Using Metabolomics to Differentiate Player Positions in Elite Male Basketball Games: A Pilot Study.

Kayvan Khoramipour,Elham Shirzad,Abbas Ali Gaeini,Kambiz Gilany,Karim Chamari,Øyvind Sandbakk

doi:10.3389/fmolb.2021.639786

Abstract

Purpose: The current study compared metabolic profiles and movement patterns between different player positions and explored relationships between indicators of internal and external loads during elite male basketball games. Methods: Five main players from 14 basketball teams (n = 70) were selected as subjects and defined as backcourt (positions 1–3) or frontcourt (positions 4–5) players. Video-based time motion analysis (VBTMA) was performed based on players’ individual maximal speeds. Movements were classified into high and low intensity running with and without ball, high and low intensity shuffling, static effort and jumps. Saliva samples were collected before and after 40-min basketball games with metabolomics data being analyzed by multivariate statistics. Independent t-tests were used to compare VBTMA. Results: Frequency, duration, and distance of high and low intensity running and -shuffling were higher in backcourt players, whereas static effort duration and frequency as well as jump frequency were higher in frontcourt players (all p ≤ 0.05). The levels of taurine, succinic acid, citric acid, pyruvate, glycerol, acetoacetic acid, acetone, and hypoxanthine were higher in backcourt players, while lactate, alanine, 3-methylhistidine were higher and methionine was lower in frontcourt players (all p < 0.05). High intensity running with ball was significantly associated by acetylecholine, hopoxanthine, histidine, lactic acid and leucine in backcourt players (p < 0.05). Conclusion: We demonstrate different metabolic profiles of backcourt and frontcourt players during elite male basketball games; while aerobic metabolic changes are more present in backcourt players, frontcourt players showed lager changes in anaerobic metabolic pathways due to more static movements.

Highlights

Basketball is an intermittent team sport, characterized by alternating phases of low and high intensity work during four 10-min quarters
Duration, and distance, high intensity running with ball, high intensity running without ball, low intensity running with ball, low intensity running without ball, high intensity shuffling, and low intensity shuffling were higher in backcourt players, whereas static movement frequency and duration as well as jump frequency were higher among frontcourt players (p ≤ 0.05 for all)
The present study shows that movement frequency, duration, and distance of high and low intensity running and -shuffling were higher in backcourt players, whereas static effort frequency and duration as well as jump frequency were higher in frontcourt players

Summary

Introduction

Basketball is an intermittent team sport, characterized by alternating phases of low and high intensity work during four 10-min quarters. While backcourt players are generally smaller, quicker, and responsible for ball transitions, which require more movements, frontcourt players tend to be bigger, slower, and have more physical contact as they play in a smaller area (Kucsa and Macura, 2015; Ibáñez et al, 2018). Such data is a result of external load monitoring studies using different methods of analysis among which video-based time motion analysis (VBTMA) is the most popular. Individualization of thresholds would make VBTMA a more accurate, valid approach (Abt et al, 2020)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion