Preview: Perth v Sydney (Round 18)

When: 4pm (AEDT), Sunday 5 February, 2023
Where: RAC Arena, Perth
Broadcast: 10 Peach; 10 Play; ESPN; Foxtel; Kayo; Sky NZ
LIVE STATS AND BOX SCOR

Who won the last time?

Perth 111 (Cotton 21, Manek 21, Thomas 20) d Sydney 104 (Vasiljevic 26, Cooks 15, Glover 14) – Round 16 at RAC Arena, Perth

In arguably the most entertaining game of the NBL23 season Perth and Sydney engaged in a shoot-out of royal proportions, and the Wildcats’ blistering 17/35 three-point shooting and a remarkable, defence-inspired 17-0 burst early in the fourth term proved decisive. With Sydney on a 35-17 run of their own, the home team got five-straight stops and converted every one of them at the other end to establish a seven-point lead the Kings couldn’t quite recover, despite the fact they pulled within a bucket on five different occasions on the run home.

What happened last game?

After passing 71 points just 27 minutes into the contest with Sydney, the Wildcats only managed that points total for the entire game against Cairns. They picked the wrong night to have a horror shooting performance as the Taipans got up-and-in and chased the 'Cats off the arc.

Where that loss leaves them won’t be known until after the Melbourne-Adelaide game that tips off as the first game of Sunday hoops.

John Rillie’s men may need to beat the Kings by more than United downs the 36ers, and they’ll be hoping Chase Buford once again manages his troops with an eye on their guaranteed semi-final appearance. That opened the door for Adelaide’s high-scoring win on Friday, where Xavier Cooks was rested and Tim Soares led Sydney with 24:21 of playing time.

What’s working?

DJ Vasiljevic – Shooting slump? What shooting slump? After hitting 7/47 (15%) from the arc in an eight-game drought, Vasiljevic has dropped 36/63 (57%) in his past 10 to be arguably the hottest perimeter marksman in the NBL. He smoked Perth for 6/9 in Round 16 en route to 26 points in 25 minutes, and was 4/6 in Adelaide to be a game-high +21 in 23 minutes. Can the 'Cats find any answers this time around? And how many minutes will Vasiljevic play?

‘Big five’ shoot-outs – In Perth’s past five wins they’ve piled on 105.8ppg, with the quintet of TaShawn Thomas, Brady Manek, Luke Travers, Bryce Cotton, and Corey Webster five contributing an astonishing 91.4ppg. In the win over the Kings, they had 96 points at 52 per cent from the floor and 14/29 from the arc. Against Cairns, however, they managed just 67 points at 39 per cent and 5/16, and the bench couldn’t fill the breach - they added only four points on 0/6 from the field.

What needs stopping?

Sunday fade-outs – Before Christmas the Wildcats were an impressive 4-1 when backing up in the same round. Since shortening their rotation, however, they are 1-3 in games with less than three days’ rest, with their only win coming against the jaded Breakers in Round 15. In those three losses they’ve given up 107.3ppg and been outscored by 36 points in the final quarter. Can they reverse that trend after again burning Bryce’s candle at both ends on Friday?

Rebound and run – Lost amongst the flurry of points in the Wildcats’ win over Sydney was their strong showing on the glass. They grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to keep Sydney to just 66 per cent defensive rebounding and limit their run-outs. In the Kings’ 21-point Round 14 win over Perth, they dragged in 75 per cent of defensive boards, while Cairns dominated with 81 per cent in their Jungle win on Friday. Can Travers, Thomas, Manek and company stand tall when it counts?

Who’s missing key men?

The Wildcats are expected to be at full strength, while Sydney’s intentions around player management remain to be seen.

Who’s matching up?

TaShawn Thomas v Xavier Cooks – This was an intriguing battle last time. Thomas exploited Tim Soares to finish with 20 points at 58 per cent, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks to be +13, and then defended Cooks at the other end, who was his usual all-around self with 15 points, nine rebounds, eight dimes, a block and a steal. How many minutes will Cooks play? And will the Kings send him to Thomas early this time to quell the import’s influence?

Brady Manek v Tim Soares – Of course, that match-up would mean Soares has to chase Manek to the perimeter, the former North Carolina Tar Heel dropped 5/9 on the Kings last time as they didn’t pay due respect. Manek’s rebounding is just as key for the 'Cats and he had only three on Friday, and if Soares can repeat his 24-point, 7/8 night in Adelaide – where he was +10 in a seven-point defeat – he’ll force his counterpart to stray from the paint.

