Team efficiency

Defensive rating

Points allowed per 100 possessions.

What it teaches

How stingy a defense is after removing pace.
Whether a team is truly elite defensively or just slow.

What it doesn't

Individual stopper value by itself.
Scheme aesthetics.

Upsides

Pace-normalized.
Clear team comparison tool.

Downsides

Noisy for individuals.
Opponent offense quality matters.

How to apply it

Pair with opponent adjustment when ranking defenses.
For players, prefer contests, on-ball indicators, and impact models over raw DRtg.