PCTI 8 Final Observations

PCTI 8 Final Observations

 

1. Shooting was the primary difference. WLTB shot 115-260 from the field for 44.2% FGAs, while Saxx shot 88-253 from the field for 34.8% FGAs.
    
2. Shot Selection was an X-factor. WLTB shot 92 triples out of 260 total FGAs, so 35% of its shots were 3-balls. Saxx shot 117 triples out of 253 total FGAs, so 46% of its shots were 3-balls.
    
3. WLTB made more triples (33) than did Saxx (31). Going into the tournament, discussion was that WLTB would need to compensate for Saxx’s superior offensive firepower.
    
4. Where have the free throw shooters gone? Saxx shot 14-29 FTAs for 48%, while WLTB shot 18-36 FTAs for 50%. DK was best at 4-5 FTAs and 80%, but nobody else was better than 60%. Just goes to show that fatigue and multiple games each day contribute to below-average free throw shooting.
    
5. WLTB outscored Saxx over the 4 games 281-221, a differential of 60 points and 15 points per game. Interestingly, 83% of the scoring differential was achieved in games 1 and 3.
    
6. Rebounding was important, but not a deciding factor. WLTB out-boarded Saxx for the tournament 170-146 for an edge of 6 rebounds per game. However, WLTB had many more defensive rebounding opportunities given the FG% differential. The offensive rebounding edge was just 48-39 WLTB for an edge of 2.3 offensive rebounds per game.
    
7. Dan’s 36 assists for 9.0 APG will most likely stand for all-time. For context, his 36 assists by himself are not that far behind Saxx’s total team assist number of 57, nor his WLTB teammates’ total of 48. This was an historic and stunning playmaking performance by him.  
    
8. Balance was important. Although some of this was mandated due to injury and absence, a stunning 84% of all Saxx shot attempts were taken by just 4 players. On the other hand, 6 players on WLTB took between 29-39 total shots, with just one teammate outside of this narrow band.
    
9. Efficiency was important too. WLTB scored 1.08 points per shot, while Saxx scored 0.87 PPS. This means that each time the teams took 5 shots each, WLTB inched ahead by one point for each sequence.
    
10. Expectations about scoring were flipped. WLTB, the team thought to be the lesser offensive team, never scored fewer than 61 points in any game. Saxx, thought to be an offensive juggernaut, never scored more than 64 points in any game.

 

Sabin