Stat Chat: Round 18 (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 – 30

At the beginning of the round they were a mathematical chance to make the post-season, and the 36ers kicked things off in style with a big win over the Sydney Kings. Adelaide put up 115 points on the night off the back of an impressive 30 assists. Of those 30 they had five players register three or more which showed a willingness to share the ball - and with that came an impressive result.

What’s Not – 32

Whilst they split the round, Adelaide gave up 32 free-throw attempts in both their games across round 18. The Sydney Kings hit 29/32, whilst United hit 27/32, which is way too many free points to be giving an opposition when your season is on the line.

Kyrin Galloway.

What’s Hot – 5253

In a season of disappointment for the Bullets, it deserves a massive shoutout to the club and the fans for continuing to show up in force every game. The last home game of the season was fought out in front of 5253 screaming fans in Nissan Arena, which is testament to everyone involved. Special shoutout to the playing group who many see stay behind for a while after tough losses to see the fans and sign autographs.

What’s Not – 21

They battled hard to try and spoil the Breakers' party, but ultimately the 21 turnovers just gave New Zealand too many second chance opportunities. In fact the Bullets had seven turnovers in the fourth quarter and overtime, compared to just four assists in the same time.

Nathan Sobey.

What’s Hot – 30

Heavily undermanned and playing against a team that was desperate to sneak into the Finals, the Taipans came out on fire against Perth with a 30-point opening quarter. What was even more impressive in that opening 10 minutes was that they managed to hold the Wildcats to just 16 at the other end and give themselves a great cushion that would eventually lead to a win.

What’s Not – 2

It’s never a good time for injuries, but the Snakes will be hoping that they can keep the rest of the squad healthy for a deep finals run. With two key pieces missing in the last round, the Taipans showed that their young group can still step up when it’s needed, but Tahjere McCall is going to have to be at full health come Finals to help this team get over the line. Sadly, no Keanu Pinder will make things tough but they’ve covered for him before, so why not again?

Tahjere McCall.

What’s Hot – 50

Big credit to the way the Hawks have continued to fight through a very rough season in NBL23. In the opening half of the NZ game Illawarra put up 50 points, which was one of their best opening halves of the entire season. Unfortunately they couldn’t sustain that run in the second half and probably helped give the Breakers team a big spray from their head coach, and they were overran in the end.

What’s Not – 3

They lost some absolute heartbreakers over the course of the NBL23, but in the end will go down as the worst season from an Illawarra team in history with just the three wins. They had to endure some of the worst luck across any team in the league, but combining that with some poor performances, and thing’s just didn’t quite work out for them this year.

Tyler Harvey.

What’s Hot – 10

Melbourne United fought valiantly in the second half of the season and fell agonizingly short of making it to the Finals. United won 10 of their last 13 games to give themselves the smallest of chances of playing post-season basketball, which many thought was impossible considering how they began NBL23.   

What’s Not – 5

It was an excruciating five seconds for United to have to watch as DJ Vasiljevic missed a three on the buzzer against Perth that would have sent them into the Finals. In the end Melbourne missed out by just two points across the entire season, which goes to show how important it is to play until the final buzzer. On that note, I think everyone thought that crazy Perth loss would come back to bite them… and it did.

Chris Goulding.

What’s Hot – 18

New Zealand won just five games last season and were stuck with the wooden spoon for nearly the entire season. It’s incredible to think that in just a short amount of time, this same organization won 18 games, finished second on the ladder and are one of the leading contenders for a championship. It’s a massive credit to Mody Maor and everyone involved, to bring New Zealand basketball back where it belongs.

What’s Not – 18

It’s slightly concerning that the Breakers elite scoring machine, Barry Brown Jr, is recovering from a hand injury that he sustained in his 18 minutes of action against the Hawks. The NBL’s Best Sixth Man missed their final game against the Bullets and was wearing a brace on that hand during the Award’s Night presentation.

Barry Brown Jr.

What’s Hot – 12

The magic number for Perth to scrape into the post-seosn was 11 and the Wildcats got it done with an extra point buffer to beat the Kings by 12 and march back into the Finals. It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for Perth, but we have seen that when it all clicks and they play like they did in the last regular season game, they can beat anyone. Could they go on a run and make a Playoff series against the Kings?

What’s Not – 5

I don’t think I ever thought that I’d be putting Bryce Cotton in the what’s not hot category, yet here we are. The superstar out West had one of his toughest games yet in the NBL against the Kings and shot just 1/19 from the field at 5%. Thankfully his teammates stepped up and got them over the line. But hey, even Superman needs a little bit of help sometimes.

Bryce Cotton.

What’s Hot – 2

With no games in the final round, there is really only one thing to note for the Phoenix and that is the re-signing of Alan Williams for two more seasons. The star big man in the middle has been dominant in NBL23, and led the competition in rebounds per game in the regular season. He played a crucial role in the middle of the key to help lead his team into the post-season.

Alan Williams.

What’s Hot – 1

Even with how the regular season ended it’s a huge achievement for a team who just won the title to finish the following year on top once again. The Kings lost key pieces, found some new additions and managed to cement themselves in the number one spot on the ladder all season long. However you want to look at it, that’s mighty impressive from Chase Buford and his men.

What’s Not - 4

Four losses in a row to end the season wouldn’t have been the way the Kings thought they would enter the Finals. Thankfully, they have an extended break between that last game and their first Semi-Final, so they can really go back to the drawing board, get healthy and come out firing. They are still the team to beat. The championship will always go through the champions until proven otherwise.

Derrick Walton Jr.

What’s Hot – 20, 8, 10

The Silent Assassin was up to his old tricks against the Hawks, only to fall agonizingly short of a triple double. Milton Doyle, who was rewarded with an All NBL First Team nod for his stellar performances this season, has been a revelation for the JackJumpers to help get this team back into the top four once again. You thought last season was a once off fairy-tale? Not with these Ants.

What’s Not – 2

No one ever wants to see a player get hurt, but we have to give some love to the JackJumpers' #2 and floor general Josh Magette. After taking a big elbow to the face Magette will miss their Finals campaign and undergo surgery. It’s a big blow for a team that relies heavily on leadership and culture, but thankfully they have enough depth for players to step up in his absence.  

Josh Magette.