Can Kings stop Cotton?

After a disappointing second half against Melbourne United, Sydney assistant Fleur McIntyre says “defence and rebounding” are going to be key in the Kings’ clash with Perth on Friday night.

After leading United by 14 points at half-time, the Kings capitulated in the second half to allow the ladder-leaders to score 67 points – including 40 in the fourth quarter. Chris Goulding led the way with 35 for Melbourne in a clash the Kings must view as a missed opportunity.

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The Wildcats currently possess the longest active winning streak of any team in the NBL and McIntyre is under no illusions about the challenge that’s facing the side on Friday night.

“I thought our first half against Melbourne was our best half of defensive basketball, it was like watching another team in the second half. We know we need to be locked in for four quarters on how we want to play and the physicality,” McIntyre told SEN WA.

“They’ve (Perth) actually been doing a much better job on the boards, so we know rebounding and defence are going to be key.

“Bryce (Cotton) is having himself a little purple patch and I think they’re doing a much better job of finding him shots and getting him the ball, so it’s a challenge for us walking into the arena on Friday night, but we’re ready.

“Obviously, it was really disappointing against Melbourne before the FIBA break and we’ve had a long, hard look at some film and we know Perth is going to be tough on Friday night, but we’re ready for the challenge.”

While host and former Wildcat Damian Martin dismissed McIntyre’s claims Cotton is in "a purple patch", proclaiming the star guard is just back to playing at his normal level, the turnaround of the three-time MVP’s performances have been indicative of the larger change in fortunes of the Wildcats.

McIntyre has revealed the Kings’ defensive strategy against Cotton will be to limit his impact, rather than silence him.

“I don’t think there’s a way you can completely take Bryce Cotton out of it, you try a few different things and hope on the night he’s not as efficient as he usually is,” McIntyre said.

“We do have a matchup but certainly not one I’m going to reveal right now. Everyone knows the defence we play, so we’ll throw multiple bodies at him and switch a lot of stuff, we’ll throw different matchups at him.

“On the night it’s going to take all five defensive players on the floor rather than just one key matchup to try and stop Cotton.  

“It’s all about us and everyone knows how we want to play with space and pace and our selflessness. Things will take care of itself on the offensive end, but we need to do a much better job being locked in defensively.”

Perth will host Sydney at RAC Arena starting at 9:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo.