The line with William Hill is -11.5. Dangerous territory still I think if the Cats coast in the latter stages?

I don't touch line betting but yes that's always a possibility.
I really get the vibe that the Cats will be out for blood for the full 40 minutes this game though.

If they want to finish top 2, it's a must win double this weekend. Got New Zealand and Adelaide coming up. Been a while since we had a win at home.

Never know which team rocks up, lose this then cats fans will go off!

Ok first of all... this is a man's game. Sometime men have babies. Well not themselves, but their wife has babies. That's just an extra mouth to feed.

So listen to me right now. Perth will win this GAME. But because Newley has an extra mouth to feed now, they will not win the next GAME against Sydney in Sydney!

Randle Vs Cotton is a match up unlike any other match up in the world. I guarantee that!

You don't want to miss this one, and I'll have the best seat in the house!

Not that Newley has been a powerhouse this year, but combined with the subtraction of Tyler this is an easy win for the Wildcats, short of Randle having a career night.

Depends which Perth rock up to play. They have been playing Jekyll and Hyde basketball lately. If its the Cats that showed up for the first half of the games vs United and Bullets then it could be a very close game. If its the team that showed up for the second half of the Bullets game, should be a comfortable win.

The Wildcats have shown they can lose focus very easily, eg Brisbane first half, and United 3/4. In the latter game so much so, that Gleeson had to put Rhys Vague out there.

I wouldn't suggest Sydney will win, but the Wildcats have not shown they can play 40 mins with intensity so far and have let teams in.

It gets even worse for Sydney.

GREG HIRE CLEARED TO RETURN!!!!! :O OMGOMGOMG

The line with William Hill is -11.5. Dangerous territory still I think if the Cats coast in the latter stages?

Thanks Anon #667131 - you are definitely one of my top 4 Hoops anons thats fo sho!

The stadium better get some mops that handle blood well. This has the potential to be a blood bath

Just noticed that on current ladder positions, the next 4 games this weekend are:

1 v 8 Cats Kings
2 v 7 Melb Bris
3 v 6 NZ Cairns
4 v 5 36ers Hawks

whats more 1 v 8 is played twice this weekend as is 4 v 5.

Top 4 could/should be settled after this weekend.

any results above that don't go in accordance with ladder position?

With the change in the way teams tied on wins are dealt with at the end of the season, the Cats need to go hard for 40 min and chase percentage this weekend. A loss for them would be disasterous but anything less then two 20 point wins is a lost opportunity. Finishing the regular season with the highest percentage is as good as an extra win in a season as tight as this one.

Angus and DC Jr will have a field day with Isaac and Singh... It will be good to have another Westie vs Hobbit match up though...

Not sure why I wrote the title as "Sydney vs Perth" considering this one is in Perth. Sorry about that.
Maybe a moderator could fix, so as not to confuse this game with Sydney vs Perth on Sunday.

How did that only get one comment? Homicide that was so gold I just laughed out loud on the bus.. Mostly the now that Newley has another mouth to feed bit haha

Yuck.

I'm just going to turn the TV off now and go to bed happy.

I didnt know it was possible to make basketball look so hard. Perth is mess at both ends right now

I wish Cooke would stop screwing up

We're really taking it back to 1982 :/

2nd half Perth comeback is predictable as hell, but it's just refreshing to see the Kings not be completely woeful defensively... although Perth are helping them by being woeful offensively, too.

In the Delorian?

Cotton will nit be effective if nit a single screen hits the mark, of ball or on ball the defender is still with him every time. Walker especially seems more interested in getting his shot then landing a good screen

Cotton will nit be effective if nit a single screen hits the mark, of ball or on ball the defender is still with him every time. Walker especially seems more interested in getting his shot then landing a good screen

Cotton will nit be effective if nit a single screen hits the mark, of ball or on ball the defender is still with him every time. Walker especially seems more interested in getting his shot then landing a good screen

I agree with you on all three, J

27 point half. Is that a record?

Sixers almost outscored this whole game in our first half. 66-64 would be the scoreline.

Should definitely keep leaving Wagstaff open.

Watching Gaze in this fourth quarter will be excruciating

Wildcats might crack 20 points in this quater. Exciting!

24 points. Nearly beat the first half score.

Randle needs to play the full 10 mins here.

R.I.P. Kenny

Might as well play Randle 10 minutes. He's not going to be burned out come finals time.

Gaze is so edgy like he hasn't had a fix in 3 days

Oooooh... dis ugly

Oh my god, he killed Kenny. X|

XD

Could there be some kind of power struggle between Tokoto and Cotton? They don't seem to work together very well. And if either one of them has the ball late in the game, it ain't leaving their hands 'til a shot is put up

At what point do we call for all betting to be suspended pending investigation???

'Cats raising funds for a stud import on the deadline

Would one import make a difference?

do you think Gaze can pull a loss out of this with his timeout ?

how much time ran on????

Perth fans incoming. ETA 45 minutes.

Leave game, increase blood alcohol content, sit at computer, unleash salt

Crumble - how quick can a violet ?

Cats need to learn to play through the calls. It sucks when your nit getting the calls you need, and i think there were a few, you're paid to play through it, for 40 mins

ANYTHING IS POSSIBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHL!

Decided to show some fight finally! Pity theres only 18 seconds left

Brisbane lost it for them last week. Sydney left the script on the plane this week.

Post game handshakes and Gleeson has hand out sees its Walker and pulls his hand away. Bit harsh?

FT count 16 to 17. Definitely the refs.

Refs. Ha ha ha

Don't Perth have one of the oldest rosters as well?

Well done to Sydney. Lets leave it at that. No Brad Newley and 2 imports. Good win.

I think perth played 8mins of basketball and thats about it. I do understand players frustrations when the whole stadium kings included think randle fouled cotton (he did) and then the ref calls some sensational of ball push... not saying it changed the game perth dug their own hole, but ffs

Im tired of tokotos showboating. How about hitting the freethrows instead of the trash talk

Gaze will be on the turps tonight!

Perth's offense is woeful. Homocide is right and he has been saying it for at least 2-3 weeks- they rely too much on Cotton and JPT. Wagstaff needs a lot of space to be a good 3pt shooter and only goes right when he drives. Brandt is only a threat on his right hand on his jump hook. Kenny is at best a very average backup. Damo is a great defender but cannot win alone.
I think their imports are fine, Damo is great, the rest of them are either one dimensional or beyond their used by dates.
Gleeson needs to come up with something else offensively, they have looked terrible for the first half of the last two games. Cotton gets no separation from his defender and JPT doesn’t get open lanes anymore due to collapsing help defense whilst the rest stand and watch.

THERE IS NO WAY THE WILDCATS WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR.. I’ll put it out there first!

Which two?
Perth we're done from the start
Their mojo might be gone..".

Oh I get it you are implying referee bias in that game where Perth played like crap for 35 mins and lost to the team on the bottom of the ladder.

Agreed Angus
And I'm not even a Sydney fan

Will they though?
Adelaide seem to be firing?

Adelaide haven't lost this year!

Sad to watch as a Wildcats fan...a complete lack of effort for 39 minutes. I can accept losing a high quality game but when they go through the motions like that it is very disappointing.

Hire...no point practicing 3's from very point of the arc then when you get your chance and are wide open refuse to take it.

Kenny...can shoot but refuses to. Got 4 threes tonight but should have shot at least half a dozen more. And Jarrod, not a lot of point running the shot clock down to 2 and then passing to make it someone else's problem.

Brandt seems to have regressed massively. Steindl hasn't fired a shot. DKD doesn't get any opportunity

Too much left to too few. End of an era for the Wildcats. The squad needs a major makeover for next season. Should be at least half a dozen new faces.

They lost some silly games early, but since Creek returned, they have done well.
Drimc apparently played tonight, so if he finds some form, they don't look too bad

Glad there's still a decent gap back to Illawarra, because the Cats are in freefall lately. Geez that was garbage.
Has there been a less-valuable 17 point game than Cotton's tonight? Nice of him to finally show up once it was gone.

