Does "stat-growth" mean less max stats?

I was reading on the Wikia about the International Version and i read this

such as an Expert Sphere Grid, which allows for accessing abilities more easily, but less overall stat-growth.

Now i started with the Expert Grid because i remember it looked as if there was less Lock Nodes (as i could get Tidas to start gaining some of Auron's Nodes without needing to use a key Sphere).

However i am wondering, what it says "less overall stat-growth" does this mean than i gain stats slower because alot of the nodes deviant off a character's main path or that in total the Expert Grid will give less stats than the standard Grid?