LIMITING turnovers and increasing shooting percentage are crucial to Warrnambool Seahawks' chances of sneaking into the Big V playoffs.
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The Alex Gynes-coached roster has a 5-7 win-loss record and is among a batch of teams in the hotly-contested mid-tier of the division one ladder.
Cutting turnovers from 17 a game to 12 and increasing shooting accuracy is on their to-do list.
The Seahawks' field goal percentage is 40, its three-point percentage 27 and free throw percentage 52.
"Shooting and our touch at the start of the year we struggled with and we started to build a bit of momentum prior to the (coronavirus) lockdown and shutdown of the league," Gynes told The Standard.
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"They are probably the things that start to creep into your game when you do have large layoffs and short pre-seasons.
"As a team if we could shoot in the 70s from the foul line that would be ideal, if we could limit our turnovers to 12 a game that would be another bonus. Our three-point percentage as a team, if you can shoot at about 35 per cent, then you're doing a lot of things right."
Gynes conceded most players had slow starts to the season on the offensive end.
But he is seeing improvement.
"Riley Nicolson is quite efficient. He's shooting at 44 per cent overall," he said.
"When he gets himself to the right spot and makes life easier for himself, two things happen - he gets himself easier looks and he opens up the floor for the rest of the team.
"James Mitchell had a slow start to the year too but he's shooting 50 per cent from the field. He's really focused on picking his spots on the floor and attacking the rim and not being fazed by contact so he's doing a great job there.
"BJ (Benson Steere) doesn't take a lot of threes and he's the steadier head on offence. He is shooting at 46 per cent from the field as well. He's a pass-first point guard so when he's shooting the ball you know it's a really good look."
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Three players - Nicolson, Tim Gainey and Bidmade - are leading the way in long-range accuracy.
"Riley is shooting at 34 per cent from the three-point line, Tim is still plugging away at 36 per cent and Ollie is shooting at close to 40 per cent for the season now," Gynes said.
"He had a slow start but the last few games he's shot it at a really high clip."
Two statistics which bode well for the Seahawks are rebounds and assists.
They are averaging 15 assists, 11 offensive rebounds and 33 defensive boards a game.
Gynes said sharing the load was integral, given the Seahawks are playing without an American import, owing to the COVID-19 travel restrictions, who is usually brought into be a prolific scorer.
"The assists is a positive. It means we're sharing the ball and doing it by committee and trying to get the ball through hands," he said.
"We're trying to score as a group which means we're moving the ball and that is when the assist numbers start to increase.
"When we get stagnant and take quick, early shots that is when it puts us on the backfoot."
Strong performances on the glass have also kept the Seahawks in games.
"Rebounding is a big positive for us too. We don't have a single person who goes out and gets us 12 or so rebounds a game," Gynes said.
"Across the board we've got three or four guys averaging over seven rebounds a game. The rest of the guys are chipping in with four or five."
Warrnambool will aim to improve in key statistical areas while also maintaining its position in others when it plays Coburg Giants in Melbourne on Sunday.
It will be without Gainey and Tom Symons who are both unavailable.
The Mermaids play Craigieburn Eagles away on Saturday night.
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