Corey Webster v Derrick Walton Jr – This is a pair of offensive barometers, but for different reasons. Webster had a horror two-point, 1/6 night against the Taipans but he’s loved facing the high-speed Kings. He's compiled 40 points at 67 per cent inside and 44 per cent outside in two meetings. On Friday, Walton sizzled with 13 assists in 21 minutes before being rested. With a wrist complaint hanging around, how many minutes will he see on Sunday?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DWJ pushes through to get the job done ?<br><br>Catch it LIVE on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://t.co/5BK51GyUdf">pic.twitter.com/5BK51GyUdf</a></p>&mdash; Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1621442411875508225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

How much do the Perth Wildcats want to return to the NBL Finals for the 36th time in 37 years?

You’d think the answer would be obvious, but after watching them concede seven offensive rebounds in the opening 12 minutes against Cairns, while grabbing just three d-boards themselves, it's a question that needs to be asked.

“Our last three losses there is certainly a trend with how we’ve started the game and our application to the rebounding, and that was significant tonight, I think it was 17-6 in the first quarter,” coach John Rillie said.

“Rebounding is totally a mindset thing. In any sport the ball’s the most important thing so if you have the ability to go and get it it’s pretty simple.

“It's amazing when you have the ball how good things happen … just go and get the ball. You can talk about technique and everything, but if you have a level of desperation it’s amazing how you come up with the ball.”

Perth ended up -10 in the possession game against the Snakes, starving them of the run that’s made Rillie’s men the best offensive unit in the NBL.

“We just couldn’t get in the rhythm of the game, give them credit for doing a great job of controlling that part of the game,” Rillie said.

“We did a good job of fighting back and bringing some life into it, but maybe we spent too much energy.

“I just felt like we let the scoreboard dictate, instead of just letting our play evolve through good play and then the scoreboard takes care of itself.”

It was a stark contrast to two weeks ago, when they ripped in 73 per cent of defensive rebounds and 34 per cent at the offensive end as they toppled the Kings.

It set Luke Travers, Bryce Cotton and the Webster brothers free in transition and the Wildcats dished out a stunning 30 assists, the ball popping from the first moments of the shot clock.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">?‍??‍??‍? <a href="https://t.co/pZgRMS4tis">https://t.co/pZgRMS4tis</a> <a href="https://t.co/Xz6ej4AXE8">pic.twitter.com/Xz6ej4AXE8</a></p>&mdash; Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1616390051411406849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“When we play with a nice pace about ourselves and share the ball, we’re a good offensive team,” Rillie said afterwards.

“Now we still have some possessions where we massage the ball a little too much for my liking, but when we move it and get into the paint, everyone benefits.”

It was enough to draw praise from Sydney boss Chase Buford.

“Credit to Perth, they played super-well offensively,” he said.

“Obviously they shot the piss out of it, shared it well, it seemed like they made a lot of shots over hands sometimes, all the big ones they needed to make, they made.”

While Sunday might seem like a dead rubber for the Kings, with high-speed outfits like Perth and Cairns potential post-season opponents, there’s work to do defensively.

They’ve leaked more than 100 in three of their past five contests, and Buford isn’t concerned about losing games late in the season if lessons are learned.

“It didn’t hurt us last year,” he said after the Round 16 defeat.

“It’s probably good for us to go through a game like that where we’ll have a ton of learning opportunities, especially on defence.

“We play them here in a couple of weeks we need to clean some things up.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dangerous day to be a rim at RAC Arena. ?<br><br>BC flies and the Red Army flies with him!<br><br>? Watch live on ESPN via Kayo &amp; Foxtel <a href="https://t.co/ZzKSPdzqkh">pic.twitter.com/ZzKSPdzqkh</a></p>&mdash; Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1616396511650402306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Perth must be squeaky clean to get themselves into the post-season, but for superstar Bryce Cotton – who’s averaged 21.5ppg and 8.0apg against the Kings this season – it’s about keeping things simple.

“It just comes down to defence and rebounding,” he said.

“Right now I think Xs and Os go out the window, it’s going to come down to who wants it and understanding that come Sunday there is no tomorrow.

“Regardless of the result you’ve got to make sure you leave it all out there as a team and that’s what we need to be focused on Sunday.

“All the money in the world won’t bring back this game so we’ve got to review it and flush it as quickly as possible.”

Despite Friday’s loss, coach Rillie had a quiet confidence post-game his team will get the job done.

“The pure fact is we get another opportunity, and what I like to see is who’s going to bring it and who’s going to compete. That will say a lot about the character of this team and the character of the individuals,” he said.

“Where I'm confident, I may be proven wrong and I will live with this, is when we have been put in tough situations, the team has come out with a great response.

“They will see the start of this (Cairns) game in between, hopefully the alarm bells will go off and we come out with a great zest for Sunday. No greater or bigger opportunity.”