Opportunity awaits for 36ers in big Wildcats battle

Adelaide 36ers will be looking to make it back-to-back wins at home when Perth Wildcats visit the Entertainment Centre on Thursday night.

For the Wildcats, the game against the 36ers will be Perth’s third match in six days, which also included an overtime loss in Melbourne on Saturday night and a three-point thriller in Cairns against the Taipans on Tuesday night.

Perth have spent the Christmas season on the road and Thursday night’s match against Adelaide will end an eight-day road trip.

Thursday night’s match will be the fourth time the Wildcats and 36ers have played this season, with the home side successful on each occasion.

THE KEY
Bryce Cotton is back to his MVP best and has sparked the Wildcats to a six-game winning streak after early season doubts.

Cotton scored 29 points in the Wildcats’ 99-88 win over Adelaide on November 4 at RAC Arena and the 182cm combo guard has scored 20 or more in nine of the past 10 matches since.

The three-time NBL MVP and championship-winner has also scored 30 or more points four times in the past 10 matches as head coach John Rillie has decided to play Cotton every minute of every game.

Cotton has only been on the bench for two minutes in the past two matches in this road trip, including 45 minutes against United where he scored a game-high 36 points, while backing up against the Taipans for 33 points in 38 minutes.

Adelaide has a number of different weapons to throw at Cotton, DJ Vasiljevic looks likely to get the first assignment, but expect Mitch McCarron, Sunday Dech and even Alex Starling share time trying to limit the superstar’s impact.

THE SECRET
Since joining the Wildcats early on the NBL24 season, Kristian Doolittle has made a huge impact to Perth’s turnaround.

The 201cm can play multiple positions and is a real key for the Wildcats’ defensive structure, he has the ability to defend the point guard one minute, then the centre the next.

Doolittle is averaging 8.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game so far this season, but his numbers don’t do his effect on the result any justice.

Along with fellow import Jordan Usher, Doolittle could be given the big task to limit the influence of Vasiljevic, while he also could spend time on Jacob Wiley.

Adelaide should also be wary of Doolittle’s offensive output, especially with all the attention going towards Cotton, the 26-year-old had a huge game in Cairns with 17 points and 16 rebounds.

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

FINAL WORD
Adelaide has a big opportunity to string back-to-back wins together for the first time since October but must increase the intensity from the Bullets success.

Even though the Wildcats are on the last leg of a brutal Christmas road trip, Adelaide must be locked in from the opening tip as the Wildcats have proven at their best, they’re championship contenders.

Cotton will again be a huge focus, but the Wildcats also have a number of quality players who can be matchwinners on any given night, including Doolittle, Usher, Keanu Pinder and the Webster brothers.

The 36ers will need big games from Vasiljevic and Trey Kell, while the frontcourt duo of Wiley and Isaac Humphries will need to win their match-up against Pinder and Next Star Alex Sarr.

Thursday night is a massive chance for Scott Ninnis’s men to make a huge NBL24 statement.