NBL Insider: Every metric matters

Points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks - they're the categories you would have seen referenced in just about every game report, every preview and all the expert analysis in years gone by.

But as teams look to gain any little edge they can over the opposition, technology continues to advance and every moment of every game is now under the microscope, the rise of advanced statistics is real.

The player who "does things that don't show up on the stat sheet" is just about no longer. There's now hundreds of metrics to rate a player or team's performance, and it's incredible the depth of detail in the numbers.

Whether you fancy yourself as a stats buff or enjoy delving into the numbers, want to check out the current leaders in points or assists, or just want to view your team's most impactful players, NBL Insider has you covered.

Available FREE and exclusive to NBL+ subscribers, NBL Insider brings you the latest numbers around games, teams, stadiums, players & more. There's even an insights section with the latest betting moves and trends. 

Below, Pete Hooley provdes a little sample of some of the best NBL Insider has to offer.

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Impact

As you may or may not have seen on the NBL social’s recently, the stat “impact” can be defined by: “combining a player’s plus-minus, as well as the team’s expected points scored and allowed while the player is on the court, to show what impact the player has had for the team compared, to expectation. Higher is better.

Now, that may sound a little confusing, but it’s basically a number that indicates how well a player can come in and help put their team in the best situation to win. It may also be interesting to see the likes of Flynn Cameron leading the league in this category at 72.4, closely followed by Jack McVeigh at 71.7 and then Chris Goulding at 66.8.

Through 12 games, Cameron has been a very consistent bench option for Dean Vickerman, which has come in handy with injuries to key starters early on. Cameron makes a name from himself through the energy and effort he plays with defensively, much like his fellow countryman Shea Ili, but has also shown the ability to score the ball at an effective rate when required. 

Another key takeaway when looking at impact numbers is that Perth only has two players in the top 30 in this category – Hyrum Harris at 10 and Kristian Doolittle at 14. When you consider how well both of them have played since the lineup change for John Rillie, it’s no surprise to see how they are the key impact guys, away from Bryce Cotton. 

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Plus/minus - total points scored while player is on the floor

Now, not everyone is a fan of the plus/minus statistic in general, but as a stat lover, I have time for it in certain situations. However, when you look at just the overall plus numbers from the opening eight rounds, something unique springs out. The top five leaders in this category, Jordon Crawford, Mitch Creek, Milton Doyle, Cotton and Goulding are all some of the best scorers in the competition, so it’s no surprise at all to see them as the top in this category.

What is somewhat shocking is that Shea Ili sits ninth here, averaging under 10 points a game. If you’ve seen Ili play a lot, this will make sense because he is that ultimate glue guy who does all the dirty work and gets his teammates open looks more so than himself. 

First basket

Without cheating, if you had to take a guess at who you think has the most first baskets in games through eight rounds, who would you pick?

Bryce Cotton? Tied fifth with two. Chris Goulding? Tied second with three. 

JackJumpers big man Marcus Lee leads the competition in first baskets with four, from 12 games played. Tasmania is known to run a very similar offensive set to begin the games and start the third quarter, and that often leads to a Marcus Lee dunk, because the attention is on Milton Doyle coming off a handoff. 

Second chance points

The ability to retain possession after a missed shot is vital for any successful team. Jonah Bolden sits atop this category with 35 second chance points for the Kings, while his teammate and fellow big man Jordan Hunter is tied third with 32. Bolden has had a fantastic start to the season and is currently third in offensive rebounds per game, behind only Alan Williams and Sam Froling. Williams is the league’s leading offensive rebounder, but is tied 10th in second chance points with his teammate Mitch Creek.  To give some love to the guards, Jordon Crawford is fifth in this category at 31 second chance points, which makes sense when you notice how many kick outs and tap back offensive rebounds the JackJumper bigs get. 

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Free throws

Only two qualified players have a perfect FT percentage on their home floor – Tyler Harvey and Will Magnay. Magnay qualifies with an 8/8 in Launceston. Conversely, only one player is yet to miss a free-throw in opposition venues and that’s DJ Vasiljevic, who is a perfect 10/10 in games at New Zealand and Perth. No burgers from Vasiljevic.

Number of player’s shots blocked

One would assume that two of the shortest players in NBL24, Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Jordon Crawford, may feature heavily in this category. In fact, Jackson-Wright is fourth with 0.8 blocks on his 15.8 field goal attempts and Crawford seventh at 0.7 on his 16.3 attempts. 

Among qualified players, Hawks guard Justin Robinson leads this category with 0.9 blocks on his average of 11.8 field goals attempted per game. Keanu Pinder closely follows that at 0.8 on just 10 attempts.