.
• Injury and fatigue awareness: Research from organizations like the NIH and CDC has pushed teams to monitor workload closely. When scouting, that means paying attention not just to skill, but to whether a star is returning from injury or playing heavy minutes—another form of temporary weakness.

These trends don’t replace old‑school observation; they just give you more angles to find exploitable edges.

FAQ: real examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses

Q: Can you give a simple example of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses for youth sports?
Yes. In youth basketball, you might notice that an opposing guard only dribbles with their right hand and always drives to the right. Their strength is straight‑line speed; their weakness is lack of a left hand. You tell your players to overplay the right side, force them left, and send a help defender early. That’s a clear, age‑appropriate example of using opponent analysis to shape your defense.

Q: How many examples of opponent strengths and weaknesses should go into a scouting report?
For most teams, two or three key strengths to limit and two or three weaknesses to attack are enough. If you load players with 15 different notes, none of it sticks. Focus on the best examples—the ones that show up repeatedly on film—and build your plan around those.

Q: Do I need advanced stats to create strong examples of analyze opponent’s strengths & weaknesses?
No. Advanced stats help, but consistent film study, simple tallies (shots, turnovers, duels won/lost), and clear observations can produce very strong real examples. Technology speeds up the process; it doesn’t replace clear thinking.

Q: How often should I update my analysis of an opponent?
Every new game can reveal changes—tactical tweaks, injuries, or form swings. At higher levels, staff update scouting reports weekly. At amateur levels, updating whenever you get fresh film is enough to keep your examples accurate.

Q: What’s the biggest mistake people make when trying to analyze opponent strengths and weaknesses?
They stop at labels—“good shooter,” “fast team”—instead of building specific, testable examples. You want statements like “they concede most chances on crosses from the left” or “their center struggles to defend pick‑and‑rolls in space.” Those details are what turn scouting into actual strategy.