Stat Chat: Round 1

Statistics ... whether you love them or hate them, stats play a huge part in sport.

Whether it's when recruiting a player, how teams prepare, how a starting five is setup, or just about any facet of the game, numbers are crunched and relied upon as fact. 

This year, 2018 NBL Champion and expert commentator Pete Hooley will be our resident stats man on NBL.com.au, providing a rundown of all the key numbers from the weekend's games. 

Keep an eye out after every round for the latest edition of 'Stat Chat'. 

Round 1 is done and dusted and already NBL23 is delivering the goods. From incredible individual performances and big team wins, we are in for a treat this season.

Let’s take a look at some interesting numbers from the weekend.

What’s hot – 2,905,490,102
That’s the figure from the highest grossing box office movie of all time, Avatar. That’s relevant because that’s exactly what took place in Phoenix on Monday. It was a movie. From the moment the ball was tipped it became one of the most incredible shooting displays you will ever see on any basketball court. 24 from 43 from NBA range … They’re box office numbers.

At one point in the fourth quarter, I caught myself literally laughing at how this 36er squad simply couldn’t miss. It will go down in history for many reasons, but it was a team shooting display that I don’t think I’ll ever see beaten for some time. Not even on NBA2k.

What’s not – 0
Nothing. Literally nothing. The entire team is highly flammable.

Robert Franks.

What’s hot – 6:02
At the 6:02 minute mark of the first quarter, the Bullets were out to a 15-4 lead against Perth in the Jungle. For a team that had one of the worst first quarter outputs across NBL22, James Duncan could find a positive in the way his squad came out firing on an opposition floor. The ball movement, unselfishness and shot making was all evident in those first four minutes, which showed a glimpse of the good to come this year.

What’s not – 24
Doubling down on their Blitz troubles with looking after the ball, the Bullets had 24 turnovers in their opening game. There was a lot of mixed rotations and new line-ups that will likely start to be tightened as the season progresses but looking after the ball is one thing that the Bullets will need to address. In the end it was the turnovers combined with some defensive breakdowns that took the game away from them.

It was a tough opening night for the Brisbane Bullets. 

What’s hot – 33
In the last 26 minutes of game time, the Taipans outscored the JackJumpers by 33 points. With six minutes left in the second quarter, they flicked a switch and piled on 82 points for the rest of the game, including a 39-point barrage in the third. These Taipans could be set for some big nights scoring the ball when they all catch fire.

What’s not – 0
Zero threes made in the first quarter for Cairns led them to putting up just 15 points in the opening 10 minutes. They are a team designed to take and make a lot of threes, so the challenge for Adam Forde will be finding a way to tick the scoreboard over if those shots aren’t falling.

Shannon Scott.

What’s hot – 41
41 total points in Lachie Dent’s NBL career to date, with 19 of them coming on Saturday night, in one of the biggest rivalry games in the league. Dent was unconscious on the floor, going five-of-five from deep and seven-for-seven for the game. What’s arguably more impressive is that the last NBL point Dent scored was on June 3, 2021 ... coincidentally this came against the Kings as well.

What’s not – 28.2
The Hawks electrifying lefty backcourt combo of Harvey and Robinson, shot just 28.2 per cent from the field on 11 of 39. With so many key departures in the offseason, the offensive end will rely heavily on these two men to lead the way. The Hawks could perhaps live with one of them having a rough night, but they’ll be hoping there isn’t too many games where they both are struggling to find their range. 

Lachie Dent. 

What’s hot – 57
United’s backcourt combo of Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Chris Goulding put up 57 points on a combined 33 shots, which included 12 of 22 from deep. Both guards had their key moments in lifting United over the line in an overtime thriller to begin their season. Side note, 'XRM' seems to really enjoy playing at John Cain Arena. Last season for the Hawks, his two highest scoring games were 25 against United and 19 against Phoenix. Both at John Cain Arena, and both wins.

What’s not – 10
United lost the rebound count to the Breakers by 10, in what could be a challenging part of their season since the loss of Hukporti. Will McDowell-White and Dererk Pardon ripped down 13 and 12 rebounds respectively, compared to United’s leading rebounder Isaac Humphries, with just six. How they will fate against some of the more prominent rebounding teams in the league is going to be crucial to watch.

