Beware the emotional Wildcats on home court

Expect the Perth Wildcats to come out breathing fire this Friday night after an unexpected, highly emotional loss last Sunday to South East Melbourne Phoenix at John Cain Arena.

Wildcats head coach John Rillie leads his side with the same level of passion with which he played, and that has filtered down into the way he coaches across the past two seasons.

But Rillie said post-match on Sunday that high passion, emotional game is quickly embedding itself into the Wildcats’ identity, and while it can be positive, he believes his side needs to harness and control it better in future weeks.

Perth let the Phoenix score 38 points in the third quarter and expect the Wildcats to turn up their defensive heat on a 36ers side searching for a first victory.

THE KEY
Whenever an NBL team faces the Wildcats, Bryce Cotton will always be the key to success.

The three-time NBL champion and three-time NBL MVP has started the NBL24 season unlike the Bryce we are usually accustomed to, he’s still averaging 14 points per night, but is due for a big game.

Cotton has had many huge performances against the 36ers and again it will come down to the combination of Sunday Dech and Mitch McCarron to quell his influence.

This season, Cotton has some new running partners in Jordan Usher and Keanu Pinder to create a ‘big 3’ for the Wildcats.

Usher was superb in the NBL24 opener, scoring a game-high 35 points as the Wildcats defeated Tasmania 101-95 at RAC Arena last Friday night.

THE SECRET
Perth Wildcats point guard Ben Henshall made his own slice of NBL history in the opening round,

The 19-year-old top-scored in his debut game with 24 points, only the second time in NBL history a player under the age of 20 has done this since Joe Ingles for South Dragons in 2006.

Henshall entered the new season with high expectations – and those expectations were tempered after Rillie overlooked him in Perth's opening season win against Tasmania.

Rillie said he was impressed in the manner with which Henshall conducted himself against the Phoenix.

“For him not to hang his head and come out with that performance, that’s very encouraging,” Rillie said.

“He was pissed at me the other night because I didn’t play him, so he retaliated pretty well.”

Perth’s NBL Next Star Alexandre Sarr has been a major discussion point for NBA Draft experts worldwide, and the 19-year-old has experienced a remarkable rise in his draft projection.

The Perth Next Star arrived in the league projected to be selected 20th overall, but ESPN’s Jonathan Givony now predicts Sarr will be selected with the fourth overall pick.

Kristian Doolittle was added as the Wildcats’ final piece to their NBL24 puzzle just before the season tipped off last week and expect the power forward to be an improved force this Friday night.

The power forward went into the starting line-up against the Phoenix, but battled foul trouble, scoring seven points in just over 20 minutes on the floor.

DEPTH CHART
PG: T. Webster / Zunic / Russo-Nance
SG: Cotton / C Webster / Henshall
SF: Usher / H Harris / M Harris
PF: Doolittle / Wagstaff / Okwera
C: Pinder / Sarr / Andrew

THE FINAL WORD
In only the second week of the NBL24 season, this is a huge game for Adelaide. Already at 0-2 and having a battle in Sydney against the Kings less than 48 hours later, a win against the Wildcats would kickstart the campaign.

Perth will be out to rebound after their last performance against the Phoenix and will be celebrating their annual Pink Game with RAC Arena turning pink in support of Breast Cancer research.

The Wildcats could get point guard Kyle Zunic back from a foot injury, while Tai Webster could also return to the line-up.

Adelaide will be keen to show the Wildcats’ big 112-80 victory at the NBL Blitz was not a true reflection of where both sides are and the 36ers will be at full strength for this contest.

How the 36ers contain the Perth offensive juggernaut will be key, but Adelaide must also control the rebounds and not allow the Wildcats many second chance opportunities.