Stat Chat - Round 17, 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 – 3
It would be easy to highlight yet another great performance by the 36ers last round but there’s more excitement building. It was announced that DJ Vasiljevic has signed a three-year deal to stay at Adelaide for the foreseeable future. Make no mistake, this is a huge win for the club who are on the verge of one of the more unlikely playoff runs we have ever seen. To have an elite shooting local locked in for numerous years is the perfect foundation for this club going forward.

What’s Not – 4
Adelaide didn’t do a whole lot wrong in their blowout win over Cairns, but Scott Ninnis would have left that game a little frustrated about the last quarter. The 36ers only made four field goals in the entire final term and hurt themselves even more by turning the ball over six times. The game was in the bag at that point and it is unlikely they can make a huge percentage jump from here on out, but they played too well to end up finishing that poorly.

DJ Vasiljevic.

What’s Hot – 7
The second quarter against United looked very promising for the Bullets, and that was largely due to them sharing the ball and making things happen collectively. Brisbane had seven different scorers in the second period alone, compared to having five or less in the other quarters.

What’s Not – 47
One of the most dominant parts of Brisbane’s season has been their ability to dominate the glass between their big man cohort. Aron Baynes, Tyrell Harrison, Rocco Zikarsky and company have been able to control the paint against the opposition and unfortunately were not match for Melbourne in this aspect. United had 47 rebounds against Brisbane in this one, which also highlighted how important Josh Bannan is to this team.

Tyrell Harrison.

What’s Hot – 8
The biggest positive from Cairns' game against Adelaide would have been the opening quarter offensively. Yes, they gave up 28 themselves but the eight assists on nine made field goals was the perfect start for Cairns on the road in a tough environment. When you see that they managed just seven total assists for the rest of the game, it was almost a different team after the opening 10.

What’s Not – 18
It was a very disappointing game for Cairns in Adelaide and there were a few stand out issues that could be highlighted. Defenisvely they were a shell of how good they have been all season and they compounded that with 18 turnovers on the other end. A lot of those turnovers were unforced as well, just to make frustrations worse for Adam Forde.

Bul Kuol.

What’s Hot – 2
Take your pick of positives from the round for the Hawks who bounced back from three straight losses in tremendous fashion. For me, it was the fact that this defensive team held the MVP-elect, Bryce Cotton, to just two made field goals on his home floor. It wasn’t luck because this is the second time they have had success against Perth, it was just a very well executed game plan from Illawarra.

What’s Not – 14
The Hawks were lucky once again to escape with a much-needed win despite their struggles at the free-throw line. It cost them a win against Cairns recently and the 14 missed attempts against New Zealand thankfully didn’t result the same way.

Justin Robinson.

What’s Hot –33
What a dominant performance from Jo Lual-Acuil Jr in Brisbane to begin the round for Melbourne. It may go down as one of the best single performances we have seen all season. The big man had 33 points and 13 rebounds in just 23 minutes of action. Those stats are borderline comical considering how little he played.

What’s Not – 36
The second quarter against Sydney made all the difference in how this game turned out for the ladder leaders. The Kings scored 36 points in the second which we have really seen all season long against the best defensive team in the league. Whatever Sydney wanted, they got offensively and completely dictated terms from there on out.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.

What’s Hot – 10
The first half of the Breakers' win over Tasmania showcased just how potent this unit can be offensively when everything is flowing. New Zealand hit 10 threes in the first half at 71 per cent. It put them in the box seat to come away with a major win over the third-placed JackJumpers. We are seeing the kind of issues this team could cause if they make the Play-In, but they have to get there first.

What’s Not – 23
The Hawks are the best offensive rebounding team in the entire competition and that was on display against the Breakers, with Illawarra pulling down 23 offensive boards. New Zealand often plays undersized, which gives it a huge advantage offensively, but the issue is often on the other end that hurts them if they aren’t locked in.

Anthony Lamb.

What’s Hot – 23
It’s been a quieter season for Keanu Pinder compared to what we saw last year, but performances like the one against the Phoenix remind us just how good he is. Pinder had 23 points on the night and was looking extremely active on both ends of the floor. Make no mistake, Pinder will have a major say in a championship run for Perth, so it’s good to see him have a game like this towards the end of the regular season.

What’s Not – 95
When the offence struggles, usually the defence steps up for Perth and that just wasn’t the case against Illawarra on Thursday. The Wildcats gave up 95 points on their home floor and looked like a completely different team than we have seen since Round 5. Give credit to Illawarra but I also think this is a well-timed loss for Perth to have that allows them to lock back in.

Keanu Pinder.

What’s Hot – 25
Undermanned and given no chance, the Phoenix stood up on Thursday night and produced one of the moments of the season in their upset win over Sydney. The major talking point for me from the weekend was the 25 points from Kody Stattman across the two games. He has barely been sighted all season long and to be able to step up when called upon proves that he deserves a legitimate spot in this league.

What’s Not – 5
It was crazy to think that South East Melbourne could have a chance to do it again against Perth, but they were right in with a chance up until the last few minutes. What hurt them the most was that they had five turnovers in the last quarter, which gave Perth enough chances to get it done. Considering they had just seven for the game, makes it sting even more.

Kody Stattmann.

What’s Hot – 1
What a big bouce back from Sydney at home against one of their rivals and the ladder leaders. It was a true team effort as well, with seven players scoring in double figures as they put up 98 points against one of the best defensive units in the league. Makuach Maluach once again provided a big spark of the bench for the second consecutive week and maybe proved he’s deserving of consistent minutes.

What’s Not – 1                                                                           
Depending on what happens for the rest of the season, Sydney will be hoping that their loss to the undermanned Phoenix doesn’t ultimately cost them in the Play-In race. Whether it separates them from getting a home game or a better opponent, or even in the Play-In altogether (I think they’re ok here), it was a loss that no one saw coming.

Makuach Maluach.

What’s Hot – 3
What is hot for the JackJumpers is that through all their struggles and close losses, they still sit third on the ladder. They have lost some heartbreakers in NBL24 and whilst it is a concern, it also shows that they’re not far away from putting it all together and making a run at this thing.

What’s Not – 12
When you lose a game by single digits there are usually some standout factors as to why. I think Doyle’s unsportsmanlike foul was unlucky, which made this margin a little bigger than it really was, but the 12 missed free-throws for Tasmania came back to bite them on the road in New Zealand.

Milton Doyle.