Stat Chat: Round 16 (What's Hot & What's Not)

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'. 

What’s Hot – 4

Whilst the results haven’t gone their way, give a lot of credit for the Adelaide organization and their fans this season. The 36ers have racked up four straight sell-outs and record attendances at the Adelaide Entertainment Center and the crowd has been full of energy, despite the wins failing to come. It’s also deserving of a big shoutout to all the players who give their time to the fans after these games, which would no doubt help them continue to show up each and every week.

What’s Not – 39

With their season on the line, Adelaide has failed to give themselves a chance to make the play-in tournament, with five straight losses. Over those games they have been outscored by 39 points in first quarters, with an average deficit of 7.8 points across those games at quarter time. That is far from the ideal way to start games when they needed to be desperate to survive.

Hyrum Harris.

What’s Hot – 104.5

The Bullets refuse to lay down even though their season has been over for some time. Across Round 16 they averaged 104.5 points per game in their two wins, far eclipsing their season mark of just 85.3. They want to spoil some seasons, and they look every chance to do so with two rounds remaining.

What’s Not – 17

Despite the thriller in overtime against the 36ers, the Bullets nearly gifted away a win after giving up 17 offensive rebounds throughout the game. It was a team effort on the boards for Adelaide, with their leading rebounders - Hyrum Harris and Kai Sotto - finishing with seven each. They should consider themselves lucky that Adelaide didn’t capitalize more on the second chance points.

Tyrell Harrison.

What’s Hot – 2

The result in Cairns’ one game in Round 16 was far from ideal, losing to Tasmania by eight points. However, the biggest positive to come out of that game is that they still currently hold the second spot on the NBL ladder. With the Kings losing two games in the round, what went from a chance to just solidify second spot could potentially open the door for them to sneak into first by season’s end.

What’s Not – 18

A team that usually prides itself on its defensive energy and ability to turn the ball over, fell victim to its own medicine as Tasmania ended the game with 15 steals. The Taipans' 18 turnovers on the night was one of the key reasons that they were unable to claw their way back into the game and get a crucial win on the JackJumpers' home floor.

Jonah Antonio.

What’s Hot – 3

The magic number of the round for the Hawks. Their third win on the season came in dramatic fashion with a three from Tyler Harvey, with three seconds remaining, that he launched from the carpark to beat the Breakers. He also played 33 minutes in the game – numerology anyone?

What’s Not – 103

It was a bottom of the table clash in which the Hawks would have gone in very confident they could beat the Bullets. Unfortunately, they struggled to defend and gave up 103 points to a Brisbane team that has had its fair share of struggles to score. They looked a little tired, both emotionally and physically no doubt, but Jacob Jackomas would still be unhappy with that defensive effort.

Tyler Harvey.

What’s Hot – 8

Melbourne United are the hottest team in the competition right now having won eight of their past nine games. When all signs pointed towards them finishing in the bottom four, United has rallied together and now look destined to make the play-in tournament. With big performances from Chris Goulding, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Rayjon Tucker against Adelaide, this team is feeling very good at the right time.

What’s Not – 51

It was the one thing that everyone at United wanted to avoid, but the head knock to Shea Ili is devastating for one of their key pieces. Chris Goulding said it best in the press conference, how what it means for the team is secondary in making sure that Ili is ok going forward. He has had a horrific run with concussions this season, and the entire NBL community is hoping he gets some good news from this.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes.

What’s Hot – 50, 15, 15

If you haven’t seen the numbers yet, do yourself a favour and go check the entire game. Jarrell Brantley and Will McDowell-White put on a clinic in their massive win over the Sydney Kings. The duo combined for 50 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in one of the best games by a pair of players all season long. Is this Breakers team back?

What’s Not – 13

It was a loss that no one saw coming, and the 13-point deficit at quarter time against the Hawks, meant the Breakers were feeling the heat for the rest of the game. They won't make excuses, but the way they came out to start that game hinted at a team that was tired and thought that the bottom of the table Hawks were going to take it easy.

Will McDowell-White.

What’s Hot – 11

We all know him for his scoring greatness, but the passing display from Bryce Cotton against the Kings was something special. He is always going to get the most attention from other teams defensive schemes, so to have 11 assists with zero turnovers against one of the best defenders in the league is ridiculously impressive.

What’s Not – 9

The game was over early against Adelaide, but John Rillie wouldn’t have been overly impressed with the way they ended. In the fourth quarter Perth had nine turnovers, which equated to 34 points from Adelaide in the final ten minutes.

Bryce Cotton.

What’s Hot – 27

There were a bunch of positive numbers to come out of the Phoenix’s offensive onslaught against Perth. They picked a great time to get hot and were probably due to have the floodgates opened, and their 112 points came at a scintillating 55.6%. The most impressive number for me is the 27 assists in the game, to just seven turnovers. That was a desperate team coming together and getting the job done.

What’s Not – 45

Similar to their crosstown rival, one of the most important pieces for this team has come up with a devastating injury at the worst possible time. Ryan Broekhoff was putting on a clinic against Perth before he limped off with a groin injury, and then became overwhelmed with emotion on the bench. He just cannot catch a break and it will take something special for this team to pick up the pieces without him.

Ryan Broekhoff.

What’s Hot – 8

After enduring a rough shooting stretch for a while, Kings sharpshooter DJ Vasiljevic has found his stroke at the right time. He knocked down eight threes across the round from 14 attempts, and despite coming up short in both games the Kings would be thrilled that their best shooter is feeling good at the business end of the season.

What’s Not - 2

Two losses for the Kings might have a few people panicking, but it shouldn’t be too concerning just yet. For the previous few weeks Sydney had been flying and feeling great, so these losses may just help them bring their focus back and make a strong charge at a title repeat. What would be a slight concern is that one of the best defensive teams in the league gave up an average of 98.5 points in both losses.

DJ Vasiljevic.

What’s Hot – 15

The Tasmania defensive pressure was on full display against Cairns. The JackJumpers came up with 15 steals on the night and earned a much-needed win in front of their home crowd. They're quietly getting back to their old ways and are the second best defensive team in the league in terms of points against, allowing their opponents just 82.3 a game.

What’s Not – 22

Scott Roth spoke earlier in the season about his team’s lack of discipline at times defensively, and that was evident in their loss to the Phoenix. Tasmania’s 22 fouls meant the Phoenix had 25 free-throws, of which they hit 20 and put them in the box seat to get the win.

Milton Doyle.