It's time for ESPN's NBL Player Power Rankings after Round 2 - let's get straight into it. For a primer on our unscientific methodology, we detail it in last season's edition.
A reminder that for those who did not play due to scheduling reasons, their rankings from the previous week carry over - which applies to a gaggle of Melbourne United players and one from the New Zealand Breakers for this week.
This week, Tai Wesley drops out due to injury (get well!).
Cam Gliddon likewise, due to a lacklustre weekend - he's put up 19 shots in three games for the season, a relatively low mark for an ace shooter who needs little time to get it off. That is perhaps a by-product of the redistribution of shots after the Nathan Sobey signing.
For context, Gliddon took a tick over eight field goal attempts per game last season.
20. Scotty Hopson (New Zealand Breakers)
Last week: 20
Still yet to play a game in the league, Hopson's ranking remains unchanged. He debuts in the NBL on Friday against the Kings - we'll find out more then.
19. Scott Machado
Last week: unranked
Machado slides in based on his cumulative work across Round 2.
In one late first quarter possession against Brisbane, Machado was left all alone at the top of the arc. The Bullets essentially dared him to shoot. And he did.
That will be the arbiter of success for Machado in this league. He was 2-of-3 from three-point range against the Bullets, and overall, he's 4-of-10 for the season.
Whilst Machado doesn't have the flashy scoring output of his point guard brethren, the Taipans have an almost unhealthy reliance on him to control proceedings.
Before their game against the Hawks, Machado owned an assist rate of 55.4 percent, per Spatialjam.com, and easily tops in the league - and the next guy's not even close.
The early season per 36 minutes numbers via jordanmcnbl.com suggest the Snakes are a mess whenever he sits - they're minus-3.4 when's on the court, and minus-22.9(!) when he sits.
18. D.J. Newbill (Cairns Taipans)
Last week: 18
After a muted season opener against the Kings, Newbill registered a mysterious DNP (Mike Kelly later explained it was a shoulder complaint) against the Hawks. It's been an odd start to the season.
Newbill started off the bench against the Hawks, but was back to his bullocking, clutch shot-making on the way to 26 points (8-of-11 from the field), three rebounds and three assists.
On the other end, he played his usual stout defence, toggling match ups and taking his turn to blanket Aaron Brooks.
17. Aaron Brooks (Illawarra Hawks)
Last week: 17
It was a muted performance against the Wildcats.
Brooks only played 14 minutes and finished with three points and three assists (1/3 from the field) and three fouls.
That's been the takeaway so far from his brief tenure at Illawarra - how Brooks tempers his frustrations and also adjusts to the way the game is called.
For the season, he's shooting 15.4 percent from downtown (2-of-13). As the driving heart beat for the Hawks, he's yet to take a single corner three for the season, per jordanmcnbl.com
Against the Taipans, he focused on attacking the rim -- he's always going right, but he's still so fast he beats his defender to the spot -- to finish with 19 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Brooks still had four fouls, but at least he played.
16. Jerome Randle (Adelaide 36ers)
Last week: unranked
Randle's homecoming to Qudos Bank Arena was largely forgettable from a team perspective, but it certainly wasn't his fault.
Hounded by the tag-team of Casper Ware and Kevin Lisch, it was a relative struggle from the field on the way to 16 points (6-of-15 from the field) and five assists.
Still, he provided the 36ers with a lead guard who could penetrate and force the defence to swivel, opening opportunities for others.
"We won't be this team. We won't be this team," he said after the game against the Kings.
"We know exactly what went on. They played a tremendous game and we played like sh-t, and we know what we have to do. From this point on, we give way better effort."
Via jordanmcnbl.com, Randle was a minus-6.1 per 36 minutes whilst he was on the court; the 36ers were minus-58.8 per 36 minutes when he was off the court.
15. Mitch McCarron (Melbourne United)
Last week: 15
Did not play due to scheduling.
14. Kevin Lisch (Sydney Kings)
Last week: 16
Lisch harassed and harried Jerome Randle and generally anyone else foolish enough to flit across his path.
He's no longer the same destructive defender, but still, let me spend a moment to gush over the defensive discipline of Kevin Lisch. When an enemy shot is flung towards the rim, Lisch's first instinct is to turn and find a man to lurch towards, arms out, legs bent to drive backwards and box out. He doesn't stand and watch the arc of the ball. He doesn't make a half-hearted effort towards securing rebounding position. He's all in.
Like most of the Kings' major players, he wasn't required for any heavy lifting, finishing with nine points and six assists. A lot of the time, he was able to act as a floor-spacer and watch as his teammates ran the floor and "36er-ed" the 36ers.
Lisch, now as the third playmaker on this team, has just found that sweet spot at this stage of his career.
13. Daniel Johnson (Adelaide 36ers)
Last week: 13
Johnson finished with a game-high of 26 points and six rebounds as he trundled his way to his spots.
As with Randle, it was a forgettable night for him against the Kings - he and Randle were the only 36ers who could consistently hurt the Kings on offence.
His two-man game with Randle (which yielded good looks each time) will only refine with more court time as they reacquaint themselves with one another.
12. Nathan Sobey (Brisbane Bullets)
Last week: 9
After scoring exclusively from beyond the arc in the first round, Sobey's shot diet over the weekend was more a mix of his usual scything rim-attacks, along with judicious outside shooting.
In the Queensland Derby, he finished with 21 points and five assists against the Taipans (7-of-10 from the field), including 2-of-4 from downtown.
In the Bullets' mirror match against the Phoenix, Sobey unleashed mayhem under the basket on the way to 15 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
John Roberson's offensive eruption had more to do with the Bullets' tepid defensive effort as a team (along with Roberson's outstanding shot-making) than Sobey's individual defence.
