Stat Chat: Round 3

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 3 is over and are we starting to see a couple of teams separate themselves from the pack?

There are no undefeated teams left for NBL23 and with some big performances from both teams and individuals across the last week, let’s take a look at some numbers that stood out.   

What’s hot – 17
The human microwave Craig Randall caught fire in the fourth quarter of the game against the Hawks. Once he hit his first shot, he rattled off 17 points in the final ten minutes to put the game to bed. This is nothing new for the sharpshooter, who will pull up from anywhere inside the half court line once he sees that first three hit the bottom of the net. The question needs to be asked, if he catches fire in the first quarter of a game rather than the fourth, how big of a night could it be for Randall?

What’s not – 1:1
No that’s not the win/loss record for the 36ers, but rather their assist to turnover ratio from their round three games. 35 assists across two games is a positive sign for CJ Bruton that his team is playing unselfish and sharing the ball, however 35 turnovers is something that he will be hoping they can get under control as soon as possible. They have too much firepower offensively to not get a shot up every time down the floor. 

Craig Randall.

What’s hot – 1
There wasn’t a whole heap of positives to come out of the Bullets' home opener, but DJ Mitchell could walk away knowing he did all he could. His first career double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds showed exactly why he the Bullets were so high on acquiring his signature for the season. Coming off a very strong NBL1 campaign, Mitchell is an exciting young talent to have back in the NBL and we’re already starting to see why. 

What’s not – 2003
It’s been 19 years since the Bullets started a season with four straight losses and that was in 2003 when they started 0-10. It’s impossible to assume that the talent on this Bullets team would get close to eclipsing that mark, but they’ll be looking for a big response soon. They have had probably the toughest schedule of anyone in the NBL to this point, but with what was considered a championship calibre roster that has been put together, I don’t think anyone was expecting this start. 

DJ Mitchell. 

What’s hot – 13
With all the talk of the quick and high energy style of play that the Taipans are going with this season, it’s easy to forget how a lot of that derives from their defensive intensity. Their pressure against the Kings led to 13 steals across the game and forced 18 turnovers in the process. Cairns might be young, but they play a certain style that will give them the ability to beat any team on any given night. I’m all aboard the Cairns train.

What’s not – 5
He’s been a revelation once again for the Taipans to begin NBL23, but Keanu Pinder fouling out in the late moments could have really hurt their chances of coming away with that big win against the Kings. Pinder has by far been the standout performer so far and with Cairns only going seven players deep, it’s crucial that their main guys are available in crunch time. Pinder’s growth has seen him go from a man struggling to get minutes in the NBL two years ago, to breakout star and now one step closer to superstar. 

DJ Hogg.

What’s hot – 25
With the Hawks' offence struggling to fire, they averaged 25 points off the bench across their last two games. Jacob Jackomas has preached how important it is to be strong on the defensive end this season, however they still need to find regular contributions to tick the scoreboard over. It’s a roster designed to have production by committee, so as much as the pressure falls on the superstars like Harvey and Froling, Jackomas will be looking at every player to step up that little bit more. 

What’s not – 1
The Hawks looked to have no answers for the Breakers in Monday’s loss with just one player scoring in double figures. Tyler Harvey's12 points highlighted a tough night for Illawarra,. Their 0-2 round has them sitting ninth on the ladder with 1 win and 3 losses. The task now is to find a way to steady the ship before reinforcements arrive. 

Mangok Mathiang. 

What’s hot – 7
Not too many teams go into the jungle and come away with a win, but rarely do we see a team have so much success over the course of multiple trips out west. Seven straight wins in RAC Arena for United after that big performance on Friday night. Only two of those wins came were in double figures, which shows that right now United may have a rare mental edge in the clutch at the jungle. 

What’s not – 28.5
In the seven matches that United have played the JackJumpers, they’ve only won two. That’s a 28.5 per cent winning rate. Further to that, across those games, they have only scored more than 80 points one time. In Sunday’s loss, United managed just 64 points in a style of play that fed perfectly into the slow grind that Tasmania want. Have the JackJumpers figured out United? Or is it just the Tasmania way? 

