Stat Chat - Round 12, NBL24 (What's hot and 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 set up, 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 once again be our resident stats man on NBL.com.au to provide a rundown of all the key numbers heading into a new round of games.  

Keep an eye out after every round for the latest edition of 'Stat Chat'. 

What’s hot – 20
A big home win for Adelaide in this round and it was largely due to their willingness to share the ball. The 36ers managed to record 20 assists in the game for just the third time this season, with the other two coming in games against Perth, which resulted in a win and a loss.

What’s not – 16
When they reviewed this game there would have been one key focus to fix going forward and that is their work on the glass. The 36ers gave up 16 offensive rebounds to a Bullets team that isn’t necessarily notorious for crashing the boards themselves. Those second-chance opportunities made this game a lot closer than it needed to be. 

What’s hot – 12
It may have come in a loss, but Brisbane fans will be hoping that the production from Chris Smith sparks a return to form for their import guard. Smith had struggled in three games prior, scoring just 12 points total, but managed to have a big impact against New Zealand with 10 points and 12 rebounds. In fact, Smith’s recent form was red-hot before his three-game struggles, which is hopefully a positive sign for the team. 

What’s not – 7
It’s been a really rough trot for Brisbane, who have lost seven of their last nine games, including four straight. Thankfully for them, other teams keep losing to each other around them on the ladder, but they’re facing an uphill climb to make the top six. The game against South East Melbourne in Round 13 just became a mini Grand Final for both teams in terms of importance. 

What’s hot – 46
Right now, Bul Kuol is one of the best shooters in the entire league. They’re just the facts, as Kuol shot 46 per cent from three across the round and is approaching 44 per cent on the entire season. This isn’t surprising considering he has shown glimpses of this ability in his first two seasons, but it’s the confidence and aggression offensively which is nice to see for Cairns fans.

What’s not – 40
Normally shooting 40 per cent from two-point range isn’t bad, but when you go back to watch the entire loss against Perth, it’s what hurt them the most. Almost half of their misses inside the three were layups that either rimmed out or fell short and whether it was just unlucky or a lack of concentration, it ultimately cost them the game as they fought hard to claw back and just fall short. 

What’s hot – 18
What a win for the Hawks over their rivals on Christmas. So many positives to come out of this one, but it was hard to look over the 18 offensive rebounds they had. That kind of effort on the glass is usually a direct result in both preparation and coaching. Clearly Justin Tatum had his men primed and ready to step up to another level in this one and the results followed. 

What’s not – 6:18
It took until the 6:18 mark of the second quarter against Tasmania for the Hawks to attempt their first freethrow. They only managed to score 10 points in the opening quarter, as they continued to settle for outside shots that just weren’t falling. After they made a change, the points started to flow and they gave Tasmania a scare late. 

What’s hot – 13
What a game, what a spectacle. What will likely go down as the game of the season was an absolute masterclass from Ian Clark in the overtime period. Clark had 13 points in the extra five minutes of play, which is an absurd number from a team, let alone an individual. 

What’s not – 15.7
The floodgates opened after three quarter-time, but that wasn’t before United struggled early to hit anything from the perimeter. In the first three quarters, Melbourne shot just 15.7 per cent from the three, on 3-19. Something switched before the fourth, as they knocked down five from seven in the final quarter, but the well looked dry before that.

What’s hot – 8
It has been a while, but the Breakers are back and so is Zylan Cheatham. We only managed to see a small glimpse of what he could produce early in the season and it was enough to have fans pumped to watch him play. There will be a lot of positives to come out of the Breakers' wins, but Cheatham’s eight points in four minutes of the last quarter will give this team a lot more confidence that they’re on their way to a Play-In berth. 

What’s not – 16
There will be an interesting watch on rotations and lineups going forward with this group. Mody Maor looks as though he’s more than happy to play an undersized big man and find the mismatch that helps his team. Across both wins last round, the Breakers were outrebounded by a total of 16. That didn’t end up hurting them, but what happens when they run into a team that punishes them with extra opportunities?

What’s hot – 69
Don’t look now, but the MVP is up to his old tricks. Bryce Cotton was outstanding once again in the split double for Perth, dropping 69 points across the two games and showing everyone that he’s still the best player in this league. It’s astonishing to remember that this is the same player who averaged just 14 points through the first five games of NBL24 ... and now leads the league in scoring and the MVP race.  

What’s not – 1:54
It’s been a tough, long road trip for the Wildcats and for all the positives we have seen on the floor, one query to watch going forward is how much gas is left in the tank. Perth’s superstar MVP sat on the bench for a total of one minute and 54 seconds across last round's double, including playing all 45 minutes of the overtime thriller in Melbourne. How many is too many minutes for Cotton to make sure he is primed for the finals?

What’s hot – 0
No one, and I mean no one, outside of the Phoenix camp thought they would go into Tasmania on Christmas Day and pull out a win with how they had played recently. It was one of the more gutsy wins we will see for some time and it is one they can build off as bodies come back and they try to turn this ship around. There were outstanding performances across the board, but a major key for their win was Alan Williams managing to not get his fifth foul for the entire second half. He may not have put up his usual numbers, but his leadership by staying on the floor was pivotal in getting that win. 

What’s not – 27
A wild weekend of results for South East led to some interesting reviews of the tape as they move forward. Their big win in Tasmania came from dominance on the glass and would have been a much more comfortable win, had they been able to hit some shots. The Phoenix shot just 27 per cent from three across the round on 14-51 attempts.

What’s hot – 33
Big shoutout to Kouat Noi, who stood up in a tough round for the defending champs. Noi had 33 points across the two losses, in just 36 minutes of action. Proving that he is an instant offence off the bench, it’s a positive sign moving forward as a couple of other stars struggle. He did it super efficiently as well, shooting almost 55 per cent from the floor to have that impact. 

What’s not – 93.8                                                                         
Sydney is currently the seventh-best defensively rated team in the league, which at times looks a little generous, but they’re also giving up a league worst 93.8 points per game to their opponents. They are trying desperately to sort things out on that end and there have been small patches which indicate it’s possible for them to do so. With the likes of Galloway, Hogg, Hunter, Toohey on this squad, they have too many good individual defenders to be this poor as a team. 

What’s hot – 6
They needed a bounce-back win in this round and Tasmania got that in Illawarra, against a fiery Hawks team who are charging up the ladder. It was a collective effort with six players scoring in double figures and another finishing with nine points. That was the Tasmanian team we all thought we’d see more consistently from now on. 

What’s not – 32
With 32 seconds left in the Christmas Day game, Will Magnay called for a sub and went back to the locker room looking devasted. There is no official word yet on what the injury could be, but it’s the one major concern that this team didn’t need to face anymore. He’s been a revelation for them and anytime without him on the floor will make this season incredibly tough.