The Replacement? How Hogg and Cooks Compare

Friday, June 2, 2023

DJ Hogg is not Xavier Cooks, and Xavier Cooks is not DJ Hogg.

DJ Hogg is not Xavier Cooks, and Xavier Cooks is not DJ Hogg – but given Hogg’s arrival at the Kings ahead of NBL24, and the likelihood he starts at the power forward position vacated by Cooks’ departure to the Washington Wizards, it will be almost impossible not to search for comparisons between the two stars of NBL23.

While Cooks entered last season as something of a known quantity following his Championship Series and Larry Sengstock Medal win the campaign prior, he once again elevated his game to become the best player in the league. Hogg, on the other hand, was near a near unknown.

In fact, he had only played one season of professional basketball outside of the G-League – for Cholet in the French LNB Pro A – prior to his arrival in Cairns, and arrived in league where prior international experience often allows players to hit the ground running.

Both players were stars in their respective teams, and stars of the competition last season, but it’s time to compare the pair to try and ascertain just how Hogg will fit into – and possibly redefine – this successful Sydney side.

Scoring – Both Hogg and Cooks established themselves as the primary scoring options on their teams last year. No Taipan scored as many points as the Ohio-born forward during NBL23, and only All-NBL First Team selection Derrick Walton Jr scored more than Cooks for the Kings, at 15.9 points per game.

Hogg’s advantage in points over his former Kings counterpart can, partially, be put down to how they both attempt to score the ball. Out of Cooks’ 10.8 field goal attempts per game in the regular season, only one came from three-point range. Hogg, on the other hand, shot over half of his attempts from three-point range. Of his 14 field goal attempts per game, an average of 7.9 came from the land of plenty.

Hogg was also afforded more of an opportunity to put up more shots and, therefore, score more. He registered an average of over 30 minutes on court per game, while Cooks was restricted to approximately 26.

And, let's be honest. Some of Cooks' dunks last season were so monstrous they deserved to count as four points.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Xavier Cooks ??????? that down!! Another huge dunk ?<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> live on ESPN via Kayo Sports + Foxtel ? <a href="https://t.co/OF7Jy42u8f">pic.twitter.com/OF7Jy42u8f</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1608754468690235392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Rebounding – Cooks does his best work in and around the paint – on both ends of the floor. Hogg, while certainly a capable rebounder and inside presence, has established himself as more of a two-way offensive threat.

The biggest marked difference in the pair’s rebounding numbers comes down to the presence and effectiveness on the offensive glass.

Cooks pulled down the tied fourth-most total offensive boards (including playoff games) in the competition in NBL23 with 67 – ranking only behind rebounding powerhouses Dererk Pardon, Alan Williams and Sam Froling. Those 67 boards came at an average of just under two per game.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">With this rebound Xavier Cooks becomes the first player in NBL23 to record a triple double, and the first since Josh Giddey in 2021 ?<br><br>He becomes the first <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SydneyKings</a> player since Dontaye Draper in 2008 to record a triple double. <a href="https://t.co/yikI4bWa1C">pic.twitter.com/yikI4bWa1C</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1619586911642980352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hogg, on the other hand, grabbed just 25 in 33 appearances – enough to see him tied with wing pair Junior Madut and Matt Kenyon, despite playing 12 more games than the latter.

Defensively, no player pulled in more rebounds than Cooks. His 197 defensive rebounds at an average of 5.8 per game saw him finish 14 clear of Dererk Pardon in second place. Hogg placed fifth in that metric with 161 at 4.9 per game.

Assists – Both Cooks and Hogg represent different aspects of the modern power forward. Both are comfortable with the ball in their hands, but Cooks’ propensity to drive and dish out to his team’s effective three-point shooters saw him rack up the assist numbers in NBL23.

Hogg, on the other hand, is that effective three-point shooter being dished too.

Their specific roles on offence are where their roles differ the most, however they are both effective and finding open teammates. For Cooks, that was often his wing shooters. For Hogg, it was players with a open lane to the basket.