Adding Lisch and subtracting Newley was good for the Kings. And Randle ... man, that guy is just a machine. Perth have traditionally done ok at containing him, but he did as he pleased tonight. Never let us get any momentum.

36ers had an early import roundabout plus injury issues and having to adapt to post Randle life the first half of the season. Seem more than settled now.

It was a perth fan that mentioned them

When was the last one?

Anyway it's a basketball forum. Team fans own the threads now?

From @nblfacts

Last 3 home games for @PerthWildcats
Lost by 6 to Brisbane
Lost by 2 to Melbourne
Lost by 7 to Sydney

**First time Perth have lost 3 straight home games since October 2005
(Played 206 home games since last lost 3 in a row in Perth)

What's more woeful- The Cats significant lack of depth or the fact Gleeson does not have a back up plan ever, if Plan A fails? Give Nielsen the job if TG can't inspire his own players to play to his system.

Steindl is a horror signing. He was even left open tonight and still couldn't convert.

Cats defence was ridiculous! At one point garlep and pineau were slicing perth to pieces! Im not sure cottons bad game was all him. Matt knight knew how to set a screen. The cats screens looked like an u16 team at training running through the set, its game time . There is no excuse cotton running off 3 screens and his player is still on his hip, no switch

Clint Stiendl is my favourite player but being behind our best 2 offensive players is doing him no favours, we need to find a way to have him mismatching with opposing 4s (Walker being a 3 most of his career helps with this) as right now he looks completely pathetic, there is no arc in his shot and he has given the Eildcats nothing more than DKD or even Hire could have given in this time. I'm a fan Clint but you need to be far more maniacal in how you play, beautiful shooting action and far understated athleticism means nothing with how you're playing right now.

That game was so bad that it wouldn't surprise me if members ask for money back (not saying they will receive but some will ask) and the league should investigate about throwing the game, it seriously looked that way.

Well done to Sydney but if the NBL and their commentators keep bragging about the skill of the players and how we are one of the best leagues in the world. That game tonight demonstrated that we have a long long way to go (yes NBA is boring but considered the best in the world).

You can never be accused of showing too much effort (except of refs call you for fouls) but nobody will accuse Perth players of that tonight

As an OKC fan, i watched them play phoenix the other week, it can bappen to anyone. Shouldn't!

Last year Cotton came in late and was an unknown that allowed the Cats to squeeze into the finals at the last minute. Now the other teams coaches have had a good look at him and have had plenty of time to work out plans to nullify him. There is only one other scorer on the Wildcats as well. If they aren't winning through defensive effort and those 2 aren't scoring where do you end up? Playing Illawarra and Cairns in last years finals was almost a gift really.

I agree with the post that said the screens being set by the wildcats are ineffective.. basic fundamentals!

Gleeson inherited a championship team. Now he's had a few years to put his stamp on things. Looking good.

Just shows how inept Newley is. Has zero leadership and they didn't need him for a gutsy road win.

Sure JPT got a double double last night. He has unbelievable athletic ability.....BUT when you watch him closely he spends a LOT of his time coasting.

When he makes an effort he more often than not comes up with a O board.Check out the last 2 minutes where he pulled down a couple.

Replay the game along with the last few and take a good look at how many times he just stands around on the weak side wing when a shot goes up even when his defender has left him to help or rebound.

Methinks he is not too bright or motivated.

Nick Marvin would've made a change, things troy is different. Still doesn't explain the way they played.

They never put a roster to contend for a 3 peat, other than Tokoto and cotton , even with knight was there.

One off, no problem this is shite Perth members and public pay too dollars to go to watch, last night was like wtf I'm paying for?

I don't get it.
Last weeks game, despite the over-reffing, was an absolute cracker. Easily the best I have seen this year, two top teams going hard at both ends.

