Explosive Windler provides fresh look

Dylan Windler and Keanu Pinder shone as the Perth Wildcats hit back impressively in Adelaide on Saturday night, with a road performance John Rillie now wants to see as the team's benchmark.

The Wildcats had six days to think about a 32-point loss last Sunday to the Illawarra Hawks, in what was their fourth of seven straight road games.

What Perth delivered was a commanding all-round performance to end up winning 116-92 and improve to 11-9 on the season. There was a lot to like, including winning the rebound count 51 to 39, while having 20 offensive boards for 21 second-chance points.

The 'Cats also had 27 assists as a team, with 12 of those courtesy of Bryce Cotton. Windler top-scored with 24 on 6/11 three-point shooting and Pinder delivered 23 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks.

"All I can worry about is the remaining nine games that we've got in this season and how we tackle them, and how we can keep moving forward and getting better with consistency," Rillie said.

"I like where our team is going, we've gone on the road now for a few in-a-row and we had a hiccup in Wollongong, but we're understanding how to go into some away venues and figure that part of it out.

"At the start of the season that's something we didn’t do a good job with, so for us as a group it's all about us continuing to get better. There's only nine games left in the regular season, so that's what we've got to worry about."

What Rillie especially liked about what the Wildcats did was the way everyone was involved at the offensive end. That all started with Cotton wearing the pressure the Sixers applied, turning playmaker to dish out 12 assists.

Windler was a major beneficiary of that in the same week he became a first-time father.

"You saw in the first half what an explosive scorer he (Windler) can be with range which is a great attribute, but then you saw in the second half the assists, the playmaking and that he can be very disruptive to create second chance opportunities," Rillie said.

"He can impact the game in different ways and then Bryce's playmaking ability led to guys with wide open looks too and that's the way we want to play."

Another shining light in the big win for Perth was Pinder.

It was his third game back after missing three through illness and Rillie couldn’t be happier with the overall impact he had at both ends, with the 'Cats outscoring the Sixers by 22 points in his 25 minutes.

"I think Keanu's done a great job in the games since he's been back from being ill, just slowly building," Rillie said.

"The first game back he had a double-double, but the way he impacted this game at both ends with his driving ability to put heat on the rim and then at the other end his defensive presence was important.

"His ball screen coverage was there as well and that's why he's a high-profile player in this league, because when he's at that level he's a difference-maker."