Round 17 Game Preview: Kings vs. Wildcats

By Matt McQuade

 

When Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings Head Coach Chase Buford was asked about his team’s impending meeting with the Perth Wildcats, he had a fairly succinct response.

“Same thing as the last few times we’ve played them,” Coach Buford said.

“Gotta stop (Vic) Law, gotta stop (Bryce) Cotton.

“You do that, you have a chance. You don’t do that, you better hold the other guys a little bit.

“Cotton can still go off at any time, he’s a heck of a player. So can Law. You try to limit those guys, make the other guys beat you, and see what happens.”

As the Kings prepare to do battle this Saturday night against the Wildcats in the formidable RAC Arena, a venue where the purple and gold has had very little success over the years, they can look to the last two games they’ve played against Perth – both victories – for some confidence.

In the first game back in Round Nine, Sydney did restrict Bryce Cotton, holding the Wildcat superstar to just 20 points, while Vic Law was also held to a quiet 20 as the Kings dominated the ten-time NBL champs for most of the way in a 96-81 beatdown at Qudos Bank Arena.

Cotton stepped up in the second game in Round 12 with 33 points, but Law was held down again and the Kings won an epic confrontation at the Q 98-95.

However, the looming issue hanging over Coach Buford on Saturday is that Xavier Cooks, who is a perfect matchup for the explosive Law thanks to his length and athleticism, won’t be in uniform, which means it will need to be a collective effort by the entire Kings’ squad if they are to contain Perth’s dynamic forward.

The flip side of course is that the Wildcats have had no answers for Jaylen Adams (20.4ppg, 5.0rpg, 6.2apg, 1.4spg), who is currently in the top ten of the league in scoring, assists and steals and in the past two games against Perth has tallied at least 30 points both times, becoming one of only two Kings in history to achieve that feat – the other being the legendary Dwayne McClain way back in 1991.

There’s no doubt that the Wildcats will make stopping Jaylen their highest priority, which should mean that big man Jarell Martin (16.6ppg, 8.7rpg, 1.1spg) gets plenty of opportunities to do some serious damage against a Perth frontcourt that has been suspect at times this season.

Kings’ fans should also be excited about the recent improvement of Next Star Makur Maker (5.8ppg, 4.9rpg), who has started the past two games in place of Cooks and come up with 10 rebounds against Cairns and 11 points in Sydney’s thrilling win over South East Melbourne last week. He’s a big, strong, athletic forward who can run the floor hard and he could be an X-factor this Saturday.

Sydney will be without backup guard Shaun Bruce for an extended period, which will mean more burn for import swingman Ian Clark, who has fit into this group seamlessly and presents an important option off the bench with his perimeter shooting and all-court scoring ability.

But as ever, it will be the Kings’ defence that will ultimately dictate whether their terrific winning streak is further extended to nine or shot down in the most fearsome environment in the National Basketball League.

Dealing with the likes of Cotton (23.8ppg, 3.8rpg, 4.6apg, 1.6spg) and Law (21.4ppg, 8.6rpg, 1.2bpg) is one thing, but Sydney will also be tested by swingman Todd Blanchfield, who is currently leading the NBL in three point percentage; Mitch Norton is one of the best defenders in the competition and his offensive game is underrated; Luke Travers is one of the most talented youngsters in the league and Jesse Wagstaff’s smarts and experience can never be underestimated.

It is without doubt the biggest challenge the Kings have faced in the regular season to date.

For the purple and gold, nothing is tougher than getting a W in Perth.

Can they get it done and make another statement to the rest of the league?

You better believe this resilient group will do everything they can to make that happen.

Let’s go Sydney.

 

WHO

Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings vs. Perth Wildcats

WHEN

Saturday 26 March, 8:00pm tipoff AEST

LOCATION

RAC Arena, Perth

TV

ESPN, Kayo Sports

THE PLAYERS

Kings

Jaylen Adams (import); Dejan Vasiljevic; Wani Swaka Lo Buluk; Jarell Martin (import); Makur Maker (Next Star)

Ian Clark (import); Angus Glover; Biwali Bayles; Tom Vodanovich; Matur Maker; Jaylin Galloway (development player); Jayden Hodgson (development Player); Ignatius Mitchell (development player)

Wildcats

Bryce Cotton (import); Mitch Norton; Todd Blanchfield; Vic Law (import); Matthew Hodgson

Luke Travers; Jesse Wagstaff; Majok Majok; Kevin White; Jack Purchase; Oliver Hayes-Brown (development player)

THE COACHES

Kings

Chase Buford (NBL rookie head coach, record 13-7)

Wildcats

Scott Morrison (NBL rookie head coach, record 14-6)

2021/2022 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Kings lead 2-0

Kings def. Wildcats 96-81 @ Qudos Bank Arena, Round 9

Kings def. Wildcats 98-95 @ Qudos Bank Arena, Round 12

NBL LADDER

Kings 13-7, third

Wildcats 14-6, second

LAST GAME

Kings def. South East Melbourne Phoenix 91-89 @ John Cain Arena, Melbourne, Round 16

Wildcats def. New Zealand Breakers 95-85 @ RAC Arena, Round 16

KEY STATS

Kings

Points: Jaylen Adams, 20.4ppg

Rebounds: Xavier Cooks, 9.7rpg

Assists: Jaylen Adams, 6.2apg

Wildcats

Points: Bryce Cotton, 23.8ppg

Rebounds: Vic Law, 8.6rpg

Assists: Bryce Cotton, 4.6apg

KEY MATCHUP

Jarell Martin vs. Vic Law

While there’s no question that the headline duel will be between Jaylen Adams and Bryce Cotton – you get that with a pair of MVP candidates – there’s also little doubt that the game will be decided in large part on who comes out on top in this battle between two high-quality forwards. Law has had to deal with arguably the NBL’s best defensive player in Xavier Cooks in two games and come up short both times, and it will be interesting to see if his shackles are released against a different kind of challenge. Law’s mobility and ability to stretch the floor will make him a difficult matchup defensively for Jarell; conversely Sydney’s outstanding import big can play bully ball in the low post with the league’s second leading scorer while also possessing the ability to step out and bury the triple. Whoever is able to impact the game more is likely to significantly influence the outcome.

THE QUESTIONS

Can the Kings shock the Red Army at RAC Arena?

Will Wani Swaka Lo Buluk make Bryce Cotton’s life a living hell?

HISTORY

All-time Head-to-Head

104 games played; Wildcats lead 63-41

In Perth

47 games played; Wildcats lead 35-12

At RAC Arena

19 games played; Wildcats lead 16-3

DID YOU KNOW?

Not surprisingly, Sydney’s 15.8% success rate at RAC Arena is far and away their worst in any current NBL venue. In Perth, the Kings have had to play in three stadiums since 1988 – the Perth Entertainment Centre, where their record was 4-10 (28.6% success rate) and Challenge Stadium, where their record was 5-9 (35.7% success rate). Ironically, the Kings won four straight games at Challenge Stadium over three seasons, including the famous victory in Game Two of the 2002/2003 Grand Final series to win the club’s first NBL crown. But RAC Arena has been a veritable house of horrors for the purple and gold – they lost their first 11 games in the stadium and have lost five of their last six there, including their previous two.

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