Preview: Sydney vs Perth – Round 16, NBL24

Sunday January 21 at 2pm AEDT | Qudos Bank Arena

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Sydney comes into this game with a renewed confidence after their emphatic win over New Zealand last Sunday. It was the Kings' first win of 2024 and just their second across their last seven games. 

With a full week of practice, Mahmoud Abdelfattah believes his team is poised to turn their fortunes around and make a late charge to that guaranteed Finals berth.

Next Star and potential number one NBA Draft Pick Alex Sarr will again sit for Perth as he continues to rehab a hip injury, while Kristian Doolittle (concussion protocols) will be re-assessed prior to this game to see if he’s fit enough to play.

Perth won convincingly versus Brisbane on Friday, which keeps them comfortably in second place on the ladder. That’s now five straight wins for Perth and they will travel to Sydney full of confidence to extend that to six.

Bryce Cotton continues to lead the league in scoring and remains the favourite for the MVP award after pouring in another 28 points on Friday, while Tai Webster was again strong in support with 20 points and 6 assists.

Sydney 
105-76 win over New Zealand
95-82 loss to Adelaide
93-101 loss to Brisbane

Perth
118-86 win over Brisbane
100-79 win over South East Melbourne
108-102 win over New Zealand

Jaylen Adams
The NBL22 MVP hasn’t always had things go his way this season, but his elite talent was on full display last Sunday against the Breakers. Adams had an NBL career-high 39 points on a red-hot 14-22 FGs, hitting 8-11 threes, 5-5 FTs and dishing three assists for good measure, and he did all that in just 27 minutes.

It was a reminder to everyone that Adams is one of the best players in the league when he’s on the same page with his teammates and they’re all locked in and working together. Adams is now averaging 18.8 points to go along with 5.2 assists, one steal and 3.3 rebounds on the season. He ranks seventh in scoring and fifth in assists. 

The Kings seemed to relish the opportunity to get Adams the ball and let him create last Sunday as every player that hit the court had at least one assist, showing that they were all looking to feed the hot hand.

Adams is now averaging 26.7 points per game over his last three and while he’s struggled to find the range consistently from the perimeter this season (29 per cent), he has managed to get to the free-throw line in bulk recently, making 20 of 24 (83 per cent) across those three games.

“Jaylen Adams finally came out and was like ‘I’m one of the best players in the competition. I’m going to go out and perform like that. I’m not waiting around. I’m going to put my imprint on this game right away. 21 first half points and, although 21 is significant and beyond normal, it was the way he was trying to press, press, press, that should have been the case all along this season. So, I’m very happy for him.” – Derek Rucker on the Moments That Mattered Podcast.

Tai Webster
With all the attention that Bryce Cotton draws given his MVP level form again, Tai Webster may have flown a little under the radar. His production has been up and down, but he had one of his best offensive games of the season in Round 15 against South East Melbourne. 

Webster had a season-high 20 points on 9-14 FGs, with four assists, three rebounds and just one turnover. He also made two three-pointers for just the second time this season. He then backed that up with another 20 points on Friday (8-11 FGs), adding 6 assists.

It was also the first time this season that Webster has had three straight double-digit scoring games and he may be on his way back to the form he showed back in NBL21 when with the New Zealand Breakers.

Webster’s minutes have been trending up during the Wildcats’ winning streak, with Perth undefeated when Tai plays 22 minutes or more.

“He can contribute in so many ways. He obviously hit the scoreboard, but defensively he’s a big guard. There’s some pretty quick and small guards around this league, particularly in the import point position, so he’s been great. Just staying solid defensively and as I said, influencing the game in a variety of ways.” – Jesse Wagstaff on Tai Webster after training on Wednesday.

Keanu Pinder vs Jordan Hunter
While a lot of attention will be on the Cotton and Adams scoring battle, the game is likely to be won or lost by who can control the boards and the paint.

Hunter and Pinder both rank in the top 10 in the league in offensive rebounds, while Hunter ranks fifth in total rebound percentage (per RealGM.com). The Kings big man has averaged 10.8 boards over his last five games including 4.6 offensive rebounds (which would lead the league).

Pinder meanwhile, has been just as active defensively with 14 steals across his last six games and has done a nice job protecting the rim, with four blocks across his last three games. Pinder has faced some foul trouble of late, but has not fouled out since Round 6.

When these two teams last met at the start of December, Pinder had 18 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks, while Hunter managed just six points, three rebounds and three assists. Perth won 114 to 105 at RAC Arena. When they met in Round 3, Hunter had 20 points and nine rebounds to Pinder’s nine points and seven rebounds in a Kings win, so whoever gets the better of the matchup this time around, may dictate how this game plays out.

The home side has won seven of eight games between these two teams across the last three seasons. The only road team to win in that span was Sydney at Perth in Round 17 of NBL22.

Bryce Cotton has been a star again in NBL24.

Sydney
DJ Hogg – shoulder (TBC)
Jonah Bolden - knee (TBC)

Perth
Kristian Doolittle – concussion (available)
Alexandre Sarr – hip (TBC)