Then this week; they serve up this slop.
Ok, so Sydney we expect to be woeful and they were. But why do they always seem to bring out the worst in the Wildcats? That was beyond pitiful.
At one point during the 3rd, I thought the Cats might get up simply by virtue of Sydney turning completely to shit, but then the Cats matched it, and Sydney steadied.

And its not a matter of being "salty." I left the Arena last week still buzzing, knowing that I'd just watched a brilliant display of Basketball. God knows what I was watching last night.

All jokes aside, it really was like "Heritage" NBL. A bunch of useless uncoordinated white guys fumbling the ball for 20 seconds before finally throwing it to the nearest Black guy.

Has Brandt suffered a head-injury? Or did he have some side-bet going like "hey I bet I can get a double using nothing but a hook shot"?

As for Cooked, best thing he could do would be to shave his head and stack on 40kg. At least then he'd look like Nate Jawai.

Had the chance to retain all 3 imports, needed an upgrade on the bench. Who knows lightning might strike twice? They just might click at the right time again.

"Sure JPT got a double double last night. He has unbelievable athletic ability.....BUT when you watch him closely he spends a LOT of his time coasting."

He is such a lazy defender, he frustrates his teammates no end. He can make some great defensive plays, but when it comes to the fundamentals of just consistently defending, knowing where your man is, keeping him in front of you, he is very inconsistent.

"Not that Newley has been a powerhouse this year, but combined with the subtraction of Tyler this is an easy win for the Wildcats, short of Randle having a career night."

AngusH, please tell me you don't think axing Tyler was anything but a positive for the Kings?

Simply no one has played defence, Martin should be coming off the bench. Needed to recruit knowing age is a factor, you would think they will be throwing dollars at Mitch mc corron.

I still would've replaced Cooke jnr as soon as knight retired, we need a import big to create and I was surprised he stayed.

Comes down to doing your job and this is where professional team's should get a pay cut for games, then you will see how they play.

Tokoto relies on his lenght defensively, that doesnt work when you dont switch, or fight over screens and alloe mismatches. I think we are seeing why tokoto was a replacement, another 40% shooter aka walker would open things up alot esp for bigs like brandt, if tokoto is on the same side they ignore him completely and double

Not onboard with the white guy/ black guy post above. Quite ignorant and unnecessary.

"Simply no one has played defence"

Perth had 8 steals, 2 blocks and won the boards (81% of defensive boards vs Sydney 72%; 28% of offensive vs Sydney 19%)

However, they shot at 36% from the field, 31% from 2pt land and 56% from FT line. IIRC, early in the 4th quarter their 2pt percentage was 27%

methinks defence wasn't the problem

Those shooting numbers are reminiscent of the past Perth teams that were rubbish shooters but got a lot of offensive rebounds to make up for it. However, last night's shooting was just too bad to overcome

They gambled and got steals and blocks, they also allowed how many layups? Defence was a problem

That's not defence we are a custom to, maybe for other team's not us. Maybe there are other issues?

Just didn't notice any emotion from anyone last night it was very sad to watch them play. I was more embarrassed for the team.

Tough to defend when the other team is running off misses all the time. Offence was definitely the problem for mine.

Waxy also seems to have reverted back to his former error prone ways.

"We got away with this last year with a rampant Cotton who came in and dominated. He is not the same player this year."

2016/17 regular season: 22ppg, 3apg, 47% FG and 34% 3pFG
2017/18 regular season: 19ppg, 3apg, 44% FG and 44% 3pFG

Not sure that is the difference. Last year Perth were in the top four for 9 of 12 weeks before Cotton arrived. Losing Prather obviously hurts, but I think the biggest issues right now are team execution.

When you see Damian Martin jogging while chasing a player around screens, as he did a number of times last night, you know something's not quite right either.

The big problems for Perth were replacing Prather & McKay with Tokoto & Cooke.

I don't think it's personnel, only a few weeks ago they were the second-highest scoring team in the league with the highest offensive rating.

Sure, Prather is a bigger threat than Tokoto, but they've shown they can score plenty with this line-up. I'm backing them to bust out of this slump.

