Wildcats are back to their winning ways

Adelaide 36ers will be looking to rebound when they face their arch-rival Perth Wildcats on Brett Maher Court on Friday night.

After splitting last weekend’s double-header, the 36ers will be looking for consecutive wins at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre following last Friday night’s come-from-behind 78-75 win against Cairns Taipans.

Perth will come to town full of confidence after the Wildcats stunned the first-placed New Zealand Breakers last round, with boom off-season recruit Corey Webster starring against his former team.

The 36ers, who defeated the Wildcats 96-82 in Perth two weeks ago, will have extra incentive with star big man a seven-time club MVP Daniel Johnson celebrating his 400^th NBL match.

THE KEY
Three-time NBL champion and league MVP Bryce Cotton is always the man you want to limit when playing the Wildcats.

Cotton has dominated the NBL since he arrived in Perth in 2017 and even though he was limited by Antonius Cleveland a fortnight ago across the border, the 182cm combo guard still scored 17 points.

The 182cm combo guard fired as the Wildcats fought back in the third quarter and Cotton can turn a game on its head at any moment.

Cleveland is clearly the best man for the job and should be standing right next to Cotton again for most of the game on Friday night.

Expect Adelaide coach CJ Bruton to throw several different defenders at Cotton, but Cleveland should spend most of the time on the Wildcats superstar.

THE SECRET
Corey Webster fired in New Zealand last round after copping some social media scrutiny from his former team.

Webster was back to his shooting best when he scored a team-high 26 points last Saturday as the Wildcats stunned the Breakers 92-84 in Auckland.

The sharpshooter is the perfect foil for Cotton, and can hit a bunch of shots in quick succession. Webster showed his worth against Adelaide last time out when he kept Wildcats in the contest in the opening half.

Head coach John Rillie also changed his starting line-up in the win against New Zealand, starting Webster and Cotton in the backcourt, with NBA-bound Luke Travers and Brady Manek also coming into the starting line-up next to TaShawn Thomas.

Manek will have found memories of the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, with his game-high 25 points, including six-from-eight from downtown, ended the Wildcats’ five-game losing skid last month.

Along with Manek, Rillie is also using Travers to greater effect and they are match-winners in their own right, expect both to be on the floor come crunch time.

THE FINAL WORD
This Wildcats team which run out onto Brett Maher Court on Friday night will look the same, but will have a new confidence following their win across the Tasman last week.

With their backs against the wall, Perth upset the league leaders and will be keen to continue this form on a court they have already had success on this season.

Adelaide will need to rebound from the Kings defeat and not get caught up in the milestone mania of Johnson’s 400^th NBL appearance.

The 36ers have been up and down so far in NBL23 and are craving a winning streak, and with a road game against South East Melbourne Phoenix scheduled for Sunday, a win at home is paramount.

DEPTH CHART
PG Cotton | Zunic
SG Webster |Norton  
SF Travers | Blanchfield 
PF Manek | Wagstaff 
C Thomas | Majok