Webster finds his groove

Tai Webster’s talents differ from those who played alongside Bryce Cotton in Perth’s title-winning backcourts of yesteryear, and while he’s not the hard-nosed, defence first guard fans are used to playing alongside the superstar, he’s established himself as one of the Wildcats’ most important players in the run in to Finals.

Webster continued his immense form in Perth’s tight win over Sydney on Sunday, and the New Zealand-born guard finished with an impressive 16 points and five assists to complement Cotton’s game-high 29 points and Jordan Usher’s 24.

Webster’s performance came after back-to-back 20-point performances against Brisbane and South East Melbourne, and an 11-point, seven rebound, six assist game against New Zealand where he was briefly on triple-double watch.

Perth head coach John Rillie has credited Webster’s upturn in form to figuring out where he fit within the Wildcats’ roster.

“He’s been fantastic. When we’ve been on this stretch over the last couple of months, he was probably the guy that was really trying to figure out where he fit in with this group,” Rillie said following the win over Sydney.

“Playing with a dynamic player like ‘BC’ (Cotton) in the backcourt, and he’s a dynamic player himself. Just seeing where he fits in, his teammates understanding where to utilise his skillset in the right moment as well.

“I never went away from believing in what Tai could do for our team, we had to bring that out of him and it just took a little bit of time. You can see in the last two to three weeks he’s been playing at a very high level.”

“We feed off his energy in practice and in games. Him and ‘Ush’ are a little one-two tandem and we feed off everything they do,” Cotton added.

The victory not only continued Perth’s pursuit of Melbourne at the top of the NBL24 ladder, but it also marked Cotton’s passing of 5,000 career NBL points.

Cotton is currently ranked only behind Chris Goulding in total points for active NBL players, with just 1,182 few points than the United legend in 208 less games.

Rillie said despite Cotton’s continued electric scoring play, he’s happy the star guard has been earning praise for his playmaking and passing in recent weeks.

“They’re a couple of things I’ve tried to get people to put in and realise, playmaking ability and then also his defence just keeping the guy in front,” Rillie said.

“Some guys want to target him a little bit but we’re happy and confident and we go from there. It’s nice that people are understanding it’s not just about the points, it’s terrific to see.”

Perth will open its Round 17 with a Thursday night clash against Illawarra before a clash with South East Melbourne on Saturday.