Chris Goulding. 

What’s hot – 9, 13, 7
Will McDowell-White stepped into his first game with the keys to the offence and showcased his ability to fill the stat sheet with nine points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. He looked incredibly composed in controlling the offense and is sure to take some huge confidence out of his first outing. He only took nine shots, which I expect him to get a little bit more aggressive as the team begins to find its feet.

What’s not – 10/11
The Breakers have lost 10 of their last 11 overtime games they’ve played in. They’re either incredibly unlucky or maybe run out of gas in the extra period, but it’s a stat that’s hard to ignore. Look back to last season where they were on the wrong end of Bryce Cotton’s four-point play, Anthony Drmic’s prayer and even the brutal double OT loss against the Hawks. They were three games where they played well enough to deserve the win, but couldn’t quite close it out.

Will McDowell-White.

What’s hot – 1
The superstar out west, Bryce Cotton, sits alone as the only player in the 40-minute era to produce a stat line like he did on Sunday. No player has ever recorded 20+ points, 10+ rebounds, five+ assists and five+ steals before Cotton made his mark against the Bullets. Is it possible that one of the greatest we have ever seen has somehow got even better?

What’s not – 12
In the end it didn’t hurt them too much, but the Wildcats were outrebounded by 12 against the Bullets on Sunday. Cotton was their leading rebounder with 12 himself, which almost doubled their start frontcourt’s combined seven for the game. John Rillie spoke about the need for every player to attack the glass, which will please him to see guards like Cotton and Norton swoop in.

Bryce Cotton. 

What’s hot – 30 for 30
The Phoenix Captain was a walking bucket in the season opener of NBL23. 30 points in 30 minutes of playing time, meant he was able to enjoy a super-efficient career outing. Adnam has shown that whenever the Phoenix are missing key players, he will step up to the moment in whatever it takes to get the job done. Look back to the NBL21 season ,where he replaced injured starter Keifer Sykes, and had a career best 13 assists in a 17 point win over the Hawks.

What’s not – 18
Midway through the second quarter, the Phoenix got out to an 18 point lead against the Jackjumpers, but couldn’t completely pull away. Tasmania is known to be a team that always fights back, but the Phoenix will be looking at what went wrong to have this game end up nearly going to overtime. They got off to a blistering start and will be hoping to capitalise on that for a full 40 minutes. 

Kyle Adnam chats to his teammates. 

What’s hot – 10
It was one of the best debut’s in the NBL that we have seen for some time. Derrick Walton Jr absolutely dominated in his first outing for the reigning champs. His overall numbers speak for themselves, but Walton Jr had 10 fouls drawn across the game, which goes to show just how hard this man will be to slow down. He has the ball on a string and can score and pass at an extremely high level. Kudos to the Kings organisation for bringing in such a high quality piece to lead their charge back to the top.  

What’s not – 66
The Kings put up 106 points in their opening night and shot the ball from the field at a tremendous clip. However, they shot just 66 per cent from the FT line on 18 of 27, leaving a lot of free points go begging. Xavier Cooks had his struggles, shooting five of 11 himself. Once it all comes together, how potent can this Kings team be?

Derrick Walton Jr. 

What’s hot – 4231
The Nest is back in full force and 4,321 fans packed My State Bank Arena ready to reclaim their place as one of the best home crowd atmospheres across the league. The basketball will slowly grow, as there are some challenges ahead of the Jackjumpers, but the entire state of Tasmania are back in force and ready to support their team. It’s a beautiful sight and incredible to witness and hear the chants from the crowd.

What’s not – 106
The JackJumpers had their struggles both offensively and defensively across their two games in round 1. The 106 points allowed to Cairns is the exact opposite style of play that led them to a Grand Final in NBL22. They were the best defensive team last season, allowing just 79 points per game. Without some explosive offensive weapons, they need to find a way to dig back into that defensive culture that made them so hard to beat.

A sellout crowd in Tasmania.