Stat Chat: Round 7 (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 – 3
After a big shakeup during the FIBA window, Adelaide wasted no time in getting back in the winners column with a huge win against Melbourne United. It might come as a surprise to some, but that is just the third win for the 36ers against United in the last 17 games played. Anthony Drmic has been one player who is benefiting from more opportunity and is starting to deliver, dropping 21 points in this game and finding himself very comfortable within this talented lineup. 

What’s not – 20
If you take out Kyrin Galloway’s 3/3 from deep against the Breakers, the rest of the Adelaide team shot a combined 20 per cent from three in this game. For a team that is designed to play fast and shoot a lot of threes, when those shots aren’t dropping collectively, they often have to rely on their defence to get the job done. And frankly, that just hasn’t been up to par so far in NBL23. 

Anthony Drmic. 

What’s hot – 10
The Bullets have some serious size in their front court and have often been criticised for not using it enough. Against Cairns they won the rebound count by 10, while also pulling down the same number of offensive rebounds. Those second chance opportunities went a long way for them being in with a chance to win the game until the last 30 seconds. As disappointing of a loss as it was, there were a lot of positives to come out of Brisbane’s style of play. 

What’s hot – 27.5
Coming into round seven, the Bullets were comfortably the best three-point shooting team in the league at nearly 40 per cent. They still lead this category after their tough loss, but they didn’t do themselves any favours shooting just 27.5 per cent from deep in a game that went down to the wire. A lot of those misses were clean looks, which will no doubt frustrate James Duncan when he looks at what they’ve produced from deep to start NBL23. 

Aron Baynes. 

What’s hot – 10
For a man who struggled to shoot the ball the entire game, Shannon Scott delivered a near flawless performance otherwise, dishing out 10 assists with zero turnovers. For a point guard who has the ball in his hands for 60 per cent of the time he is on the floor, coming away with stats like that is mightily impressive. Overall the Taipans shared the rock, with 23 assists on 30 made field goals, to epitomize the team play they’ve dominated with to begin the season. 

What’s not – 5
It was a tough return from injury for the high octane guard Tahjere McCall. He fouled out in 22 minutes with just five points, but did have three steals to highlight where he can slot into this team chemistry. It will no doubt be a bit of a juggling act for Adam Forde on how to continue to blend McCall back into his team, but there is no doubt they are still a better team when he’s playing at his best.

Shannon Scott.

What’s hot – 32
What a gutsy team performance from the Hawks in a game they undoubtedly deserved to win. Tyler Harvey stood tall and silenced some of his critics with a sizzling 32 points on 57 per cent from the field. That’s the Harvey that NBL fans have come to love, and the Hawks are going to need to continue to see that production if they want to get back in the winners' column.

What’s not – 57
When you lose by one point on the buzzer it’s easy to think you got unlucky, but when you leave nine free points at the charity stripe, you may have let one slip. The Hawks shot just 57 per cent from the free-throw line against Sydney, which ultimately came back to bite them when the game was on the line. They played too well and worked too hard to get to that opportunity to win, but hopefully it’s a sign of growth moving forward as they slumped to their eight straight loss.

Tyler Harvey.

What’s hot – 54
All eyes have been on Rayjon Tucker since the pre-season and a lot of question marks have been about his outside shooting. Across the two games last round, Tucker shot 54 per cent from three, knocking down seven from 13 attempts. United will be hoping that he has turned a corner in that regard as it could help open the floor up for other’s to create and make plays. 

What’s not – 51
The most noticeable thing about the two losses on the weekend for United was that there was no #51 running around in Blue. Shea Ili was unfortunately sidelined again with concussion, and it could not be more evident that this team struggles to have an identity without him. Ili is the most important piece to the on court success for Melbourne, and it’s not just because of what he does with and without the ball. His calming presence and leading by example becomes contagious and it’s such a noticeable thing that United lack when he isn’t there. 

Rayjon Tucker.

What’s hot – 2
Two big wins in round seven for the Breakers, two huge double-doubles for Dererk Pardon. As this team continues to show they are legitimate title contenders, Pardon has emerged as a candidate for not only an All NBL team, but one of the best defensive players in NBL23. This team continues to get better collectively and the way they take pride on the defensive end means that success is likely to continue to follow. 

What’s not – 37
Talk about a tough preparation for a game. The Breakers' 37 hours of travel to and from their game in Tasmania, had them arrive back home in the early hours of game day morning. There was chatter that perhaps the game may be postponed, but nevertheless, the toughness of this group came together and fought out a big win in front of their home fans. 

Dererk Pardon.

What’s hot – 50/40/100
If these are the shooting clips from Bryce Cotton in a game, there is a 99.9 per cent chance that the Wildcats have walked away with a win. Cotton dropped 32 points on 50 per cent from the field, 42 per cent from three and hit seven straight free-throws. It’s no surprise that the game opens up more for him when other’s are knocking down shots, like Brady Manek did once again on Thursday night. That is the key to help Cotton get free.

What’s not – 37
The Wildcats may have snapped their home losing streak, but they wouldn’t be happy giving up 37 last quarter points to the Phoenix on Thursday. That mark is the highest quarter score by a visiting team in the Jungle and it nearly cost them a much needed home win. Their offense looks to be flowing, but the defensive end still has some question marks and room for improvement. 

Bryce Cotton and John Rillie.

What’s hot – 15
It was the biggest Throwdown win in the short history for the Phoenix, when they won by 15 on Saturday over United. After suffering a tough defeat just two days prior, the Phoenix looked to come out with a point to prove in this one, especially during the second half. Gary Browne was fantastic from the opening tip, but it was Mitch Creek and Alan Williams who led the charge in the second half and put the game to bed. 

What’s not – 14
14 second quarter points against Perth in RAC Arena ultimately cost the Phoenix a chance to get this win. Perth went into half-time with a heap of momentum and had the Phoenix just clawing back in the second half. Credit to them for making a game of it, but that second quarter would have haunted them on the flight home. They made just three field goals on 18 attempts in that period, and if it wasn’t for the seven free-throws made, it could have been much worse. 

Mitch Creek.

What’s hot – 20
The Kings were missing their MVP and whilst it wasn’t pretty at times, they found a way to hang around and then sink a dagger into the Hawks. Without their leading man the Kings shared things around, dishing out 20 assists in the game. They are one of the deepest teams in the league, but it’s the trust that Chase Buford has in each of his guys, that makes them so hard to beat no matter how poorly they may be playing. 

What’s not – -1
The one place that was going to really hurt with Xavier Cooks was on the rebound count, as the Kings lost that to a Hawks team which has notoriously struggled in that area. They gave up 10 offensive rebounds as well, which would be a slight concern for Buford going forward, if Cooks is out much longer. 

Chase Buford.

What’s hot – 15 & 16
15 minutes and 16 minutes played on their returns for two of Tasmania’s most important pieces. It felt right again to see Clint Steindl and Will Magnay running around for the JackJumpers, and while they played short stints, it’s an exciting time to build from this for Tasmania. Magnay showed glimpses of his defensive best and Steindl will be continuously called upon to hit big shots as the season rolls on.

What’s not – 27
It was a foul fest on Friday night, as Tasmania set a franchise record of 27 fouls in this game. They rely too heavily on their physical defence to be getting in foul trouble every single quarter. There’s a fine line between setting a tone and going beyond that, and that’s exactly what transpired in this game. 

Will Magnay.