Hoping it's just a form slump.
If losing last night doesn't give Perth a kick up the backside I don't know what will

It was definitely their offence that let them down.
Yes they can and could have stepped their D' up a notch, as they do when games get tight, but by that point I think they had given up.

People forget that Walker is 33. He was always going to slow down a bit as the season progressed, as has Wagstaff.

The problem with Brandt, IMHO is simple. He just isn't big enough to play the role of the biggest player on the team, in this league, and worse oppositions have figured that out. They keep him out and he just keeps throwing up hopeful hook-shots.

As an import, you need somebody who's a genuine threat. And either big enough to dominate inside, or flexible enough to stretch the D. Cooked is neither.

Wagstaff's ability to sometimes get hot from outside used to be be the icing on the cake, but know it seems to be his only trick.

Hire was rushed back. He's clearly still hampered.
Plus, unfortunately his limited offensive output has been steadily decreasing and has now become a liability.

Put simply, if Perth wanted a 3-peat, they needed to not only counter the ageing of their squad, they also needed to improve, and they haven't done it.

The problem last night was a lack of intensity. The bigs are woeful, they don't even try anymore. Walker is too argumentive, and Brandt is so out of touch it's not funny anymore. He just doesn't get agressive enough.

Cooke tries hard, and brings much more intensity to his games but he can't finish well. He is hopeless at finishing, he just doesn't have the same touch around the ring as Brandt does, but he brings a whole lot more energy then Brandt.

If Cooke could finish around the hole then Brandt will not see game time at all.

Wagstaff is becoming a one trick pony on the 3 pt line and lately even that trick isn't working for him.

The bigs don't hustle and create hard screens leaving the guards running around with dogs on their tail, hard to get an open shot when this happens.

Tokoto turns the ball over too much, either by losing control and getting unbalanced when driving to the hole, or by passing to a team mate when the opposite is red hot on them.

They need to learn to control the ball better.

The game plan is a good one, but Wildcats do not have the players required to execute the game plan. They are getting older, and the majority of the players are slow. You'll find Tokoto and Cotton screaming up the court on a fast break but they have to stop because at least 4 of the opposition can keep up with them on the break. You might ask where is the other Wildcats players? They are just about crossing the half way line panting.

The bench is woeful with no depth at all. The only player that looks likely off the bench is Kernich-Drew. Kenny is a decent player to be off the bench but I rather have a Shea Ili if I was to swap NZ for NZ. Mason Bragg deserves much more opportunities than he is getting. He will be a star player one day and I forsee that the Wildcats will let him go and he becomes a star on an opposite team (especially if Hobart gets a team).

Wildcats needs a Randle, or a Lisch as a player. I rather have Prather than Tokoto, and yes Tokoto did well on the stat sheet but his game was pretty poor, could of shown more energy and desire.

Wildcats may finish 4th this season and only because the other teams are mediocre. But they will be out in the semi-finals and have to find 7 to 8 new players to fill the void.

Wildcats were going for a historic three peat, but even being part of history isn't enough to put fire in the bellies of these Wildcats players.

The only Wildcats players I'll keep are Martin, Bragg, Kenny, and Kernich-Drew. But, they are play the same similar position so one will have to go at one stage or another.

Because he's crap

Does winning titles now somehow mean the future doesn't happen?

It wouldnt surprise me to see the wildcats pitch for some good young aussie talent. Reality is every team has its weaknesses, its easy to see them when you play as bad as they did. Reality is when they play better you can see they can contend. Injecting youth is always difficult when trying to contend, has any nbl team done it really well?

New Zealand were winning championships while having guys like Webster and Abercrombie as development players.

Perth need an overhaul .

It was a pitiful performance, but hardly the end of the world.

NZ were winning championships in the leagues worse era for talent also. Brisbane and Sydney folded. The Tigers were just hanging on and all the other Melbourne teams gone. Adelaide needed a consortium of business men to keep them afloat and most of our talented locals were on bigger pay checks overseas.