Can Ili stop Cotton?

When Melbourne United take on the Perth Wildcats tonight, the spotlight will be on the battle between Shea Ili and Bryce Cotton.

Last season, Ili won the Best Defensive Player, while Cotton took home his fourth Most Valuable Player award. Both look to be leading contenders in their respective categories once again, which makes for an enticing match-up at RAC Arena.

“I think he’s (Ili) the best defender in the league,” Adelaide 36ers sharpshooter, DJ Vasiljevic, said on NBL Now.

“He just makes people’s life tough day in and day out.”

The last time Cotton faced United was in Round 3, when he was held to just five points on 2/10 shooting, and Ili will be hoping to have a similar impact in tonight’s clash. 

Cotton is averaging 27.7 points per game this season and has a career average of over 20 points when facing United. In the last 10 games, Cotton has averaged 35.7 points, which has led to eight wins for his team.

Earlier this week, Cotton revealed he isn’t fussed about who guards him. 

“Same movie, different actors…I approach every game the same, it’s blurred faces for me. I don’t care what team it is, who’s guarding me, I treat and respect every player the exact same,” Cotton said.

While the Wildcats have flown up the ladder off the back of Cotton’s hot streak, Melbourne has gone in the opposite direction, losing 6 of its last 9 games.  

Despite that, Vasiljevic still believes in Dean Vickerman’s team to punch their ticket directly to the Playoffs. 

“I think United still finish second,” Vasiljevic said.

“It’s going to be a cracker of a game…we all know what happened earlier in the season when Melbourne beat them by 30 odd.”

With Perth and Melbourne having near identical percentages, tonight’s result will go a long way in the battle for second spot.

Tip-off is 9:30pm AEDT live on ESPN.