Stat Chat (Round 7, NBL25)

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 and the NBL App, 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: 1:1
If you just saw the final score, you’d likely believe that the 36ers lost every statistical measure comfortably in their clash against New Zealand. That was not the case, however, as Adelaide actually had as many field goal attempts as the Breakers. Both teams took 66 field goals, but it was the Breakers who hit nine more than Adelaide.

What’s not: 109
Sometimes you have to call a spade a spade and that’s simply what it was for Adelaide in New Zealand. Any time you give up 109 points in a game, it’s incredibly unlikely you’ll be able to win that. Without overtime, it just means that your defensive efforts aren’t where they need to be.

What’s hot: 14
Tyrell Harrison was a monster on the glass in this game and it was all about his 14 first half rebounds that stole the show. He finished the game with a record-setting 20 rebounds and he was a major reason that Brisbane could claw back and win.

What’s not: 6
With Cairns decimated by injuries and Brisbane’s strong interior presence, the visiting team was outscored in the paint by the much smaller Taipans. The six-point differential was a testament to Cairns' ability to put heat on the rim themselves, while they limited the Bullets' big men as well.

What’s hot: 7
If Cairns could somehow replicate its third quarter against Brisbane and produce it more often, it'd be in a much better position. The Taipans were outstanding in that period, putting up 29 points at 55 per cent from the field. The most promising part was the 7 assists on the 11 made field goals.

What’s not: 4
The last quarter was the exact opposite. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, as the team hit just 4 field goals in that period and were outscored by 13 points. They had put themselves in a position to win the game at three-quarter time, but any time you have more turnovers than field goals made in a quarter, it’s not going to end well. 

What’s hot: 20
Will Hickey is quickly becoming the Hawks' most important player this season. His emergence on both ends since Justin Tatum took over as coach has been phenomenal. Hickey had a career night in Perth, dropping 20 points at 71 per cent from the floor.

What’s not: -10
There’s simply no hiding this issue now for the Hawks as they lost yet another rebounding count and lost the game. Perth out-rebounded them by 10, including 5 more on the offensive end and Hawks fans should start to be a little concerned about their rebounding struggles. Illawarra has only won three rebounding contests all season. 

What’s hot: 2
Jack White is quickly becoming a major talking point this season for a number of reasons. His defence and rebounding are usually the most impressive feat of his game, but he’s beginning to shoot it with confidence from deep, too. White’s two clutch threes at the end of the win against Sydney are a testament to the new and improved version of United’s star forward. 

What’s not: 66
It’s been a very long time since a team has picked apart a United defence like New Zealand did. If it wasn’t for the garbage time misses, the Breakers may very well have shot almost 70 per cent from the floor. It was still an astonishing 66 per cent from the field which buried United in this game.

What’s hot: 5
Coming up against one of the strongest front-courts in the league, Freddie Gillespie did all he could to shut them down on his own. The big man’s presence was too much for Adelaide, as he recorded 5 blocks on the night and altered a whole lot more shots in the process. His reputation as an exceptional rim-protector is well known and he’s a major reason for the early success in New Zealand.

What’s not: 17
There are very few negatives to come out of this win for New Zealand, but there are still some concerns around their foul issues. They committed 17 fouls in the game, but it was more a case of ill-disciplined ones than anything else. 

What’s hot: 21
It was the Ben Henshall show on Friday night against the Hawks as the young star was simply unstoppable against one of the best defenders in the league. Henshall had 21 points in the opening 20 minutes, including four threes and is relishing in the extra opportunity without Bryce Cotton available.

What’s not: 47
For a few different reasons, Perth didn’t come ready to play against the Phoenix on Sunday. It began to get away from the Wildcats at the end of the first quarter and that was highlighted by the fact that they only led for 47 seconds all game.

What’s hot: 2
Two games under Josh King, two wins for the South East Melbourne Phoenix. The most impressive part of this weekend for them was that both games were drastically different to each other, and yet the Phoenix found a way to get it done. Against Tasmania, it was a grind it out battle that came down to late game composure. Whereas against Perth, they set a tone early and never looked back.

What’s not: 12
The lack of big man presence without Jordan Hunter on the floor is still a concern for the Phoenix going forward. Across the weekend, they gave up 12 more offensive rebounds than they pulled down themselves. A large portion of that came against Tasmania where they gave up 19 of them.

What’s hot: 5
It’s not the first time that Kouat Noi has had an explosive quarter or half to put his team in the box seat to win. Noi was unstoppable through the first 20 minutes against Tasmania, putting up 17 points on a perfect 5-5 from deep. Noi had as many made threes in the first half as Tasmania had the entire game.

What’s not: 6
It was a key talking point out of their loss to Melbourne, but the six free throws attempted by Sydney were a big difference in this game. Yes, there were plenty of missed calls in this game, but the Kings also lead the league in floaters and jump shots this season. Outside of Xavier Cooks, they don’t have too many players who consistently put heat on the rim. 

What’s hot: 16
Defence is their calling card and the JackJumpers showed that throughout their two games by recording 16 steals. It’s a defence by committee and even though they have a couple of key contributors in this area, it’s a team effort that enables them to force so many turnovers.

What’s not: 2
Tasmania’s offensive struggles continued in their two losses across the round. Through eight quarters played, the JackJumpers only scored over 20 points twice, which included their nine point fourth quarter against Sydney. As good as they usually are defensively, they simply can’t compete when they’re this poor offensively.