Bristol’s offence can look balanced at first glance. The ball moves, different players score, and no one player dominates the shots. But the passing behind those baskets is much less evenly spread.
Too Much Rests on Two
A lot of Bristol’s offence starts with Joe Anderson. He gets them into actions and creates a bigger share of his team’s assists than any player in the league.
| Team | Player | % of Team’s Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol Flyers | Joe Anderson | 29.8 |
| Surrey 89ers | Ronald Polite III | 28.8 |
| Cheshire Phoenix | LaQuincy Rideau | 27.5 |
| Sheffield Sharks | Rodney Chatman III | 25.3 |
| Manchester Basketball | Jordan Johnson | 24.6 |
| Newcastle Eagles | Ray’sean Taylor | 24.6 |
| Leicester Riders | Don Carey Jr | 23.0 |
| Caledonia Gladiators | Ria’n Holland | 17.9 |
| London Lions | Shavar Reynolds Jr | 17.1 |
The burden does not stop there. Cam Holden accounts for 22.8 per cent of Bristol’s assists, the highest share of any team’s second-leading assister. Bristol do not just ask more of their lead creator than anyone else. They ask more of their second creator too.
| Team | % of Team’s Assists From Top Two Assisters |
|---|---|
| Bristol Flyers | 52.6 |
| Cheshire Phoenix | 48.6 |
| Surrey 89ers | 47.3 |
| Manchester Basketball | 44.2 |
| Leicester Riders | 43.5 |
| Sheffield Sharks | 42.6 |
| Newcastle Eagles | 42.6 |
| Caledonia Gladiators | 34.7 |
| London Lions | 34.1 |
Bristol are the only team in the league where two players account for more than half of the assists.
More Scoring Did Not Solve It
Bristol do not funnel shots through one player. Their main rotation sits in a fairly tight usage band, with no true high-usage outlier.
That would be easier to live with if the offence worked. It does not. Bristol are second last in offensive rating.
| Team | Offensive Rating |
|---|---|
| Cheshire Phoenix | 120.7 |
| London Lions | 116.9 |
| Manchester Basketball | 116.4 |
| Sheffield Sharks | 114.7 |
| Newcastle Eagles | 114.2 |
| Surrey 89ers | 113.4 |
| Leicester Riders | 111.4 |
| Bristol Flyers | 108.5 |
| Caledonia Gladiators | 106.7 |
Bristol added Cam Christon for more scoring and are still second last in offensive rating, with that number barely changing since he signed. They already had scorers. What they lacked was more players setting those scorers up.
Reliant on the Pass
Assist rate measures how many of a team’s made field goals are set up by an assist. Bristol’s is high. Their 64.5 per cent ranks third in the league, behind only Surrey and London.
| Team | Assist Rate |
|---|---|
| Surrey 89ers | 67.7% |
| London Lions | 65.0% |
| Bristol Flyers | 64.5% |
| Caledonia Gladiators | 63.4% |
| Leicester Riders | 61.8% |
| Sheffield Sharks | 60.6% |
| Cheshire Phoenix | 58.8% |
| Manchester Basketball | 58.6% |
| Newcastle Eagles | 58.1% |
That shows Bristol are not relying on players to create shots on their own. A large share of their made baskets come from passes creating the shot.
Not as Shared as It Looks
If you only looked at who takes the shots, Bristol’s offence would seem more equal than it really is. The scoring is shared, and a high share of their made baskets are assisted. But Joe Anderson and Cam Holden are still doing too much of the work that creates those shots.
Bristol are not just reliant on assisted offence. They are overly reliant on two players to supply it.
