Stat Chat: The Break (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 – 75.8
Without Craig Randall against Illawarra, the 36ers fed their big bucket duo of Robert Franks and Daniel Johnson, and the two lit it up. Combined they scored 53 points on an absurd 75.8 per cent FG. With all the firepower on Adelaide’s roster, it’s been easy to forget just how good Franks and DJ are at scoring the ball. Further to that, the team put up 96 without one of the league’s leading scorers, showcasing their incredible depth.

What’s not – 91.6
As potent as Adelaide are offensively, they have struggled to string together any sort of defensive identity. After round six they’re the worst defensive team in the league, giving up 91.6 points per game. It doesn’t matter how strong they are on the other end, if they continue to give up 90+ a game, they’re going to struggle to win games. 

Daniel Johnson.

What’s hot – 350
The Bullets are riding a three-game win streak but let’s give some love to Jason Cadee for playing his 350th game in the NBL. He’s been incredibly successful throughout his career as one of the best teammates around and a true leader on and off the floor. After 350 games, he’s showing no signs of slowing down, averaging close to career best numbers through six rounds. 

What’s not – 18
A win is a win, but this was the great escape for the Bullets who led the JackJumpers by 18 points at one stage, to only come away with a two point victory. It’s not the first time that they’ve put themselves in positions to blow games open and failed to capitalise. They look to have changed their offensive style of play since their 0-5 start, but they’ll need to continue to put that together consistently if they want to compete for a title. 

Jason Cadee. 

What’s hot – 17
There was many impressive numbers to choose from in Cairns blowout win over Melbourne United, but 17 offensive rebounds was the epitome of what they’re all about. They play hard on both ends and for a team that is designed to take a lot of quick shots, if you allow them to get 17 extra opportunities, the Taipans will make you pay. It’s not just the big men who crash the offensive glass either, guards swoop in and put pressure on every opposition player to find a body and box out.

What’s not – 40
At one stage of the game the Taipans led by as many as 40. It’s hard to continue to keep your foot on the gas when things are coming as easy as they were Friday night, but make no mistake, Adam Forde will be looking at ways to limit their let up in the future. After allowing less than 18 points in the first three quarters, Cairns gave up 29 to United in the fourth to make the margin much more flattering to Melbourne than it probably should have been.

DJ Hogg. 

What’s hot – 10
He’s only played a couple of games since arriving to replace Justin Robinson, but Peyton Siva is the first Hawks player ever to record 10 assists in back-to-back games. He’s looked dynamic at the point guard spot, for a team that looks desperate for direction. His shooting has let him down so far, but if the Hawks want to pick off a few more wins in NBL23, Siva will have to take the reigns and lead from the front. 

What’s not – 7
The seventh straight loss for the Hawks who will hope that the FIBA break brings some much needed rest and rejuvenation to their squad. There are no easy opponents this season, so the Hawks know that if they want to compete, they need to put together 40 minutes of their best basketball. They’ve shown how good they can be in patches, including Tyler Harvey finding form, but with their overall struggles to score the ball, they need more.

Peyton Siva. 

What’s hot – 50
A remarkable 50-point turnaround in under 48 hours for Melbourne United, saw them head into the break breathing a sigh of relief. They fought back slightly in the fourth quarter of their bad loss to Cairns, and perhaps that gave them some momentum heading into the Throwdown where they looked like a completely different outfit. The ball movement, shot making and movement highlighted a side of United’s game that we just haven’t seen this season. Could it be a sign of change?

What’s not – 28
Take out Isaac Humphries efforts on Friday night and the rest of United’s starters scored just 28 points combined in that loss. A lot of those came in the fourth quarter, but for a team that has been very inconsistent with scoring the ball, Dean Vickerman would have been scratching his head at this game. Where did it all go wrong? 

Chris Goulding.

What’s hot – 31
At multiple points in this game it seemed as if New Zealand could be heading for a big double digit home loss. Thankfully, the team rallied late and put up 31 points across the last 10 minutes to nearly claw out a win. Defensively they really locked in during the second half to give their offence a chance to spark the comeback. 

What’s not – 2
Two untimely and unneeded injuries for a New Zealand team that has found success early on by being a complete team. Next star Rayan Rupert’s broken wrist is particularly concerning due to his ability to set the tone full court defensively. However, if the Breakers are without Dererk Pardon for any amount of time, things could get dicey. Pardon has been the foundation on which this success has been built for Mody Maor, and he’s not someone whose absence can be easily covered. 

What’s hot – 6
It was the breakout performance that the Red Army had been hoping for. Brady Manek stood up and answered his critics, hitting six-from-eight threes on the way to his game-high 25 points. A welcomed performance individually to help snap their five game losing streak, but overall the Wildcats looked to attack this game in a contrastingly different way to weeks prior. 

What’s not – 0/9
The Wildcats may have snapped their losing streak, but they are still the only team in the league who hasn’t won a single rebound count this season. No surprise that the one time they drew that count, they won, in their game against Adelaide. They’ve had their rebounding issues over the course of the last two seasons, and that will need to change quickly before the season restarts. 

Brady Manek. 

What’s hot – 22 & 12
How about the first half from Alan “Big Sauce” Williams in the Throwdown. A lazy 22 points and 12 rebounds, as he looked unstoppable in the opening 20 minutes. Without Zhou Qi, Williams carried a heavy load and delivered early on for Simon Mitchell.  In the second half he was held to just eight points and two rebounds, but that was to be somewhat expected as the United defence locked into him. 

What’s not – 110
The Phoenix have always had some concerns on the defensive end throughout the last few seasons and Simon Mitchell didn’t hold back when describing those efforts on Sunday. They allowed 110 points to a United team who averaged just 82 per game prior to that. Yes, the Phoenix had some key outs, but as Mitchell said, that doesn’t impact the effort of the players on the floor. 

Alan Williams. 

What’s hot – 17
The Kings just continue to add to their astonishing road winning record. 17 consecutive wins on the road is an incredible feat in any sport and the Kings seem to just find ways to get it done on opponents' courts. They made it harder for themselves than they would have liked in the end, against New Zealand, but whether it’s a blowout or a grind out win, they believe they can get it done regardless. 

What’s not – 13
It’s the biggest story of the round, Xavier Cooks ankle injury after his 13 minutes of game time Sunday. He’s likely leading the MVP race at this point in the season, and it will provide a huge test for Chase Buford to cover for him until he recovers. Even if they find a way to cover for his production numbers wise, there is simply no way to match what his presence brings on both ends of the floor. Fingers crossed he’s back sooner rather than later. 

Kouat Noi.

What’s hot – 1
Grit and grind. That’s Tasmania basketball and that’s exactly how they went into RAC Arena and walked out with a big win. Their team defence turned up when it mattered most and held Bryce Cotton to just one FGA in the final 10 minutes of the game. Scott Roth praised his team’s ability to stick to their scout and control things on the ball screen, and ultimately it led to them forcing someone other than Cotton to try and make plays to beat them. 

What’s not - 21
The JackJumpers nearly pulled off a miracle comeback at home to the Bullets, and should have been heading to overtime after McVeigh’s runner came up short. However, the 21 fouls during that game had them looking unlikely to come close to a win for about 90 per cent of the game. It was an undisciplined defensive performance from Tasmania that we don’t often see, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Scott Roth had some big words to them post game. 

Scott Roth addresses his team.