Rayjon Tucker. 

What’s hot – 2r
Two road wins already for the Breakers who look to be starting to put it all together on both ends of the floor. In NBL22 they managed just three total “away” wins, remembering that they played their home games in Tasmania for most of the season. Their game looks completely different, they look reenergised, refocused, and they are rewarding themselves with some big early wins. With their leading scorer out of round three due to injury, they still managed to score 85+ in both wins.  

What’s not – 4
Will McDowell-White was everywhere in their win against the Hawks and when he goes back to watch the game, he’ll find four easy shots missed from his teammates that cost him his second NBL triple-double. He finished with 17, 10 and six assists on the night and completely controlled the game from the opening tip. It was the McDowell-White everyone expected to see in NBL23, which should give him the confidence to back it up every single night.

The Breakers celebrate their third straight win. 

What’s hot – 28
What a start to the season from Luke Travers for the Wildcats. In their loss to United, Travers had 28 PRA (points, rebounds and assists). There has been some questions as to why he isn’t starting, but not many teams have a weapon like him available to bring off the bench each night. If John Rillie needs him at the point guard, he subs him in for Mitch Norton. If he needs him to play big, he slots alongside Brady Manek. The swiss army knife of the west, Travers is shining early. 

What’s not – 18
In a game that came down to big shot making, the Wildcats struggled to find their usual flare from deep on their home court against Melbourne. Just 18 per cent from three on the night, largely due to Cotton’s 2-12. Cotton exploded for 22 first half points, but was visibly exhausted in the second half and struggled to find his range. With Blanchfield 0-3 and Webster 0-5, the Wildcats need to find consistent ways to take that scoreboard pressure off Cotton, when he gets tired.

Luke Travers.

What’s hot – 45
He’s back. Ryan Broekhoff made his season debut and looked like he hadn’t missed a beat. 11 points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes of action should have his confidence high to deliver a big season ahead. Broekhoff is yet to get through a long period of NBL play healthy, and last season he showed just how important he is to the success of this team before missing some time through injury. Could this be Broekhoff’s year?

What’s not – 85
It’s now three straight losses for the Phoenix in NBL23 and in each, their opponent has scored exactly 85 points against them. It was a tough night defensively for the Phoenix on Saturday, giving up 61 combined points in the paint and free throws. The Breakers continued to attack deep into the key off a high screen almost every time down the floor, which led to layups, wide open shots or free-throws. There are some expected growing pains early though, considering the injuries to their four main players in the pre-season.  

Ryan Broekhoff. 

What’s hot – 31 x 2
After scoring just 16 points in the first quarter against the Bullets, the Kings responded with 31 in the second to blow the game open. They could very well be the deepest team in the league, and it shows in games like this where a different player leads the charge offensively, like Justin Simon did. After a slower third quarter, the Kings ended any hope of a comeback by Brisbane in the fourth with another 31-point performance in the final 10 minutes. 

What’s not – 56
It’s not the first time in Stat Chat that the Kings freethrow percentage has made an appearance. In their loss to Cairns, the Kings shot just 14-from-25 from the stripe at 56 per cent, in a game they lost by just five points. They are too strong offensively at putting heat on the rim when it’s needed, to not reward themselves with free points at the charity stripe.  

Justin Simon.

What’s hot – 97
The 97 points from the JackJumpers in their win to spoil Adelaide’s season-opener, was the most points they had ever scored in a game. A team that’s designed to grind out low scoring wins just erupted from deep, knocking down 15 threes at almost 40 per cent. Whilst it’s not the offensive output their used to, maybe they can look to add that as a backup plan when they play the strong offensive teams like Adelaide, Sydney and Cairns?

What’s not – 40
The JackJumpers' two opponents from the weekend averaged 40 points scored in the paint. Yes, it didn’t ultimately matter in the end, but Tasmania prides itself on the defensive end and keeping players out of the paint, forcing long contested jump shots. With no Magnay behind the defensive to protect the rim, it puts even more pressure on the JackJumpers' guards to move their feet defensively and keep players away from the key.

Jack McVeigh.