Rillie: No issue with star big

Perth head coach John Rillie says Keanu Pinder remained on the bench for much of the second quarter of Monday’s Game 2 clash against Tasmania due to foul trouble, as opposed to any apparent injury suffered in the game.

Pinder took his mask off and slowly walked from the court following a collision with Tasmania’s Will Magnay, and looked visibly distraught as he sat behind the bench and in the hands of the medical staff for much of the second term.

He returned to the court in after half-time, but ended up fouling out of the game, in which he recorded seven points and five rebounds in just under 14 minutes of action.

“He just got in some foul trouble, and when you get in early foul trouble sometimes it’s hard to find some rhythm in the game,” Rillie said following the loss.

“The other night in Game 1 he had a great game, because he was out there getting up and down, tonight those fouls, it’s a rhythm game and he just couldn’t find it tonight.

“We had a couple of games through the regular season that kind of mirrored that, where you’re trying to manage guys with fouls, but then as you mentioned trying to find a rhythm and a continuity, and it’s not just the bigs on the floor – it’s how they’re in sync with the perimeter players as well.

“Towards the end of the second quarter when two or three of those guys had two fouls, it was a physical game, so I wanted to be mindful we had as many bodies available down the stretch of the game.”

The Wildcats burst out to an eight-point quarter-time lead over Tasmania, but the JackJumpers went on to win each remaining quarter to emerge from the game as eight-point victors.

Game 2 almost mirrored the series opener last week, where it was a late run from Perth that relegated Tasmania to defeat, as opposed to the other way around.

“The other night we made the plays, tonight they made the plays. I have to watch the game because I’m a little emotional about it right now,” Rillie said.

“I do think we got some good looks and so forth, we didn’t capitalise in those times and they did, and we did the opposite in Game 1. It’s two great teams trying to fight their way to the Grand Final.

“If you come down here and you’re tentative or you’re passive it’s going to be a long night. I did like the way we got out of the gate, and we’re at the time of the year where you’ve got two good teams playing against each other, so I would expect a very good contest.”

Wildcats forward Kristian Doolittle praised a number of Tasmania players post-game, including Majok Deng who stepped up with 18 points from the bench in the absence of Marcus Lee.

“(Milton) Doyle found a rhythm and started hitting threes, and they were able to hit the toll and Magnay was able to draw fouls and make big free throws, McVeigh stepped up when he needed to,” Doolittle said.

“Deng, he came in and missed one shot so that was unexpected point production. Their season was on the line and they stepped up, and we have to be ready to do the same when we go back to Perth.”

Game 3 of the Playoff Series between Perth and Tasmania will tip off at 9:30pm AEDT on Wednesday night, live on ESPN via Kayo.

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