R21 Preview: Perth Wildcats vs Illawarra Hawks

Friday, April 22, 2022

One more win puts Perth into the playoffs for the 36th time, while a Hawks road win will set up a Freeway Series showdown for second place on Sunday.

When: 9.30pm (AEST), Friday 22 April, 2022

Where: RAC Arena, Perth

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Sky Sports NZ

Who won last time?
Perth 94 (Cotton 28, Law 24, Blanchfield 14) d Illawarra 80 (Cleveland 22, Jessup 17, Harvey 16) – Round 9, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

It looked like a potential statement game for Illawarra in Round 9 when they led by 10 in the second term, but Bryce Cotton, Vic Law and Todd Blanchfield poured in 18 points in the next four minutes to put the 'Cats in front by half-time. Early in the fourth quarter a Michael Frazier deuce put Perth 14 ahead as they dominated the Hawks for the second time in Wollongong.

What happened last start?

Scott Morrison’s men were dominant offensively against Cairns, racking up 106 points at 60 per cent inside and 15/31 from the arc, but defensively they conceded 36 points at 62 per cent in the opening 11 minutes before locking down. Given the Hawks lead the league in scoring and field-goal percentage, the Wildcats will need to start better on Friday.

A loss will leave Perth potentially having to beat the Phoenix on Sunday to make it 36-straight playoff appearances – if Tassie beat Melbourne – while a 11-point win will leapfrog them over the Hawks into third. For Illawarra, who lost to the Kings in overtime last week, a W will set up a Freeway Series dogfight on Sunday to determine who takes second place.

Who’s in form?

Bryce Cotton – Reports of Cotton’s death were greatly exaggerated. While he had a three-game slump, scoring 13.7ppg at 36 per cent, in the previous 11 outings he sizzled with 24.3 points at 52 per cent inside and 39 per cent outside, 4.7 assists and just 1.6 turnovers. Stunning numbers. As were his 22 points on 5/9 from deep and 10 dimes last Saturday.

Tyler Harvey – Did someone say stunning numbers? How about Harvey’s 35 points on 70 per cent inside as he produced more floaters than a toddler pool, while adding six boards, five dimes and two steals. In two meetings with Perth this season, he’s shot a wayward 4/20 from the arc while going 7/16 inside, and he needs to test out the Wildcats’ interior on Friday.

Who needs to be?

Antonius Cleveland – After playing at All-NBL level for a month, AC had a stinker at the wrong time against Sydney, going 0/9 from the field, committing four fouls and having minimal defensive impact. He’ll want to make amends against Cotton, but can he match the MVP’s off-ball movement, and can Mitch Norton and the 'Cats execute in a way to exploit that?

Luke Travers – When Perth were short of guards, the 203cm Travers stepped up as a playmaker. Now they are without Vic Law, can he fill that swing forward spot? He did it spectacularly in last year’s playoffs, averaging 12.5ppg, 8.0rpg and 2.5apg in two semi-finals before injury stepped in, now the challenge may be defending Duop Reath or Sam Froling.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Clear the runway for Slammin' <a href="https://twitter.com/samfroling_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@samfroling_</a> ?<br><br>?: <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreIllawarra?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/crNGp0RVYg">pic.twitter.com/crNGp0RVYg</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1514553671677526019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s statting up?

- The Hawks are 3-6 when Cleveland commits four or more fouls, compared to 14-3 when he has three or fewer

- During Perth’s three-game losing streak, Cotton averaged just 3 assists. He averages 5.3 dimes in Wildcats wins, and Perth are 27-8 over the past two seasons when he dishes five or more, compared to 12-11 when he doesn’t

- The Wildcats are 8-1 when Travers scored in double-figures on 50 per cent shooting or better

- Illawarra are 8-1 when Xavier Rathan-Mayes shoots 50 per cent or better from the field and 10-2 when he hits from long range

Who’s matching up?

Michael Frazier v Xavier Rathan-Mayes – While Perth fans were relieved to get a win over Cairns last week, they were just as relieved to find out that Frazier can flat-out play. With the weight seemingly off his shoulders, the besieged import drained 19 points at 70 per cent and hit a number of big shots when the Wildcat offence had become bogged down.

Perth were still outscored with him on the floor, a common theme this season, and he can produce more defensively, starting with locking down Rathan-Mayes. The previously-hot XRM came up short against Sydney with six points on 3/13 – including 2/6 on his trademark mid-range – and he’ll want to make amends in his first appearance in RAC Arena.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">That's two first-quarter triples from Michael Frazier II! ??<br><br>? Live on ESPN via Kayo & Foxtel <a href="https://t.co/Na7foerI2r">pic.twitter.com/Na7foerI2r</a></p>— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1515275381229895685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s talking the talk?

The Hawks are still jockeying for playoff positions and every win is crucial given they could finish anywhere from second to fourth.

However, that didn’t stop coach Brian Goorjian taking positives from last week’s overtime loss to Sydney.

“God it was a good game of basketball and we gave ourselves a chance to win,” he said.

“There’s nobody better in this thing right now than the Kings, so we’re a week, two weeks away from the playoffs, we’re not too far off the mark.”

However, Goorj walked away from that clash with plenty to work on to ready his team for playoff-level basketball.

Firstly, their defence, which had grown from being self-described as the worst in the league to being the NBL’s most disruptive, was found wanting for discipline last Thursday.

“When you play in a game of this significance easy baskets are huge, and easy baskets are offensive put-backs, baskets in transition and free throws,” Goorjian said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MAKE WAY, MARTIN IS COMING THROUGH <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> <a href="https://t.co/6YXdCTM6Ok">pic.twitter.com/6YXdCTM6Ok</a></p>— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1514547027950305281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“The free-throw count of 34-14, and most coaches when you come in here and say that you’re talking about the referees, I'm not.

“Duop Reath twice fouled the three-point shooter. At the end of the third quarter there’s three seconds to go and we worked for the last shot, we foul them in the backcourt.

“We made a lot of irresponsible, bad fouls to put them on the line and those are easy baskets... we talked about staying down, verticality and make them play over our length.”

Secondly, the execution down the stretch.

“We had possession of the ball, at home, in regulation for the last shot and we didn’t get a good shot,” he said after a low-percentage long-range heave from a low-percentage long-range shooter in Xavier Rathan-Mayes.

“A three-point shot – we had a lot of great shooters on the floor – wrong set, wrong shot, and that’s me. Lessons learned.”

Yet while last season the Hawks made the most of other teams’ injuries to make the playoffs, but were found wanting in the semi-finals even with Perth decimated by injury, Goorjian feels his team is better placed this time around.

There was no better example of that than Tyler Harvey’s ability to take over the game last week, as Sydney had to focus on a range of dangerous offensive options.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TUFF back-to-back floaters by <a href="https://twitter.com/YoungTRaaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YoungTRaaw</a> ?<br><br>?: <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreIllawarra?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/WCkga35N8F">pic.twitter.com/WCkga35N8F</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1514558247419940866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“He and Jessup, both second year with us, he was tremendous, floaters, assists, I thought he did a pretty good on the defensive end of the floor – he was brilliant,” Goorjian said.

“Some momentum for him, for Jessup, they’ve been here before, that’s an advantage and we didn’t have that last year as we approached the playoffs.

“We had a bunch of guys, imports, that had never played here. They’ve been here before, they understand the significant and the time’s now.”

The time is now for Perth, who could still make the playoffs losing two games this weekend, but that’s not on coach Scott Morrison’s agenda.

“We've got to be set on going to the finals through the front door, not the back door,” he said.

“Let’s see if we can get it done by ourselves, we don’t want to need help, we want to go in the front door, go in playing well, go in with confidence.

“It’s two really tough games so our work’s cut out for us, but that’s what high-level basketball’s all about, rising to the challenge, embracing it and trying to accomplish something as a team.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Matthew Hodgson is UP. AND. ABOUT.<br><br>? Live on ESPN via Kayo & Foxtel <a href="https://t.co/JENSBS1qhW">pic.twitter.com/JENSBS1qhW</a></p>— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1515296280733700101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While Illawarra are not far off the mark, Perth have only produced patches of playoff level basketball in recent weeks, particularly at the defensive end, and they need to go to another level against a team as good as the Hawks.

“In the Adelaide game I thought our defence was solid for three quarters, much like tonight, I think as a team that’s our next challenge,” Morrison said.

“Obviously we’re going to focus on the opponents we have coming up, but to be playing our best we've got to still focus on ourselves and the challenge is doing it for four quarters.

“We've shown we’re capable of it but we haven't proven that we’re capable of doing it for 40 minutes. I think we’re getting closer so hopefully this is a step in the right direction.”

They now face the huge challenge of doing it without their best defensive rebounder, Vic Law, who stood tall when the 'Cats were regularly being tamed on the glass.

Luke Travers and Todd Blanchfield will need to fill some of that void, but a man more than capable of helping out is import Michael Frazier.

In his first seven games as a Wildcat he averaged an astonishing 7.1 rebounds as a 193cm swingman – with 6.4 at the defensive end – and Perth were a massive +56 with him on the floor.

He's only grabbed 2.8 per game since, and his team is -87 with Frazier playing in those 10 contests as poor form, injury and uncertainty have eaten away at his confidence.

Against Cairns though, he was being like early-season Mike with 19 points and four rebounds in just 18 minutes, with Morrison cheekily describing the departure of his potential replacement as being like “a 200-pound weight off your shoulders”.

“We want him to stay hungry and keep that chip on his shoulder and play with a purpose to maybe prove some people wrong,” ScoMo said.

“I'm happy for him because it was a tough go for him and he hung in there and battled through some injuries.

“He’s still on some minutes restriction so I think he’ll be campaigning to get that off for next week and we’re going to need all the help we can get.”