The Perth Wildcats return to RAC Arena on Saturday night looking to produce the type of home form they’ve been able to capture on the road, as they host the New Zealand Breakers for their second meeting of the season.
Perth come into the game with a 6-5 record, part of a tight mid-table pack on the NBL Ladder, while the Breakers sit ninth at 4-9 despite showing glimpses of high-level form.
Head Coach John Rillie made it clear this morning that Perth’s growth continues to centre on rhythm and consistency within the roster.
“Ben Henshall and Elijah Pepper have been doing a nice job building,” he said. “They’re going to be recipients of more minutes as we continue to find a really good rhythm within our group,.”
He also highlighted the progress of Sunday Dech after returning from a difficult injury.
“He’s really been moving forward the last couple of weeks and moving freely now without thinking… I think he’s really growing within the group.”
Last week’s win over Adelaide was built on defensive execution against one of the league’s top scorers, and Rillie was quick to remind that the job last week and into this game, is bigger than any particular matchup.
“Yes, we were dialled in to Bryce,” he said, “but we also did a great job on Dejan Vasiljevic, Flynn Cameron, and Zylan Cheatham. They didn’t have a huge influence on the game.”
Against New Zealand, the challenge shifts to Breakers star Parker Jackson-Cartwright, who puts pressure on defences in a different way but with similar impact.
“The optimist in me says yes, we can be locked in again. We get a challenge with Parker this week. Can we be locked in? Can we be dialled in?”
Rillie emphasised that defending elite guards is never a one-man task.
“What you saw with Bryce, it’s the four other guys. They do a nice job of their role in slowing these types of players down. We’ll be asking the same of everyone on the floor tomorrow.”
Despite strong moments this season, the Wildcats have yet to fully assert themselves on their home floor. Rillie didn’t shy away from that.
“We’ve been disappointing at home this year. We need to come out and have a great home performance.”
This week, for the first time in a while, the Wildcats have enjoyed a clean and steady lead-up.
“This has been the first home game in a long time where we’ve been able to have a nice build-up to it.”
Perth will look to climb above the .500 mark at home and strengthen their position in the top six, while the Breakers arrive desperate to claw their way back into the mix.
The New Zealand Breakers tore the Brisbane Bullets apart on the Gold Coast on Wednesday night, running out dominant 113-84 winners to claim their fourth victory of the NBL season and go a perfect two-from-two in the Ignite Cup.
A locked-in defence, continued growth from the emerging Wildcats, and a strong performance in front of the Red Army at RAC Arena, will be key ingredients in Saturday’s matchup.
PERTH WILDCATS vs NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
RAC Arena – Saturday, 15 November
Tip off: 5:00pm AWST
Watch Live on ESPN
