Gaze calls for Perth defensive shift

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

"The work they were doing on the defensive end was poor – there’s no other way to describe it."

NBL legend Andrew Gaze has called on Perth to switch up its defensive structures, and says without Bryce Cotton firing, the Wildcats do not contain the offensive weapons needed to paper over their defensive cracks.

The Wildcats opened their season with an emotional 101-95 win over Tasmania, but have since lost four of the five resulting games. They face the Brisbane Bullets on Friday in what fellow former NBL MVP Derek Rucker has labelled a must-win clash for both teams.

Gaze says the Wildcats need to find a way to turn their season around, and quickly.

<iframe src="https://omny.fm/shows/nbl-podcasts/andrew-gaze-on-sen-october-23-2023/embed?style=artwork" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write" width="100%" height="180" frameborder="0" title="Andrew Gaze on SEN - October 23, 2023"></iframe>

“They’ve got some really good talent on their team. I was at their game commentating on Saturday night and the alarm bells certainly should be ringing,” Gaze said on SEN.

“The work they were doing on the defensive end was poor – there’s no other way to describe it.

“When you’ve got Bryce Cotton on your team you always feel pretty good about what you can do, and you’re going to be able to shoot a score that can be competitive, but this season Bryce has been well down, his shooting percentages are as low as they’ve ever been ... which is unheard of for him.

“He’s not going to be like that for the whole season, he's shown he’s one of the greatest players to come to our shores so he’s going to bounce back, but without him there are some problems because they can’t defend.

“They’re going to have to make some adjustments.”

A shining beacon of positivity in the Wildcats’ disappointing start to the new season has been the presence – and performances of – French Next Star Alexandre Sarr.

The Overtime Elite graduate’s draft stock has skyrocketed since he arrived in the NBL with the Wildcats, and a swathe of NBA mock drafts have him being selected anywhere inside the top three selections.

Sarr looks set to build on the contingent of French former Next Stars in the NBA next season, and will likely join former Breakers pair Ousmane Dieng and Rayan Rupert in the league.

Gaze has called on fans to watch the Wildcats’ French phenom, while he’s still in the NBL.

“Their Next Star Sarr is going to be a superstar,” Gaze said.

“He didn’t have a great one this week but what he is capable of doing at his size is rare. They’re talking about him being a top pick, right now as we speak some draft boards have him as the number one pick.

“If you get the chance to see him and you want a chance to see someone who’s going to be doing some special things in the NBA, you need to check him out.”

Perth takes on Brisbane on Friday, October 27 at 9:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo.