Cadee’s faith 36ers will respond in Perth

Adelaide 36ers point guard Jason Cadee is confident his side will bounce back in Friday night’s showdown against Perth Wildcats at RAC Arena.

The 36ers travel to Perth on the back of two defeats last round, at home to Brisbane and on the road to South East Melbourne, but Cadee expects Adelaide to rebound straight away.

“It gets no easy as we go into Perth trying to put together 40 minutes and try to get a win,” Cadee told media on Thursday.

“We have got an air of resilience within our group where when we get it right, we really do get it right.

“We have had two good days of practice leading into this and I’m excited to see how we bounce back because we have bounced back in the past.”

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Adelaide will battle a Wildcats side who are still aiming to finish in the top two, while a win for the 36ers will guarantee a return to the post season for the first time since the 2017/18 season.

“The way the NBL is it gets weird this time of year, there’s teams fighting for whatever spot, it’s going to come down to the last game as it always does,” Cadee said.

“It wasn’t ideal how we finished at home our regular season; with the hope we will be coming back for semi-finals and finals.”

Cadee said limiting Perth star guard Bryce Cotton will go a long way to success on Friday night, but said his side has got options at the defensive end.

“Bryce is elite, I’ve been in the league ever since he came along,” Cadee said.

“Playing Perth in Perth, for my 15 years has been one of the toughest challenges.

“It’s not just about Bryce; it’s about their whole group.

“Do you let Bryce have 40 and try and stop all the others and does that result in a win or do you let everyone else go off and try and stop Bryce.

“For me, it’s all about what Adelaide 36ers show up as a group on the court, and that’s the most important thing.”

PERTH WILDCATS vs ADELAIDE 36ERS
RAC Arena, Friday 9pm ACDT
Live on ESPN via Kayo Sports

OVERALL
Played 159, Adelaide 69, Perth 90

LIKELY STARTERS
Wildcats: Ben Henshall, Bryce Cotton, Dylan Windler, Kristian Doolittle, Keanu Pinder.
36ers: Kendric Davis, DJ Vasiljevic, Lat Mayen, Montrezl Harrell, Isaac Humphries.

LAST FIVE MATCHES
Jan 17, 2025 – Wildcats 110 def 36ers 103 at RAC Arena
Dec 28, 2024 – Wildcats 116 def 36ers 92 at AEC
Dec 8, 2024 – Wildcats 115 def 36ers 105 at AEC
Dec 28, 2023 –Wildcats 100 def 36ers 82 at AEC
Nov 4, 2023 –Wildcats 99 def 36ers 88 at RAC Arena

STATS THAT MATTER
- Adelaide holds an 8-1 record when allowing fewer than 90 points this season.
- The 36ers rank 2nd in the league for free throws made per game this season (18.0).
- Kendric Davis has recorded eight points/assists double-doubles this season - the rest of the league has nine combined.
- Adelaide has scored 80+ points in each of its last 16 games - team's equal-longest streak since 2019-20.
- Adelaide ranks 10th for three-point field goal attempts per game this season (24.7).
- Kendric Davis has a career average of 10.3 assists per game against Perth - most against any opponent.
- Montrezl Harrell is one of only two qualified players ranked top 10 in the league for both points (20.6) and rebounds (9.3) per game this season.
- Kendric Davis has scored 20+ points in 10 consecutive appearances - longest active streak of any player in the league.
- Montrezl Harrell has recorded 8+ rebounds in 10 consecutive appearances - longest active streak of any player in the league.
- Isaac Humphries ranks 3rd for blocks per game (1.3) this season.
- DJ Vasiljevic ranks 3rd for three-pointers made per game (3.1) this season.