Sobey falls slightly due to the natural rise and fall rhythms of power rankings.
11. Chris Goulding (Melbourne United)
Last week: 11
Did not play due to schedule.
10. Melo Trimble (Melbourne United)
Last week: 10
Did not play due to schedule.
9. John Roberson (South East Melbourne Phoenix)
Last week: 12
There's something almost Curry-esque at the moment with Roberson and the gravity of his shooting. His yo-yo dribbling will lull defenders into mistakes as they communicate on the fly.
If the big is late to step up and help, he will drain the three. If the switch isn't instantaneous, he will reign perimeter death. Sometimes, he will just step-back (it's more of a lunge with the separation he's able to gain) and let it fly.
Roberson is shooting 76.5 percent from beyond the arc in 8.5 attempts per game - that is not a typo. We have to keep remind ourselves that these are early days in the season.
Per Spatialjam.com, Roberson's true shooting mark (which measures shooting efficiency by also taking into account free throws) is at an absurd 91.5 percent. That will drop, but it's still ludicrous.
It's likely in the coming weeks that he will need to demonstrate an added string to his bow as teams try to shift his shot profile; incredibly, he has only taken three shots inside the paint so far.
How will he fare when teams invariably stick to his hip and funnel him towards the paint, inviting him to finish against the trees? I guess we'll find out soon enough.
8. Terrico White (Perth Wildcats)
Last week: 8
White did not shoot particularly well (6-of-16 from the field) against the Hawks. Still, he was able to choose his spots, which is a luxury playing with Bryce Cotton. This time, he chose to shoot flames in the third quarter.
White finished with 19 points, six rebounds and three assists (3-of-10 from three-point range).
Let me repeat: White shot 29.8 percent from three-point range during the regular season last year. To start the season, he's at 42.1 percent from beyond the arc, and averaging 9.5 such attempts per game.
7. Shawn Long (Melbourne United)
Last week: 7
Did not play due to schedule.
6. Andrew Bogut (Sydney Kings)
Last week: 6
Another King who was not needed in their rout of the 36ers on Saturday night. Bogut was limited to 13 minutes and finished with eight points and four rebounds.
The Kings struggled last season on the defensive glass, even with Bogut; they were last in the league in defensive rebound rate, per Spatialjam.com.
Something to monitor: Interestingly, the Kings are currently second in the league at cleaning their defensive glass. It's only a few games in (the Breakers haven't been played a single game yet!), but you can see the commitment to secure the rebound, and all 5 guys boxing out.
"I just continue to laugh at how many questions we get about how small we are," said Will Weaver postgame. "When Jae'Sean [Tate] and these other guys are just smashing into people and doing the job they're doing."
5. Lamar Patterson (Brisbane Bullets)
Last week: 5
Patterson had a relatively sloppy game against the Taipans and finished with seven points, six rebounds and five assists. He wasn't really needed.
Against the Phoenix, he exploded for 30 points, pacing the Bullets in that shootout.
For the season, he's been doing his work inside the arc. Per jordanmcnbl.com, he's attempted 15 shots from midrange already, and canned nine (60 percent). He's yet to miss from the restricted area (9-of-9).
Patterson has struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 1-of-11 from deep across three games.
4. Nick Kay (Perth Wildcats)
Last week: 4
After a dominant first game of the season, Kay was able to chill as the Wildcats dismantled an incoherent Hawks team. He still had nine points and six rebounds, and was seemingly at every loose ball contest.
To give you an idea of Kay's all-court production so far, to start the season, he's tallied 27 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and five steals over two games.
He's shooting 69.2 percent from two-point range and 50 percent from three (2-of-4). All numbers courtesy of Spatialjam.com.
3. Casper Ware (Sydney Kings)
Last week: 2
Against Adelaide, Ware struggled from the field on his way to 10 points (3-of-12 from the field) and five rebounds.
Ware was 1-of-6 from beyond the arc; for the season, he's 4-of-19 from downtown. Yikes.
Ware hasn't missed from the corners for the season (3-of-3), per jordanmcnbl.com, but he's been..uh...frigid from everywhere else (1-of-16) from three-point range. Early days.
That hasn't stopped him from playing his usual bulldog defence, imposing his physicality and fighting through screens - on one possession against Adelaide, he apparated between two places at once on a switch, swiping and stealing the ball amidst the resultant chaos.
His one-two defensive tag-team with Kevin Lisch throttled Jerome Randle.
Ware drops a spot, but that's more indicative of the ascendancy of the guy above him.
2. Mitch Creek (South East Melbourne Phoenix)
Last week: 3
25 points. Seven rebounds. Seven assists. Point-forward at times. Dominance.
Creek subsisted upon his normal paint barrage against the Bullets - he took 23 field goal attempts, 18 of them being inside the arc.
When he was cross-matched up a smaller dude, Creek took him to the block. Tai Wesley's injury was unfortunate, but it has also allowed Creek to operate in a more natural 4-spot that works best on this team.
He was 1-of-5 from three-point range against the Bullets - that's really the area of interest here moving forward.
1. Bryce Cotton (Perth Wildcats)
Last week: 1
Cotton was electric against the Hawks. He finished with 28 points and seven assists (5/9 from downtown), but 23 of those points came in the first half, when he led a Wildcats rampage that set up the win.
'It's tough. I mean, especially when he gets the call for three free throws," said David Andersen, postgame, on Cotton's proficiency at drawing shooting fouls from behind the arc. "That one really kind of deflates you a lot."
Cotton drew two such shooting fouls on Friday night - no one does it better in this league.
Perhaps no other player in this league engenders genuine dread on the opposition when he goes on a scoring binge, particularly within the seething cauldron of RAC Arena.
Stay tuned for next week's edition.