Of players to have played at least 25 games in NBL23, Cooks ranks 12^th in assists per game – and all players above him are genuine guards. Hogg ranks 17^th in the same metric, below a handful of other bigs including Perth’s TaShawn Thomas and South East Melbourne’s Mitch Creek.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hogg with the LASER PASS to Waardenburg for the easy two ?<br><br>? <a href="https://twitter.com/Dj_hogg1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dj_hogg1</a> | ? <a href="https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espn</a> <a href="https://t.co/Fjui4Cu75W">pic.twitter.com/Fjui4Cu75W</a></p>— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1619281075628568576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Shooting – When Cooks takes on the offensive pressure of putting the ball in the hole, he tends to elect for quality over quantity. Hogg, in his role as the primary offensive threat for his side, put up considerably more shots than Cooks over the bulk of the season.

Of players to have played at least 25 games over the course of the season, only four individuals put up more shots per game than Hogg’s 14 attempts – and all of them are renowned scorers in their own right. Bryce Cotton with 17.2, Tyler Harvey with 17.1, Mitch Creek with 16.8, and Barry Brown Jr with 15.4.

Only three players attempted more threes per game than the Taipan’s 7.8 – Chris Goulding with 9.3, Harvey with 8.5, and Cotton with 7.8.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DJ Hogg with the monster triple to put the Taipans in front!<br><br>Catch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> action live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel. <a href="https://t.co/TdlNMTWnkS">pic.twitter.com/TdlNMTWnkS</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1601494143653490688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Cooks, on the other hand, attempted just 10.3 shots per game – with under one of those coming from three-point range.

The difference in the pair’s responsibility on offence is stark though. Hogg thrived on catch-and shoot attempts from deep and putting the ball on the floor for contested layups. Cooks is at his most dangerous putting missed shots back up into the hole or taking his defender to the rack off the fast break.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Xavier Cooks is delivering like Santa ? <br><br>Watch it live on ESPN via Kayo Freebies and Foxtel | Live & free on Channel 10 in VIC, NSW | Live & free on 10 Peach and 10 play all other states and territories <a href="https://t.co/JHsMOhCaHw">pic.twitter.com/JHsMOhCaHw</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1606919998118973446?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A stark difference between the pair’s shooting splits comes at the line though. Hogg, while no world-beater from the line, averaged a more than respectable 78.6 per cent from the charity stripe, a three makes from 3.8 attempts per game.

Cooks struggled to make the most of his free throws though and shot barely 50 per cent from the line on the season.

After making just three of his 5.5 attempts per game in the regular season though, Cooks lifted slightly in the post-season to average 3.3 makes per 5.5 free throw attempts per game.

Defence – Adam Forde’s Taipans side was consistently lauded for its offensive qualities last season. While they were an absolute juggernaut in the landscape of the NBL with the ball in hand last season, it could easily argued they weren’t given quite enough respect defensively – and a lot of that came down to DJ Hogg.

Hogg finished the season ranked third in blocks per game, behind United pair Isaac Humphries (1.7 per game) and Marcus Lee (1.6 per game). Given Humphries’ lack of post-season basketball and Lee’s mid-season arrival though, Hogg ranks first out of players to have participated in at least 25 games over the course of the campaign – ahead of renowned rim protectors Pardon, Mangok Mathiang and Kai Sotto.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">????? ??????'? ?????. ?<br><br>DJ Hogg with the steal at one end, and splash at the other! <a href="https://t.co/kk5fZ7q6EV">pic.twitter.com/kk5fZ7q6EV</a></p>— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1586304670212816897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hogg is no traditional rim protector though. He’s also an active defender outside of the paint who ranked inside the top 20 for steals per game too. Of the 17 total players to rank ahead of him, only Jarrell Brantley, Tom Abercrombie and Keanu Pinder can lay claim to not primarily defend noted ball-handlers.

Cooks is definitely no slouch on the defensive end, and neither were the Kings as a whole last season – but their 88.1 points per game allowed during the regular season ranks fifth in the competition, comparted to the Taipans’ 84.9 points per game allowed – which ranks third.